Flying to Ecuador from Europe
If this is your first episode of this journey then take a minute to read this note.
Weather:
Costs:
With a country the size of a freckle you can't blame us that we like to go on holiday abroad, this time it was Ecuador and the Galapagos islands after the initial plans to go to New Zealand changed because of the weather at this time of the year. With the last few weeks being abnormally prone to airline accidents (Greece, Peru, Indonesia, Palermo) we listened carefully to the flight attendant safety instructions, hoping we wouldn't need to open the door next to us.
The first flight on our route to Quito was an 8am flight to Amsterdam. To keep myself busy on the flight I opted for the non-fiction classic inspired by the Galapagos 'The origin of the species' by Charles Darwin, and the strategy/RPG game Fire Emblem.
After arriving at Schiphol Airport it doesn't take long to get a glimpse of the relaxed attitude of the Dutch. Stepping out of the airport for a fag there's a square pond where people can sit and relax watching the giant TV screen across the street. I must admit that I liked the idea of watching MTV in the sun after a three hour flight.
About Amsterdam
The good thing about Amsterdam is that it takes only 3 stops to get by train from the airport to the city centre. Call me narrow minded but Amsterdam isn't a place to go for a holiday. The only reasons why you'd want to go there are to smoke some pot legally, tour the red light district or get drunk on Heinken while watching an Ajax football. Nonetheless, I like Europe's vice city as a transit point getting to the centre is easy, distances are walker friendly, and people are so much fun to watch.
To get to the centre of Amsterdam all you've got to do is catch a train from the airport to the centre which is only three stops away. As we stepped out of the station and walked to the main street we were greeted by an array of shops that make their main income out souvenirs of the city's notorious vices. Unlike our last visit in November '03 we managed to find a good shopping street called De Kolk Str. which is accessed by entering one of the side streets on the main road that lead to the main square. In this street we found an adventure shop called Dump that robbed us of our time and money with the variety of equipment and clothing. I ended by spending 60 Euro on a cargo infantry trousers that had too many pockets to resist. We also got a clothes hanger, a leg money pouch and a green shirt for Madam P. Most of the shops were clothes shops though the urban fashion style of most of them, make a good stopping point and provide some respite from the heat. Madam also brought a new Gore Tex adventure shoes from the North face at a bargain price of 75 Euro. After an afternoon of shopping we returned to the airport at 7 to catch the 15 hr flight to Quito.
