Drinks and sandwiches at 1:30am in the Hotel.
We had more than 3 hours layover in Atlanta airport. I didn't get a chance, but Dr. Parker and Dr. Shapiro found an exhibit with art from Zimbabwe that many of the students visited to pass the time. As you can see, the natives became restless...
Waiting for our flight in Atlanta.
Our flight was uneventful, but we were in one of those fabulous planes with full entertainment screens in each seat. I also enjoyed the wireless internet - I sent out tons of e-mails and had a Gmail chat with my older daughter, who was using the free wireless internet on a bus from Baltimore to New York. The internet connection went dead around when we were passing over Cuba, and never came back for the duration of the flight. Well worth it anyhow.
The immigration and customs process in Quito went pretty smoothly - although one student was delayed and ended up at the end of the line. We always go as a group, so this gave us some time to play again.
Humans as luggage.
On our way out of the airport, Margaret went up to the upstairs bathrooms where she was immediately pickpocketed by a young boy who looked like he was selling sweets. The boy quickly absconded with her passport, but not with the cash that he was actually hoping for. After working with airport staff for a while, checking the kid (who of course had already passed the passport to some adult), we waited hoping that police might come by. Because the only exit from the area where she was robbed required passing right by us, the waiting was not actually for the police, but to give the robbers time to get rid of the passport in the bathroom area. Every 5 or 10 minutes one of the men dutifully went up the stairs to check on the status of things, and finally he came back down with the passport, telling us that one of the cleaning staff had found it in a garbage can.
After that miracle, more waiting was set up so that it would look like they were trying to get a police person to come by so that we could write a report, but after a while of nothing happening, the person announced that no police were available, and that we should go to the station in the morning to make a report if we wish. We will very likely make that report - called a denuncia.
Anyhow - we have the passport back in hand, which is absolutely fantastic. Plus, I think that the students will now take us more seriously when we talk about safety issues during our travels. Although it made for a very late bedtime, perhaps this incident was for the best. We shall see.
Wake up call in the morning at 7:30, breakfast at 8, and our departure for the city tour begins at 9.
- Eric Fortune
Unbelievable! Glad you got the passport back.
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