Arrived in Quito, Ecuador. Pronounced “Key-Tow”.
I hate making the same mistake twice. I visited Yosemite National Park back in 2019 and was surprised by the elevation difference. Intellectually I knew the elevation was over 4000 feet (1,225m), and at some places more than twice that, but I did not expect how it impacted my breathing. But I needed to leave earlier than the planned five day visit due to how I was feeling. I was not caught out with my visit to the Grand Canyon, while there was a similar elevation change, I expected it that time (and we were only there one day). I did not expect snow in April, but that’s a different issue.
Quito is at 9,350 ft (2,850m). Quito is the second highest national capital in the world, only behind Bolivia’s La Paz. It’s the highest I’ve ever been while not sitting in a plane. The first ramp I walked up after leaving the air plane I felt the difference in the air. I’m only here three nights, but it’s something to be aware of with my planned tours during the 2023 South America Grand Voyage.
Other things surrounding the flight:
If you book your flights thru Silversea they now include transfers to/from your home airport – they always included transfers to/from airport and port hotels. I like the service, but I wonder which market forces convinced them to do that. Is it a response to how Covid impacted the cruise industry?
Packing was a little more strange than for the 2019 World Cruise or the aborted 2022 South America Grand Voyage. For such lengthy cruises they offer a “luggage valet” service where you can ship a few bags ahead of time. That’s handy, but I consider that more for the formal night tux and suits. This Galapagos cruise is only 17 days, but the weather difference between Quito and Galapagos was such that I needed too essentially pack for two different trips. I packed more trousers and shorts for these 2 weeks than I packed for the World Cruise’s 4 1/2 months.
I haven’t traveled internationally since Covid became a thing, so I have not had any kind of test. I took the vaccine and boosters due to my doctor’s recommendation due to my age and other health factors. But to travel to Ecuador and board a Silversea’s ship you need some kind of test – Ecuador required a test within two days of the flight. So I set up a RT-PCR test at a drive-thru Covid test center. I am not kidding.
They had a trailer in the parking lot of a shopping mall. I set up an appointment for the day before my flight. On the day I drove up besides the trailer, a nurse (I assume) stuck a swab into my skull and I drove away. I paid extra for the “less than two hour results” , so ten minutes after the test they texted me my results and proved a link to proper form to print out and carry.
Silversea is providing an additional antigen test on Friday, the day before we fly to the cruise ship. At the same day I must sign a zillion forms telling them I understand that snorkeling and kayaking could be dangerous. Are there more such forms because they mostly focus on retirees?
Highlight – with my visit to Quito I can now check off another continent that I have visited. With my 2019 World Cruise this leaves only Antarctica off my list, and I don’t really care about visiting Antarctica. If Silversea offers a day trip during the southern most leg of the South America Grand Voyage I may take them up on it, but I don’t plan on scheduling anything just to check that box.
I’m taking today off to recover from the travel yesterday and get used to the elevation. I have a personal tour scheduled for tomorrow morning and Silversea offers an evening bus tour in the evening. So I should have some more touristy pictures next time.