Miami to Guayaquil

Miami to Guayaquil : 

We got into MIA at about 10:30, a slight issue with our baggage but all ended well.

Our accommodation for the evening was the Days Inn Miami International Airport. This property does not receive stellar reviews, but we found it very adequate for a close to the airport one night stay. 

We slept in till about 7:00am and had a light breakfast of Cuban Toast and coffee at the hotel restaurant. The airport shuttle got us back to MIA quickly. 

Even though we were about 9 hours early we were able to check in and made our way through security. 

We are flying American to Guayaquil, thus no status perks. Given our length of stay we opted to purchase a one time Admiral Club Pass. Worth it for the amount of time we will be waiting for our flight. 

Most of our time is spent reading and continued research. We later met a couple from Seattle are who are also on this journey. A few minutes before our flight we make our way to the gate. While waiting I noticed a lady carrying a clipboard with a yellow and blue ribbon attached. This ribbon identifies her as a Lindblad Nat Geo person. We check in with her and learn there are 38 other passengers who will be flying with us to Guayaquil.  While waiting to board we meet another couple from Michigan/South Carolina and we chat while waiting. 

The boarding process is rather hectic as 90% of the gate announcements are in Spanish. I catch a few words and phrases here and there.  Our boarding group is finally announced and we board and quickly store our carryon and take our seats.  The flight was rather unremarkable. We were able to see lights on Cuba as we flew over. 

Arriving in Guayaquil we process through immigration and customs. We then exit the terminal where we are met by an other representative and are whisked off to the Hilton for the evening.  

Our Hotel for the evening is the Hilton Colon Guayaquil. A very nice property wish we had more than 4 hours here. Will get a bit more time here on our return. 

We have been informed of the game plan for the next day. Wake up 0500, bags out, breakfast, turn health forms, bus to aeropuerto, fly to San Cristobal, get on boat, enjoy. 

It’s 0105 and we are hitting the rack.