Nobody tells you how brutal a 3 AM alarm feels when you’re running on excitement and not nearly enough sleep. I grabbed my bags, made my way to Pittsburgh International in the dark, and caught my flight to Miami. We landed with the sun up and made the most of the layover, heading straight to the beach. The water was warm and clear in a way that caught me off guard, and the strip had a great energy to it. Exotic cars lined the streets the whole way down. Not a bad way to kill a few hours before the real trip started.

Then came the flight to Quito. We touched down at night and made our way to the hotel tired but glad to finally be there. Before falling asleep I kept thinking about the day: Pittsburgh, Miami, Quito. Three cities, two countries, one calendar day. It still doesn’t quite feel real.

Day one in Quito started at the Basilica de San Francisco, where a Sunday morning service happened to be going on. It being Mother’s Day made the whole scene feel especially lively and warm. The tour afterward was genuinely interesting, covering the cultural and religious shift that followed the Spanish invasion and the conversion of the indigenous population to Catholicism. Fascinating history, though I’ll admit there were moments where I felt a little uneasy about how much of it seemed to be celebrated rather than just acknowledged. After the tour, we walked around a city that was fully alive. Streets were closed, markets were set up everywhere, people were out in force. We ate really well for almost nothing, between street food and a great little local spot we stumbled into. After some effort (and a few failed attempts), we got a taxi up to the Virgin of the Panecillo and took in some incredible views of the city below. That night wrapped up with a good dinner and dancing with locals.

Two days in and it already feels like a lot. I don’t know if I can keep up this pace, but I’m excited to try, and even more excited for everything still ahead.