Day 1: Houston, TX - Part 2: Itinerary

First, off here is your humble author relaxing in the President's Club in Houston. Thanks to Pat for the spontaneous snapshot. I post it because it captures my current state: relaxed, yet hard at work on the blog.

Back to the task at hand.

Here is our route over the next twelve days.

We fly into Quito tonight and then will proceed Southwest to Guyaquil via domestic airline Aerogal tomorrow morning. We will then be met by our personal tour guide and drive west to Salinas. On the map, it is about where the "G" in Guyaquil is printed. Over the next 8 or so days we will make our way up the coast from Salinas, north to Manta, with a few stops along the way. We will then spend a few days in the Manta area before returning to Quito on the 26th (flying from Manta to Quito on Aerogal). Approximately 1.5 days in Quito before returning back home.

We will be travelling by car save for the 2 domestic flights. One way airfares average about $50, which is pretty cheap and saves us some time.

So we have hired a real estate company to provide us a personal tour guide and transportation for the 12 days. The cost was completely reasonable. Plus, it took the pressure of myself to learn Spanish. Part of our experience, I am sure, will be the interactions with the locals, as facilitated by our tour guides.

Did you know: Ecuador's economy relies on oil exports for 25% of its economy and is the 32nd largest oil exporter in the world. Any guesses on who is #1? No Googling allowed.