I have to call this "Day 0" because the official tour doesn't start until tomorrow.  The six of us who arrived yesterday spent the day in and around Quito, visiting some historical sites and then changing the itinerary Andres had planned for us so we could try to find some BIRDS.  The botanical garden would probably have been very productive had it not rained most of the time we were there.  Still, we managed good looks at Black-tailed Train Bearer, Sparkling Violet-Ear, Vermilion Flycatcher, Gray-breasted Martins, Blue-and-White Swallows, Great Thrushes, Rufous-collared Sparrows, Eared Doves, and several others we couldn't peg due to our inexperience with the birds of Ecuador and the incredibly lousy lighting.  We are very anxious to leave the city and head up to Yanacocha in the morning.

There is some concern for our fellow birders, wondering if the snow storms in the US delayed their departures.  Jean from Minnesota and Deb and Annie from Florida should have no problems, but we're a little worried about our friends from Ohio, Robin, Dan, and Doreene.  From what we can glean from the internet, it looks like they should be here on time, with five of the six landing at around 7:30 PM.  Poor Robin won't arrive until 10:19, which means she probably won't be in her room until around midnight, and Andres wants us to be ready to leave at 5:45 tomorrow morning.

Our travels were uneventful yesterday with a long layover in Miami.  On that note, I'd like to make a small suggestion to flight attendants.  When you want to explain to passengers on your flight that the movie won't be shown as planned, maybe you should not preface your statement with "I'm sorry, Ladies and Gentlemen, but we've had a technical malfunction . . . "  NOT words you want to hear when you're 36,000+ feet off the ground!