What a change 45 degrees of latitude makes. We left the short-sleeve weather of Quito to face winter’s frigid blasts here in New England.
The return trip was arduous. Because we had to reschedule our flights, we could not find enough empty seats on a single flight for everyone in the class to return at the same time. So, seven students and I took an early flight, arriving at the Quito airport at 4:30 AM. The two legs of the trip went smoothly. We did have to negotiate rush-hour traffic in Boston but managed to arrive at Colby by 9:30 PM.
The second group did not fare as well. The 10:35 flight from Quito to Miami was on-time but a leak on the plane caused the plane to sit on the tarmac for over two hours before finally being cleared to take off. Those students and Sarah did not arrive in Waterville until well-past 3:00 AM.
So our trip had bookends of long, trying travel. The time between though was incredibly wonderful!