Flying to Quito

 We began our 36-hour adventure at 3am when a van from the MTC picked us up from my sister's home. I am so impressed with the MTC employees and volunteers. There were just a few minutes to wait until an airport shuttle came to collect us and our luggage for the Salt Lake Airport. It was still snowing from the night before, but not too bad for driving.


Thanks to the amazing sisters in the travel office, our check-in was easy. Of course, we walked forever to get to our gate, but that's reality at the SLC Airport. We boarded a flight to Phoenix at 7am and arrived at 9am. Because the Ecuadorian Consulate didn't open until 10am, we had time to rent a car for the day and head over there. The appointment took about 90 minutes and we were out the door with our visas. We booked it over to a hatch chile restaurant for a delicious lunch.


We wandered around Phoenix and stopped by for donuts in the afternoon. I know it isn't newsworthy, but Ecuador doesn't understand my idea of donuts. They are just dinner rolls with frosting. Since Paul had served his mission in Phoenix, he was comfortable driving around the city. 

We decided to drive out to the Phoenix Temple even though it was Monday and we knew it would be closed. We were able to walk around the temple and visit the hawk that has a nest in the steeple.


The engineers came out while we were walking around so we told them about a broken sprinkler and they showed us the foyer. It's such a beautiful temple. We enjoyed In-n-Out for dinner and returned to the airport to wait for our midnight flight to Miami.


 It was a quiet flight and we tried to sleep. At 6am we arrived in Miami and wandered around the airport, trying to be awake. And at 9am we boarded our flight for Quito. I loved flying into the city for the first time and seeing the incredible spread of the city.


President and Sister Román picked us up and took us into town. We first stopped at the temple, which was recently dedicated in November by Elder Cook. It's tough to travel for two days in the same clothes, but we're still excited to be back in Ecuador.

Location: Quito, Ecuador

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

General Conference

Image
I love that Conference is broadcast in Quichua for the Otavalo saints. We were able to watch every session in the comfort of our apartment. My favorite message was given by Elder Robert M. Daines. His talk about being face-blind was so touching. The quote that I researched immediately was, "A few years ago, I got a calling I didn't feel up to. I awoke early, nervous--but with a phrase in mind I had not heard before: that to serve in this Church is to stand in the river of God's love for His children." A wonderful blog post from Faith Matters tells the story of Elder Daines becoming a stake president in Palo Alto. He was currently working as a law and finance professor at Stanford University. In his first address to his stake he said something similar: Think for a minute of your favorite story of Jesus. What is it? You show me your favorite store of Jesus and I'll show you a story of Jesus reaching out to and loving someone on the margins of society, someone who w...
Read more

A Week at the Temple

Image
 We returned to the Quito Temple for a week of worshiping and recharging. The temple has a split schedule (or a siesta schedule) so they open in the morning, close for the afternoon, and then reopen for the evening. This means we can attend an endowment session and then an extra ordinance before leaving for lunch.  On Monday we arrived about 4pm and went to the Scala Mall for dinner. They are adding a 4th floor, so in the 6 weeks we have been gone, they opened the new food court up there. It is an exact replica of the 3rd floor. As you look across the open area of the mall (with its tarp roof), you can see where the 3rd floor was open. We would eat KFC there by the windows. Today we are enjoying McDonalds for the first time in over 2 years. On Tuesday-Friday we walk up from the Scala Mall on this wonderful ciclovia. Some of its largest trees were blooming with huge yellow flowers. One of the most popular restaurants in Cumbaya, El Palacio de la Fritada, is always busy. I order...
Read more

Our new favorite place

Image
 Papo's is our new favorite spot to eat. They always give you lots of food and it's delicious. I was starting to feel a cold coming on, but it was still nice to go out and eat. We picked up some of these fried bananas on the way out of Quito and they were the most delicious snack I've had. I should have bought more. They were only $1. Crunchy, sweet, and delicious. In the middle of our trip, we hit a pothole and got a flat tire. Right in the middle of the Andes. Luckily, Paul found a bus stop to pull over into because there are no shoulders on the road. He put the spare on and we drove the 100 miles home on it. And it wasn't raining. What a blessing!
Read more