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Arriving in Quito was WAY less stressful than arriving in Santiago probably only because I'd done it in Santiago already.
I decided I needed to be better prepared for the taxi situation (with my spanish mostly) and also not to rush! So once I got out of customs I calmly took a seat and busied myself with my gear while I looked around and figured out a plan, that way I didn't get swooped on by taxi people and 'helpful' strangers.
Customs was weird, somehow I missed the part where you get a declaration form and when the guy asked for mine I tried to say I didn't have one. He asked me where I was from and I said New Zealand so he just waved me through the exit, my bags didn't go through the scanner or anything and I had food in them!
I had tried to google some info about transport from the airport and all I got was horror stories about people getting ripped-off, robbed, raped or all three so I stopped reading and decided I'd figure it out when I got there. Turns out there was a helpful desk at the airport and you tell them where you are going and they write the cost on a little ticket for you so when you get your taxi the driver can't charge you more.
The Taxi drive was EPIC!!! He took some crazy side street (I doubted my safety momentarily) that wasn't even properly constructed yet! There were piles of bricks and dirt everywhere and a few times my driver and the driver of the bus in front (there was only us on the road) had to get out to move a whole lot of bricks and then drive through, get out and put them back again. Needless to say the trip took a LONG TIME!!
P.S. The stupid sideways photo is of the bus in front of me weaving around a pile of bricks.
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Nick Great to see you are doing well!