Ecuador in 10 hours...

Jeff and I are going to Ecuador from March 12-21 for our spring break trip. Our flight leaves in about 12 hours. A few people have asked me what our plan is for the trip, and basically we have no plan - we're going to fly into Quito and then go where the wind takes us (although we'll make a point to stay away from the Columbian boarder - things aren't looking good there). However, I thought I'd put down what we know right now and what a possible itinerary might look like.

Here's the short version for those of you not inclined to read the details:

Wednesday, March 12,
6:43am: Depart DC - COPA Airlines Flight CM489
10:42am: Arrive Panama City
11am-4pm: Explore Casca Viejo (Old Town) in Panama City
7:02pm: Depart Panama City - COPA Airlines Flight CM211
8:52pm: Arrive Quito
9pm: Taxi to Secret Garden Hostel, where we spend our first night.

Thursday, March 13-Thursday, March 20
Trek into Amazon Jungle, and/or
Trip to Otavalo or other Andes Mountain Sites, and/or
Trip to the Coast to see the beaches and eat sea food, and/or
Something else cool we hear about.

Thursday, March 20
Return to Quito - Spend night at Hostel Revolution

Friday, March 21
Wakeup-1pm: Explore Quito
4:11pm: Depart Quito - COPA Airlines CM828
5:56pm: Arrive Panama City
7:06pm: Depart Panama City - COPA Airlines CM488

Saturday, March 22
12:47am: Arrive in DC, take taxi home from Dulles


And now the longer version:

We're flying COPA airlines, and departing DC at 6:43 am Wednesday morning. (Which means we have to get a taxi to Dulles at 3am... yuck.) We take a 5 hour flight, during which we set our clocks back an hour to account for the time zone change, and arrive in Panama City at 10:42 am. We've got quite a long layover, so if we can't get on an earlier flight to Quito, we'll leave the airport.

We'll take a taxi from the airport to Casco Viejo - the old town in Panama City. We'll have most of the day to wander around, get some food, and enjoy the sites of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. To be safe, we'll probably head back to the airport by about 3:30pm or 4pm. We depart Panama City at 7:02pm. We then have a two hour flight to make it the rest of the way to Ecuador.

We arrive in Quito at 8:52pm on Wednesday evening. We'll take a taxi from there to the Old Town (another UNESCO Heritage Site), where we've booked our first night at Secret Garden Hostel (which only costs $20 a night for our own room).

That's as far as the planned itinerary goes. It's likely that on Thursday we'll spend our day wandering around Quito - acclimatizing to being at 10,000 ft. We then have about a week to do other things. A few possibilities we're interested in are: a trek to the Amazon rain forest in the eastern region of Ecuador, a trip to the mountain town of Otovalo on Saturday when there's an indigenous market, or a trip to the coast to see the beautiful Ecuadorian beaches and try the legendary sea food.

No matter what we do, we'll have to be back in Quito by Thursday, March 20th. That night we'll be staying at Hostel Revolution. On Friday, March 21st, our last day in Ecuador, we'll have the morning to see more of Quito and get some last souvenirs. We'll head to the airport around 1pm or so, and then we'll depart Quito at 4:11pm on Friday, March 21st.

We've got a two-hour flight and then we arrive in Panama City at 5:56pm. No leaving the airport this time, though, because an hour later we depart Panama City at 7:06pm. After a four-hour flight and adjusting our watches ahead an hour, we'll arrive in DC at 12:47am on Saturday, March 22nd. And that's it!

I'm not sure how much internet access we'll have while we're there, but if I don't get to post while I'm there, I'm sure I'll have lots to say after I get back!