Day 1 - Friday, June 1, 2012

Who ever said that "getting there was half the fun" didn't travel in our times and have a day like the following:
Get up at 4:30 am to get ready for the shuttle ride to Logan that picks us up at 5:00.
Travel to Logan during Friday morning traffic but still arriving at the airport well before the suggested 2 hour international arrival which I don't really get because things just don't move that slowly.
Finally board for our first leg to Miami at 8:40 and take off pretty much on time. Fairly uneventful flight to Miami.
We have a 3 hour layover here...never easy getting out of Miami but once we arrive we notice that our flight is already delayed by 1/2 hour. Not too bad, we grab some lunch and hang out. Next check of the monitors shows that our flight is now a full hour delayed. I check with the gate agent who says they are waiting on the crew, but the l,and is here and I can see the plane outside so I feel a little better.
We're off to get a drink while we wait for the crew.
Next check yields one and half hours delay now....UGH!!!!! We look out the window and our plane is now gone...so it appears that either the gate agent lied or they switched our plane because of the delays.
After a while, we see the crew come over, good sign. A little while later the gate agent comes on the PA and announces that our plane has landed and they will get the current passengers off, clean the plane and get us on as quickly as possible. He also informs us that there is a storm brewing and we will have to hurry if we have any chance of getting out before it. Well, he obviously jinxed us by saying that and as people are still boarding, Dave and I see lightning out of the window......DAMN.
Sure enough the outside crew has been called inside and cannot work outside with the lighting so we sit on the plane for about an additional 20 minutes. Finally the storm passes the crew is let outside and they finish getting us ready to go.
Now they push us back from the gate and the pilot starts the engine.....what was that noise and why is the power out on the plane?
We are pulled back to the gate where they check things out and it appears that the auxiliary power blew when the pilot was starting the engine but he tells us that has never happened to him before which I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing.
Maintenance comes along and checks everything out and finally everything is back in working order and we try again to get off the ground but of course between the weather and the electrical issue we are now in a line for take off. Finally we are off and we are about 4 hours late at this point.
The rest of the ride is non eventful with just a little turbulence here and there but nothing too bad. We land in Quito and everyone cheers....people don't do that anymore, just clap when the pilot lands the plane safely...times have changed.
Immigration takes about 50 minutes and we breeze through customs and find our transport in the airport which for midnight is mobbed as there were many planes coming in at that time.
We are safely delivered to the Hostel La Rabida  where we are speedily checked in and get to our room.
There is nothing much to do at this point but hit the sack from our adventurous day of travel.
Tomorrow will surely bring better surprises.