Depart Quito - Return to United States (San Francisco).

It was time to go home. From Panama to Peru and Ecuador, we saw and learned so much. People and places… I tried to capture as much as I could through words and photographs. Thank you Freddie, Sofy, and Beto for sharing with us your passions for your countries. I became quite passionate myself building the website to preserve the experience. Years from now, we can go back and revisit our trip and say, "Oh yeah, I remember!"

Well, we woke up on New Year's Eve in Quito, Ecuador. People in the streets were already starting to gear up for the festivities. Not all of us in the tour group would be heading to the airport at the same time to catch our flights back to the states. Peggy and I (San Francisco), and Sarah (Chicago), would be leaving the soonest to catch a 3 PM flight.

But we did have enough time to see one more thing: La Iglesias de la Compania de Jesus, The Church of the Society of Jesus. It is among the best-known churches in Quito because of its large central nave, which is profusely decorated with gold leaf, gilded plaster, and wood carvings. Photography was not allowed, but "profusely" is the key word here, as in every square inch on the inside was covered with something amazingly ornate. Building the church started in 1605 and was finally completed 160 years later. Worth a look in Google Images.

The flight to Panama City was not crowded, nice. The 7-hour flight to San Francisco aboard COPA Airlines was packed, however, with lots of small children, some not as happy as others. Somebody got sick, prompting flight attendants to converge on the scene with rolls of paper towels. Anyway, landed in San Francisco about 11 PM and caught a taxi to the Inn At Oyster Point (recommended) in South San Francisco where we had a room waiting for us. We turned the gas fireplace on, poured a glass of wine and wished each other Happy New Year…