And so it begins! Despite fears that Hurricane Ivan might upset our travel plans we managed to maintain our original itinerary and arrive without a problem. Both flights were relatively uneventful, although I did savor the chance to watch Shrek 2 in english on the flight from Miami to Quito.

We touched down in Quito at about 9:40pm. Our first impression of Ecuador was impressive; The international terminal at the Quito Airport rivals anything found in the USA with broad bright corridors and flat screen monitors helping you along in several languages.

Customs was a breeze too. We had read that the Ecuador customs officials can be stingy about the ongoing flight requitement but we had no one question us and we got a 90 day tourist visa issued on arrival (the maximum visa length).

It is a funny thing that the National Currency in Ecuador is the US Dollar. Because of that we were able to get a great exchange rate: We exchanged for 75 cents to the dollar! The change guy was so nice!

Seriously though, the Ecuadorians (?) have been very welcoming. THank goodness for Lisa´s spanish speaking ability. Our driver from the airport as nice as he was couldn´t find our hotel so Lisa had to practically drive the van for him!

We have been taking it easy so far so we can adjust to the altitude. Quito sits in a high Andean valley (about 2900 meters) which can take a lot out of you, especially if you arrive from sea level like we did.

No major plans for now except exploring our new home for now. All I can say is it is an amazing feeling to finally be on our way. I forgot the cord for my camera today otherwise I would add some pictures. Have to do that later.

So we are safe and happy

Jim