¡Buenos días!
After 4 years of commuting Jose and I are finally living together! Last Saturday, I arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador. I left the Netherlands at 10 AM and was outside the airport at 6 PM (UTC-5h), where Jose was waiting to pick me up.
It was a long, tiring, and emotional day. Luckily I slept pretty well, not much, though. Normally, before a flight, I feel some anxiety because of last-minute stuff I still need to do. This results in sleepless nights where I’m making lists in my head of things I should not forget. But not this time, even though I was not nearly done with packing.
The night before people came over, I had some last late-night chats with Job and woke up at 4:30 AM to finish packing my suitcases, shower, double-check my documents, and get ready. I only brought two big suitcases, a carry-on and a backpack (so many clothes are still at home). Two hours later, I left with my family to the airport. Due to ‘Corona’ we could not sit anywhere nice for a cup of coffee. Luckily some shops were open, and you could take away. I stayed with them until 9 AM, but then it was really time to start saying goodbye. So far I had not been nervous or emotional but during the hugs, there were a few tears.
My flight started boarding at 9:19. Fortunately, there was no line for security and passport control, so at precisely 9:19 am, I passed both checks. I walked towards my gate to find an extremely long line. This was disappointing because I hoped I would have a row to myself. I expected that not many people are flying during the pandemic, but after seeing this line, I wasn’t sure if there were any empty seats.
I was among the last to enter the plane, and someone else had already taken my seat. Therefore I got a seat somewhere else, and I had 4 seats to myself. So very lucky! It was a long flight with a layover in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. From Amsterdam, KLM is the only airline that directly flies to Ecuador. If you, like me, are going to Guayaquil, there is a short layover in Quito. The flight went pretty smoothly, and we got a meal during the flight, a package full of snacks and, before landing, some warm snacks.
In Guayaquil, I had to show a negative PCR test and fill in a health form to enter. After that, I went to immigration, and they checked my visa. Everything was fine, and I passed all security points. Jose was waiting outside the airport for me because no one was allowed inside the airport due to restrictions.
I was super happy to see Jose but also had mixed feelings because I was sad about leaving my family. I hadn’t been able to sleep during the flight and was very tired. Once we got to the house, everyone was waiting for me. They organized a barbecue with a lot of drinks. Due to the lack of sleep, I did not feel the alcohol (or did not notice the difference). However, the following day I woke up hungover. It was a nice welcome by my “new” family.
