We wheeled our suitcases out to the taxi Joyce called up for us. She had a lot of connections in Cotacachi so she always called up her friends who could use the work and the extra money. He was prompt and helped us throw all of our suitcases in the back and we all found a seat comfortably inside the truck. Josh sat in the front because he is tall and needed the extra leg room.
About halfway back to Quito many of us took a short nap since it was about a two hour drive. I knew we had to get in as much sleep as we could because it was hard sleeping on an airplane. A little while later I started to become uncomfortable and really hoped that we were getting close to the airport because I needed to use the restroom. It wasn't quite an emergency yet.
We pulled up at the Quito Airport, thanked and paid our driver and headed in with our eight suitcases. We found the AeroMexico ticket counter and stood in line. We had to wait a bit so it was my cue to find the restroom before something bad happened. I was out and back in line within fifteen minutes or so and we barely moved in line. It was daunting because we just wanted to get through, check our bags and get our tickets so we can go through security and then relax before our flight. When it was finally our turn we got our bags onto the scale and the woman told us that she would not honor our letters like Seattle did and wave four of our eight bags. We explained that we were here doing a dental humanitarian trip and our bags had supplies in them. She still would not do it. We had to pay $30 each for the four bags. Ugh. Another expense we didn't need!
We got our tickets and headed towards security. Security was short and sweet which was nice. We did have to take our shoes, belts, jackets, etc. off and I had to take my computer our of its bag. Other than that, it went pretty smooth. We found our gate after putting our stuff back on and decided since we had the time to go wander the Quito Airport. We bought a few more souvenirs before we headed back to our gate.
We relaxed for a while before we were able to start boarding the plane. I got to sit next to mom and I was next to the window. We left Quito at 9:30 that morning. A little less than halfway our flight attendants started to serve breakfast. We received an omelet, fruit, ham and a cinnamon roll. I got orange juice with it. Mom and I watched Bohemian Rhapsody in tandem as we got closer to Mexico City for our layover. At one point I had to get up and use the restroom which I really hate doing on an airplane.
We started our descent into Mexico City. You could see the smog hovering above the city. Luckily this time we don't have to leave the airport.
We deplaned and headed through immigration again. We got another stamp in our passport and made our way to our next gate. We had to wait a bit until our next flight. I tried to spend the rest of my Pesos but I wanted to keep some as souvenirs for a craft project I will someday get to. I bought a pop and some Mexican chocolate for the ride back home. Mom found some vanilla and also bought some Mexican chocolate. We spent the rest of our time hanging out at the gate charging our phones at the small charging dock. We each went to the bathroom one more time.
It was finally time to board so we got in line. Our passports were checked one more time while we were in line by homeland security people. They put a purple sticker on the back of my passport. We boarded the plane and again, I got to sit by mom again.
We left Mexico City and headed to Seattle at 4:40 p.m. During the flight, I watched Life of the Party and I Feel Pretty just because I felt like watching some comedies. I did take a snooze here and there during the five hour flight. They did come by a couple hours in and gave us some dinner. We ate pasta, salad, a roll and some chocolate pudding and I just drank my Nalgene of water.
Around 9:00 p.m. local time, we began our descent into Seattle and I was so excited to finally be home. I was so ready to be home. I was ready for a hot shower, clean clothes and my bed. As I sat there, I remembered the last time I went to Ecuador back in September 2017 and when we got home I turned my phone on, the only text message was from Grammie saying that she was happy I was home and safe and was looking forward to my stories. This time, I will never get a message like that again from her and it made me really sad. I called Ben to let him know that we were in Seattle waiting to get off the plane.
We got to our gate and got off the plane. We were funneled through immigration again and used one of those machines you had to scan your passports and fingerprints into and then it took your picture. You got a print out that you took to the clerk that declared you were good to enter the US. We were all good to enter back into the US (like there would ever be a problem) and we headed to the baggage claim.
We grabbed all eight bags and wheeled them out to the loop outside so Tucker could come pick us up. Amy let him know we were ready to be picked up.
We saw his truck. He pulled over and helped us throw our bags into the back. We drove back to the dental office in Yelm. Mom and I piled our stuff into my Escape. It was nice to see that the Escape wasn't vandalized since it sat there for almost two weeks. We thanked Amy, Josh and Tucker and we drove off into Rainier.
I dropped mom off and helped her take her stuff into the house. I knew I was going to get home late as it was (this is why I took the following day off from work) because it was already almost midnight. I told mom I was going to home because I needed a shower and to sleep. We were both exhausted. I got back in the Escape and headed home. I got home and brought all my stuff in, took a shower and went to bed. Ben was already in bed sleeping because I told him I would be home super late. I was so excited to sleep in.
Next Adventure: Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros: Hoodie Night
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