Our final vacation dinner - tomorrow night we have to cook for ourselves!
The last super:
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Fort Lauderdale
So we are now in our 9th temporary residence since November 26th (if you count one Airbnb and the 45 person cruise ship), the Holiday Inn Express close to the airport. It still amazes me that you can wake up near the Southern Hemisphere and end up in Miami in time for dinner.
Our final vacation dinner - tomorrow night we have to cook for ourselves!
The last super:
Our final vacation dinner - tomorrow night we have to cook for ourselves!
The last super:
45,000 Feet on the Way to Miami
Up at 5:30 am, taxi to airport, 1 hour flight to Bogata, Columbia, and now the last leg to Miami.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Final Day in Quito
Anne visited an art museum (which was once the home of the artist) this morning which was one her trip highlights (I was too tired to join her). We saw a print of this artist in our Airbnb in Lima. See - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oswaldo_Guayasam%C3%ADn
Several photos to follow. We met up later in the day in “Colonial Quito”, also known as the old town.
More details to follow.
We had an excellent dinner at Casa Gangotena which is in a pristine and elegant space in a 5 star hotel by the same name. Regrettably a few food pix follow also. Here are Anne’s pix.
Several photos to follow. We met up later in the day in “Colonial Quito”, also known as the old town.
More details to follow.
We had an excellent dinner at Casa Gangotena which is in a pristine and elegant space in a 5 star hotel by the same name. Regrettably a few food pix follow also. Here are Anne’s pix.
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
More Quito
We got off to a slow start this morning and did not make it to the start of the sky tram until 11 am. This is one of the world's highest aerial lifts, that takes passengers on a 2.5km ride (10 minutes) up the flanks of Volcán Pichincha to the top of Cruz Loma at 15,000 feet. Alas it rained a bit and our equatorial sun went into hiding, so the views were great but not over the top.
We could not call Uber front the base of the sky tram ride, so had to take the waiting taxi. The driver did not understand where we wanted to go, so we had him take us back to our hotel, figuring we could walk from there. Bad idea. Not only was the walk to the Contemporary Art Museum arduous (I have found that the altitude makes it difficult for me to walk long distances), but there was no art in this museum - turns out the lovely building has been taken over by the school of architecture.
So we went by taxi to Plaza Foch, named after a famous general, because we had been advised that it was an interesting place to visit. Alas, it rained a bit and the average age of those hanging out in the bars and coffee shops was 25, so we had a drink, walked back to the hotel, watched CNN on BBC (the only channel in English), ordered room service pizza, and stayed in.
Some views of Quito:
We could not call Uber front the base of the sky tram ride, so had to take the waiting taxi. The driver did not understand where we wanted to go, so we had him take us back to our hotel, figuring we could walk from there. Bad idea. Not only was the walk to the Contemporary Art Museum arduous (I have found that the altitude makes it difficult for me to walk long distances), but there was no art in this museum - turns out the lovely building has been taken over by the school of architecture.
So we went by taxi to Plaza Foch, named after a famous general, because we had been advised that it was an interesting place to visit. Alas, it rained a bit and the average age of those hanging out in the bars and coffee shops was 25, so we had a drink, walked back to the hotel, watched CNN on BBC (the only channel in English), ordered room service pizza, and stayed in.
Some views of Quito:
Fellow Travelers
When I first encountered Robert and Annie Cohen on the Lindblad cruise ship, their French accents and jump-to-the-head-of-the-line manners stood out among the other 43 Caucasian Americans. I saw them from time to time on the trip, but had no occasion to chat with them. I was surprised to see them come along on the sea kayaking trip - they did not look like the type to enjoy such - but they were very adept and clearly had a good time.
The next time I interacted with them was at the airport in the Galapagos, when they were the first to learn that Lindblad had screwed up our flights. We shared a frantic couple of hours dealing with the crisis along with a third couple who were supposed to fly to Quito (though not as part of the Lindblad organized “Quito Extension”). During the next 12 hours, we were together waiting, flying, and motoring to our hotel together and found them to be easy to get along with.
So, the next day (Monday), Anne and I spent the whole day with them on our organized tours and meals. We had lunch and diner together as well as spending hours together in the van. Naturally over this time we learned a lot about them and their lives - and thus this extended narrative!
Robert and Annie own an apartment in New York (where they spend half the year), an apartment in Paris (Annie was born in Paris), and a country home in the Adirondacks in New York. They have two adult children and four grand children, and travel a lot. Robert attended a top level college for the French elite in Paris based on his test scores and has a PHD in international finance. He was CEO of a major French bank for many years and is now the CEO of a South Korean bank. They are wealthy. And they are interesting as individuals and as a married couple who have successfully raised two children (they met when she was 19 and he was 20). He also turned 70 recently.
I felt as if we connected on a personal level, just as people. Though on a material level we are not equals (by what measure I can only imagine), there are many touch points in the arc of our lives, so perhaps we will stay in touch and share stories again - this time in Manhattan!
The next time I interacted with them was at the airport in the Galapagos, when they were the first to learn that Lindblad had screwed up our flights. We shared a frantic couple of hours dealing with the crisis along with a third couple who were supposed to fly to Quito (though not as part of the Lindblad organized “Quito Extension”). During the next 12 hours, we were together waiting, flying, and motoring to our hotel together and found them to be easy to get along with.
So, the next day (Monday), Anne and I spent the whole day with them on our organized tours and meals. We had lunch and diner together as well as spending hours together in the van. Naturally over this time we learned a lot about them and their lives - and thus this extended narrative!
Robert and Annie own an apartment in New York (where they spend half the year), an apartment in Paris (Annie was born in Paris), and a country home in the Adirondacks in New York. They have two adult children and four grand children, and travel a lot. Robert attended a top level college for the French elite in Paris based on his test scores and has a PHD in international finance. He was CEO of a major French bank for many years and is now the CEO of a South Korean bank. They are wealthy. And they are interesting as individuals and as a married couple who have successfully raised two children (they met when she was 19 and he was 20). He also turned 70 recently.
I felt as if we connected on a personal level, just as people. Though on a material level we are not equals (by what measure I can only imagine), there are many touch points in the arc of our lives, so perhaps we will stay in touch and share stories again - this time in Manhattan!
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