No Fixed Plans

I started my South American journey with a 13 hour flight from Melbourne to Chile. I started talking to the two people next to me, where I learned they also had a connection to Lima so I was able to follow them through security to kinda figure out where I was going

After having a 3 hour layover in Chile, I then had a 4.75 hour flight to Lima. It was this flight where they informed me that I would need to check in my carry on bag and wouldn’t get it back for 14 hours. Due to all my electronics (and almost full water bottle) in there, it stressed me out a bit, but after reassurance from my uncle Nathan (and realising there was nothing I could do about it now), I calmed down. 

I had a 7 hour layover in Lima, where I had lounge access due to my uncle Nathan putting in a bid for me (thank you!). I was able to eat and charge my phone but this is where my lack of sleeping for 36 hours finally caught up to me and I ended up falling asleep, upright, in a chair for 45 minutes. 

Then it was time to catch my flight from Lima to Guayaquil (which was 2 hours), where I finally got all of my luggage back (turns out everything was fine) and I had the fun task of waiting out the front of domestic check ins to open. This was about 2 hours of waiting (despite one of those hours 2 LATAM airline staff had been sitting in front of their computers). Going through security, they made me take off my shoes- something I highly wouldn’t recommend if you’ve been travelling for 32 hours without a change of clothes. I could then finally change my clothes and then only had about an hour before my flight. Someone on my group tour started messaging in the group chat asking who else was arriving in Quito that day, where me and one other woman said yes. I started looking around the airport and saw someone who I thought could be the other woman. We got on the flight, and by pure chance, we ended up sitting next to each other. Turns out she was doing the same thing with me. We ended up talking the whole flight and taking the same transfer back, and that brings me to the first day in Quito.