20240530 Celebrity Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip, Day #1 - Ecuador is country 64!

Celebrity Xpedition Galapagos and Machu Picchu trip - from Orlando to Panama City, Panama, to Quito, Ecuador

Ugh. I hate early morning flights. But, that's what we had, a Copa Airlines flight at 8:12 AM from Orlando to Panama City, Panama. That meant getting up at 4:00 AM so we would be ready for our driver at 5:15 AM.  We finished the last-minute packing and got ready to go.

Our driver was right on time. We had an uneventful ride to Orlando International Airport. We were in the brand new Terminal C where they had moved the international flights. We were flying Copa Airlines. We couldn't find them, ever. We finally asked and an agent said they could check our bags. Weird, since the banner definitely didn't say Copa. Regardless, we got our bags checked, zipped through TSA, and made the walk to our gate - 244A.

It's so new, the floors are still shiny

Our ride, an older Boing 737-800

We were booked in Business Class, seats 2E/F. We departed on time and landed on time in Panama City, Panama. I checked our next flight. It was scheduled just about an hour after we landed from Gate 209. Hey! We just came in at Gate 209. Yup, we were getting back on the same plane, and in the same seats, 2E/F.

We boarded a few short minutes later. Arlona looked out the window and saw our bags. They had been unloaded and set aside for reloading. That meant our bags would be the first bags on the plane. Ugh. First in, last out.

We launched on time. We could see a ton of ships queued up, presumable to transit the Panama Canal.

A short two hours later, we were approaching the airport near Quito.

Lots of lush green with the Andes in the background

It was quite striking

We had a nice, sunny day for our arrival in Ecuador

We landed on time and headed toward Immigration. It took a few minutes, but we both now have a nice new Ecuador stamp in our passports. We walked over to baggage claim.

We waited for our bags. And waited. And waited. And waited. Of course, ours were near the last bags off the plane. They must have one luggage vehicle as a bunch of bags would drop, then five minutes would go by, another bunch would drop, another five minutes...you get the idea. Our bags finally came out in the fifth bunch and we headed towards Customs. As we approached, a uniformed officer waved us over and sent us through a different door, and *boom*, we were out in the main terminal. No muss, no fuss - we were in Ecuador. This is the 64th country that we've visited on our quest to set foot in 100 countries.

A Celebrity Cruise rep was supposed to meet us. We looked around and saw Carla, one of the tour guides for this week.

She watched our bags as we made the requisite restroom stop before the drive into Quito.

Carla escorted us out to the pick-up area. Our driver Oscar, pulled up, loaded our bags, and we were off for the JW Marriott Hotel in Quito.

The Quito sign just outside the airport

On our drive, Carla, an obviously enthusiastic local, gave us some of the history of the area and some info on the upcoming few days.

The main lobby at the JW Marriott

The hotel is beautiful. Fresh roses abound in the lobby atrium. 

There are waterfalls, greenery, a fish pond, and more to see

The bellmen wear top hats and long coats. Service is impeccable. Our room is well-appointed and a good size. We even have both a tub and shower.

At 4:00 PM, the Celebrity service desk opened. We went down and were given our welcome letter that detailed the events for the next two days. No point in listing them here as I'll be documenting them over the next couple of days. The other thing they gave us was personalized water bottles. Well, personalized with a sticker from a label maker, I don't want to oversell them. They have a water station in the lobby so we can get water to take with us in the morning.

My grandfather on my dad's side worked for Culligan - he'd be happy to see this

Hydration is important. Quito sits at 9,350 feet, making Denver look impossibly low. We are also essentially right on the equator. These two things conspire to rid you of fluids, so sipping all day is a necessity. The same will be true in Machu Picchu, although it is off the equator a bit and about 1,400 feet lower. But, we will also spend time in Cuzco, Peru which sits at 11,150 feet. I did bring altitude meds to help me adjust.

We didn't feel like going out tonight so we opted to just eat dinner at the hotel. There are several restaurants here. We opted for The Exchange Bar. Wings for Arlona and a sandwich for me and we were happy.

OK, there was also a Pisco Sour for Arlona and Margarita for me

We headed back to the room to call it a night. We have to be ready to go at 8:45 tomorrow morning for an all-day walking tour of Quito's old town. 

Back in the room, Arlona noticed a small sign next to the toilet, and a trash can there too.

The basic gist of the sign is that no paper should go into the toilet. None. This means that toilet paper has to go in the trash can. Ewwwww. Seriously. It will be an icky couple of days based on that. Did I mention, ewwwww?

Tomorrow will be a busy day in Quito. I'm hoping to buy a genuine Panama hat. Did you know that genuine Panama hats are made in Ecuador? The construction of the Panama Canal created a great demand for the hats. Then, the Panama Canal trading post was responsible for shipping them all over the world. They referred to them as Panama Hats and the name stuck.

We called it a night. With last night's short sleep, the long day of travel, and perhaps a slight lack of oxygen, we're tired.