A DAY FULL OF CONFUSION IN CAPITAL QUITO ECUADOR:-
The day of confusion, with the destination of the Quito airport to fly to the Galapagos Islands, started at the Quito Quitumbe Bus Terminal, after I had arrived there in the evening from Baños.
I was going to organize some things before heading to the airport because I wanted to save money on accommodations that night because I heard that the airport was far away from the city center and about a $30 taxi ride, or with the local bus only $0.25. On the bus, I met these local elderly women who told me about a different bus that goes all night for $8, which I didn’t know about, oh well.
Cultural differences on the local bus journey
After about an hour on a crazy local bus journey with the bus driver driving really fast, the guy who came to collect the money told us that this bus was not going to the airport, which was pretty irritating because it was already midnight, and dark, and I did not have had any idea where I was. In my honest opinion, I think the bus driver and the money collector wanted to finish their shift early and not go all the way to the airport. However, the bus driver was going super fast, driving crazy while having lunch with a fork and making phone calls. It was not like it was a burger or a sandwich, no, it was a full plate with rice and meat that the needed to cut – haha – quite funny when I think how it might sound to you.
On the way to the airport, we drove past so many shopping malls – it felt like in every neighborhood of the city there was a big mall.
While continually driving, the collector came again and told us that they will go to the airport and so the women and I didn’t have to worry anymore; she wasn’t happy with the news before, and neither was I. When the collector came to collect $3, I told him to tell the driver to slow down, otherwise I’m not paying because it was crazy and Ecuador is well known for a lot of car accidents. A local women told showed me a newspaper full of accident news. Everyday. Well, he didn’t slow down and therefore I didn’t pay when we arrived at the airport. I just left.
QUITO ECUADOR
At first the local women that I just met and I went to the supermarket in the basement near the car park and then chilled for a while until I checked my emails to see if I had received the confirmation for my flight from Quito to the Galapagos Islands of Avianca – nothing yet. Thoughts were running through my head: “Will I be able to fly to the Galapagos Islands ? The place I had really desired to go”.
I wanted to go to the check-in counter of Avianca but it was already late at night, so everything was closed because I guess there were no more flights scheduled. The information desk sent me to the Avianca office on one of the top floors, so I went and rang for a while until the door was opened by a very laid back and sleepy local guy.
The guy checked my reservation number and called the hotline because the payment process was not yet verified. However, after I spoke to them after 20 minutes, they confirmed my ticket and I received the email – thankfully – because I was stressing out at this moment because it was very last minute.
I wanted was to fly to the Galapagos Islands, which I had tried to book for the past week: I always had trouble booking flights with my German credit card.
For the rest of the night, I pretty much slept in this cafe and it was finally time to set off for the Galápagos Islands – so excited, especially after all the research I did on flight prices, trying to book a ticket online, and at the airport, but now after I arrived safe and had my ticket confirmed, nothing could go wrong, right?!
Next: DIY: Organise the Galapagos Island trip by yourself and save a lot of money.
#TW # QUITO ECUADOR
