January 3 – Travel Day

Travel from Easton, PA to Quito, Ecuador – 16 hours door-to-door!

We left Easton early this morning and flew from Newark to Houston and then from Houston to Quito.  It was a long day of travel.  We occupied ourselves with class readings (about volcanoes, their destruction, and types of deposits left after an eruption), listening to ipods, and trying to find comfortable positions to sleep (I was not as successful as some of my classmates at this endeavor). 

I was lucky enough to have a window seat on the flight from Houston to Quito.  It was cloudy in Houston, but soon after take-off we ascended above the clouds.  It was as if we were flying over a sea of clouds bathed in sunlight.

When we arrived in Quito it was after 11 o’clock.  From the plane we could see a city lit up with lights.  We traveled back to the hotel and ascended the stairs with our bags.  I have not experienced any altitude side-effects yet, but then again we are not at the highest elevation that we will ascend during this trip (which will be in the Andes).  I’m off to get some rest before our tour of the local university and city tomorrow!