How do I begin? This was a whole new area of the world. I knew nothing about it. I had pictures in my mind of what it would be like, but I never expected what I found there. Come along with me to discover this really special part of the world!
On this trip, we had the unfortunate luck to start out just after a rare snowstorm in Spain. Yes, Spain. What would that have to do with anything? Yes, well, I wish it didn’t. You see, we were flying Iberia Airlines and the snowstorm had caused them to cancel something like 200 flights. Although the snow had been cleared from the runways by the time we were ready to fly, they were way behind and catching up very slowly. As a result, our flight from Tel Aviv took off 8 hours late. Guess what happened? You guessed? When we got to Madrid, our connecting flight to Quito had taken off hours earlier.
Unfortunately, they were unable to get us onto a flight that could get us anywhere near Quito or that would connect to one the next day and we had to spend the next day in Madrid… which would have been fun (as it was for our travelers who were treated to a tour of Madrid and a visit to the Prado), but as trainees, our task was to change all of the tickets, make sure all of the kosher meals were properly ordered, and get to the hotel the airline had reserved rooms in for us (and lots and lots of other people) and arrange everything so that our people were able to join us at the hotel, get their room keys, their boarding passes, and their passports and eat a kosher dinner. After a day of cold weather with no outer wear, lots of rain, and a measure of frustration, we all enjoyed sharing a leisurely dinner and had a very good night’s sleep.
The next day, we all happily took off for Ecuador!
Next time: The Middle of the World and the magnificent market in Otavala. Don’t miss them!
cant wait… at least i can see it through your words and pics… thanks for ‘taking us along’
Have a Chag Kosher V’Sameach.
Ecuador is one of the most beautiful countries of South America. Nothing compares to the landscapes of the Highlands, the lush of the Amazon Rainforest, the exotic Beaches of the Coast and the mystery of the Galapagos Islands.