May 9, 2021 (Author: J).
I was able to use miles to book our flight to Ecuador on one of my favorite airlines: JetBlue. Our flight left from Boston at 2 p.m. and had us arriving in Quito after 10 p.m. This made for a long travel day, but everything went fairly smoothly.
Although we were not leaving until the afternoon, we still set our alarms so that we could drop our dog and cat off at the pet sitter’s condo by 10 a.m. The early drop-off worked to our advantage because our airport pickup (booked through Boston Airport Express) arrived early. Our driver explained that he had another pickup right after us and was worried about the timing. Since we were all packed and ready to go, we did not mind leaving early.
Because it was a Sunday morning, there was no traffic on our way to Logan. We wound up arriving before noon, which gave us more than 2 hours to clear security and make it to our gate. With no bags to check and no lines at security, all of that time was unnecessary. After a leisurely lunch at the Mexican restaurant at the airport, we still had more than an hour until boarding. The airport was not crowded, but we did see many people disregarding mask requirements. We did our best to give those folks a wide-berth and crossed our fingers that no one was contagious. We passed the time until boarding looking at the planes, playing cards, and pacing around in the boarding area. Inevitably, P got antsy, but the excitement of finally going somewhere outweighed his annoyance at having to wait.
Our first flight boarded on time. Despite reminders to social distance, people still crowded the gate once the first boarding group was called. Not wanting to be left out of the fun, we stood up and milled about until our group was called. Once on the plane, I was excited to see that it had features like cabin humidification and touch-screen entertainment. (I hate the trend towards requiring me to lug multiple devices on a trip so that everyone in the family can be entertained on the flight). The JetBlue experience was much like it was pre-Covid. There were still complementary snacks and drinks, as well as food available for purchase. However, fresh items have been temporarily removed from the menu. The biggest surprise for me was that I did not have my usual pre-take-off panic attack. I am usually terrified to fly, but I only felt excitement during this trip. Perhaps all of the stress of the pandemic used up my reserve of fear. After a somewhat bumpy flight, we touched down in Fort Lauderdale ahead of schedule.
While Boston had been quiet, Fort Lauderdale was a zoo. People were packed into the waiting areas and many were not abiding by distancing and mask guidelines. In fairness, the percentage of non-compliant people was not any higher than in Boston. It was simply much more crowded, making it hard to avoid all the people wearing their masks on their chins or around their necks. After about 2 hours, a gate agent called our names and asked us to approach the podium. When we did so, it was quickly apparent that something was wrong. The process of checking our passports and Covid documentation took much longer than it should have, leading P to panic that we might be left behind. (With more than half the passengers queued up behind us, there was no chance of that). Eventually, the gate agent was able to get our information into the system and we were allowed to board. But the issues that we experienced were not unique to us. It turned out that JetBlue’s computers were not working properly, causing a big delay in the boarding process. Those passengers with proper documentation were all eventually boarded (and those without the required documentation were turned away in tears).
After the boarding fiasco, we enjoyed a smooth and pleasant flight to Quito. The captain did his best to make up for some of the lost time in flight and we touched down sometime before 11 p.m. Customs was painless. We had to show our Covid documentation again upon arrival and we were then directed to passport control. In my exhaustion, my DuoLingo Spanish failed me and I started blankly at the passport control agent when she asked how I was doing. Fortunately, she did not hold it against me and proceeded to stamp our passports and welcome us to Ecuador.
Once we were through customs, we quickly found the driver that I had prebooked through the hotel. While he spoke limited English, he happily chatted with us in Spanglish throughout the 45 minute drive to the hotel. P was exhausted by this point and spent the drive snoozing with his face smooshed uncomfortably against the car window.
There was some confusion on arrival because I thought that the hotel would bill us for the ride, while the driver was expecting a payment in cash. Once that was sorted out, we checked in to our room. I was pleased to be upgraded to a higher floor, which meant we had views of the surrounding mountains from our window. After figuring out how to work the blinds, we collapsed into bed and immediately fell asleep.
Travel Monkeys 