Newly armed with freshly minted American passports, hot off some printing press in Washington DC and complete with true-to-life likenesses of Jackie and myself, we prepared elaborate plans to travel to Cuenca and dispel first-hand the retirement myths that ran rampant on the internet and in the newsletters, blogs and ebooks that we had consumed.

Again relying on our vast travel experience (ha), I heartily assumed the task of developing our travel itinerary. I began with the proposition ‘I hate airports, lines and waiting in general’. So the least amount of time doing any and all of the above, the better.

Priority number one (numero uno in Cuenca can’t wait to get there) is get there as fast as possible.

Now understand this; at this particular time the most direct (thusly shortest) round trip passage from Seattle-Tacoma international airport to Quito, Ecuador (and then onto Cuenca) was with American airlines and looked like this.

Seattle to LA, La to Miami, Miami to Quito, layover overnight, Quito to Cuenca.

Cuenca to Quito, layover overnight, Quito to Miami, Miami to LA, LA to Seattle.

How could it be any easier? We won’t get lost. It is the same route coming and going (familiarity breeds confidence. Right?). And best of all, this is the fastest route available. Yippee! I am a genius. Congrts to me. Success!

Now on to booking a hotel in Quito for our restful overnight layover coming and going. Having done such a stellar job of booking our flights, I researched Quito hotels as any experienced travel agent would. I didn’t settle on the first search engine choices. Patience prevails, research yields best results, close to airport, mid-range, one night stay, local charm, don’t need a spa, restaurant, boutique or hair stylist. A lot to consider for sure but, proven genius that I am, I found it.

The hotel To-Remain-Annonymous-Because-It-Might-Not-Have-Lived-Up-To-It’s-Hype in Quito, Ecuador. Fifteen minutes from the airport, old world charm, European owned, speak six languages, great pics on the net, and best of all right in the old budget ballpark. Perfect. I may just have a future career in this travel agent stuff.

So I book it coming and going.

Itinerary complete.

Ecuador here we come.
Am I good or what?