Quito – 
In order to be at the airport in time despite the expected traffic chaos in the morning, we ask the ladies at the reception to order a taxi for 6:30 a.m. and try to get a few extra hours of sleep. Unfortunately we have made the calculation without a group of newcomers who make a ruckus in the middle of the night… Well then, I am not supposed to be quiet when getting up at 6 a.m. then myself .
The arranged cab seems to be more of a friend who is earning some extra money. The taxi costs are 30 USD including the entrance fees to the airport area. The traffic is really bad. On the radio they say it’s especially terrible today because there’s been a landslide and the more elevated outskirts of Quito are partially cut off.
Mariscal Sucre Airport
But once we leave the city it gets a lot better and we reach the airport Mariscal Sucre with enough time for a nice breakfast. The first thing we do is check in our luggage though. This is a good idea as we get sent a little bit through the airport before we get the obligatory permit A38. We have to first pay the Galapagos tax of 20 USD per person. Mario’s Greek passport leads once again to some confusion. What kind of country is this? I tell to the somewhat puzzled lady that this is a Greek passport. “Ah… that is Europe?” More confusion. I narrow down the geographical location a bit further, then the penny finally drops . Of course, she knows Greece, however she considered the “strange hieroglyphics”, which turn out to be Greek writing, to be Cyrillic. Kind of understandable.
After a successful exchange we continue to the luggage check, because our 10 chickens and the collection of seeds from different cultivated plants are not to be brought to Galapagos, nor is the assortment of tropical fruit and vegetables .
Jokes aside: Find out what you’re not allowed to take along with you, because you’ll always be checked on the way to and also between the islands.
Spoilers: Large toy vans with Stormtrooper crews are allowed, but regularly lead to delays in check-in by amused control personnel.
We get through and our bags get their well-deserved tapes.
Located opposite the nice new airport, we have breakfast in the restaurant centre.
