On my last day in Florida, I woke to find Gabby gone, but lots of stuff on her bed. I went to investigate and saw a note:
This is free food for anyone who wants it. I'm also leaving my bag so if you want to use it you can.
How good is that?! I don't have to go and buy luggage anymore! She is a real sweetheart. I am really going to miss her company.
An Aussie moved in, Tahlia. She's from Sydney, but she's been travelling for the last couple of years. On my resting/packing day, we both went to the local flea market. I bought some cheap Mac makeup and a "leather" handbag for $20. She then wanted to go to Downtown Disney so we parted ways and I went back to start packing.
Hardly slept that night. Probably because I needed sleep! Typical.
The next morning started with an early rise, waiting for the shuttle to take me to the airport. Thought I might finally get to eat some breakfast that I bought myself (haven't had the chance to for various reasons..) but of course, the kitchen was not open. Neither was reception for that matter, so I couldn't even check out. I just left my key under the door.
The plane to Miami was fine. At the airport, I saw a spanish phrasebook. My iphone battery was running low, so I thought it would be a good idea to have it as a backup if my spanish app failed me.
The plane to Quito, Ecuador was fine. I organised for the hostel to pick me up. 15 mins in a cab was only $12! The cab ride was with an Ecuadorean man trying to have a conversation with me in Spanish. Luckily I bought that phrase book. I managed to teach myself
Galápagos mañana. (Galapagos tomorrow.) He tried to get a lot more information out of me, but because he was speaking in Spanish, I had no idea what to answer with. Also, he was a mad driver (as in, he was a madman, not mad good). There were no sticking to your own lane. There were horns going off left, right and centre. There was zooming through red lights. There was also a lot of beeping those who stopped at red lights. Hahah! So this was all very distracting.
The hostel was called Secret Garden. It was actually really cute. The reception was on the roof.. 5 floors up. That was also the bar and dining area. The view as soon as you reached the fifth floor was amazing. I wish I had one of my cameras or my phone on me to capture the night view. The view is something I will never forget. There were so many hills and warm lights in the dark night. There was a church nearby and I could see the steeple and clock so clearly. It was incredible. Quito is SUCH a beautiful place. Wish I was staying longer.
After chucking my bags in my private room, I decided to head on up to meet some people on the roof. I bought myself a drink ($1.90 for a cocktail!!) and introduced myself to the first person I could find. Malta (a boy) and Bebe (his sister) from Germany. And before you know it, I was meeting everyone on the terrace. Tracey, another Aussie, I found out was going on the same cruise as myself! Same boat and all. Small world. Not only is she from Sydney, but she was also one of 11 other people on my boat! She was going out dancing that night with Malta and a bunch of others.. And I went to bed to get some rest- because I was dead on my feet. I was only at the Secret Garden for the night, before being picked up at 6am the next day. I was feeling really sick. I wanted to vom. But had nothing on my stomach. I just wanted a plain piece of toast.
The line to check in to go to the Galápagos was pretty long. I vividly remember swaying on the footpath out the front of the airport, I was so dizzy with nausea. Checking in was a weird process. First, I went to a booth outside the airport "Ticket Point", to confirm that I was there. Then I had to scan my bags, then enter the airport to get my boarding pass. Then go through security as well as getting body scanned and THEN into the terminal. And by terminal, I mean a small hall with 4 doors(boarding gates) outside. I forgot to ask the hostel to store one of my bags, and didn't realise I had a 20kg limit. I was sitting at 30kg with both bags, so had to pay $20 for excess baggage. However, there was no signs or anywhere to pay once I got inside the terminal. Made a friend who was also doing a Galápagos but on land (she was also staying at the Secret Garden!) and soon afterward, Tracey joined us. Found some small, salty, crunchy bread rolls, or something like bread rolls. They were about the size of a golf ball and I got 4 for $2. And immediately felt better after nibbling at them. Although I was full after 1 and a half.
It wasn't until we started boarding that I received information on where to pay for my excess baggage. And it was OUTSIDE the airport. I went running all over the place trying to find it before the plane left! To say that I was stressed might just cover it. I prayed so hard that this would be a fast enough transaction to make the plane. I reached the place to pay (back at ticket point) and the line was 4 people long. I asked in my best Spanish accent if I could PLEASE go in front because my flight was BOARDING right this very minute! They all nodded and smiled, so I thought I would be safe. But they mustn't have understood me in the first place because they all went ahead of me anyway. I kept asking the person in front the same thing and got the reaction again and still, he went in front of me. Oh gosh, I was so anxious that I wouldn't make the flight. Finally got served. And the girl who served me was a very slow typer. She had the nerve to tell me that I needed to hurry to catch my plane. Thanks.
RAN through the airport, crawling under the barricades and pushing in front of everyone. Had to go through security again. And for some reason, it went off. I forgot that I was wearing swimmers with a metal ring on either side of my bikini bottoms. So once I realised, I stripped down and showed the security lady (not entirely necessary but desperate times call for stripping down to your bikini in an airport). I made it to the man who wouldn't let me pass before. He didn't even check that I HAD paid, he just said, "you'd better hurry. Your plane is around the back there."
Well that was very vague. There were 4 planes "around the back" so I went on each one, asking if it was the right one or not. Talk about anxiety. So funny looking back on it now. Especially since I ended up making the flight- hallelujah!
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