towards the departure-gate.
'And remember,' called Amber over the bobbing heads of the crowd. 'Keep your eyes open!'
Alex collapsed into his seat, pulled his cap down over his eyes and slept away the flight. The man in the next seat shook him awake as the plane began the descent to Quito airport.
'Time to buckle up,' smiled the man. 'And take a peek out there. It's quite a sight.'
Alex looked out through the window of the plane and gasped at the beautiful landscape below him. The plane was flying down the central highland valley which ran from north to south between two chains of craggy, snow-topped Andean peaks. The sun was just rising above the peaks, bathing the mountains and the valley in a golden glow. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was spread out ahead of them, resting snugly in the bottom of the highland valley. The sun highlighted the red roofs and whitewashed buildings of the Old Town area and, beyond that, it reflected off the surface of the Pan-American Highway, which carried on down the central valley like a long, thin tail.
'It's called the Valley of the Volcanoes,' said Alex's neighbour. He pointed to a flat-topped mountain very close to the city. 'There's one, see? Pichincha. It's still active.'
'Really?' said Alex, staring at the mountain.
'Oh, yes. They have to close the airport sometimes, when Pichincha's grumbling. The volcanic ash gets in the jet engines and blocks them up. They don't like that.'
Alex smiled and gazed at the volcano, hoping to see a spurt of volcanic ash, but Pichincha sat quietly in the morning sun. The plane dipped lower and lower until Alex could no longer see the mountain tops. It came in low over the fields and paddocks of the fertile lower slopes of the Andes and touched down on the runway of the Aeropuerto Mariscal Sucre as lightly as a feather.
His father was waiting for him in the area just beyond passport control. Alex saw the familiar figure, standing head and shoulders above the crowd, and suddenly, like a thump in the chest, he realized how much he had been missing him. It had been two months since his father had left for Quito with his SAS unit. Their mission was to help the Ecuadorian army to track down and capture a local drugs baron. His father was not in uniform today, though. The unit had been given a week's leave for Christmas, and he was taking Alex to the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador.
'Dad!' yelled Alex, beginning to run. 'Over here!'
His father reached out and caught Alex as he skidded to a stop on the marble floor, then grabbed him up in a bear hug. The people around them smiled as they watched father and son, both blond and grey-eyed and both so obviously pleased to see one another.
'OK,' gasped Alex, as his father's embrace threatened to crack a few ribs, 'you can let go now.'
'Still ugly, then?' said his father, standing back and frowning down at him.
'Still old, then?' retorted Alex, scowling back.
His father grinned. 'Come on,' he said, grabbing Alex's bag, 'let's get your horrible face out of here before people start throwing up.'
'Sure you can walk to the car without help?' said Alex.
They left the building and headed for the jeep, trading insults and grinning like a pair of clowns.
'We'll stay in Quito tonight,' Alex's dad explained, once they were on the road. 'Tomorrow, we're driving to Riobamba and catching the train down to Guayaquil. We'll fly from there to the islands. We can ride on the roof of the train, if you want. It's a bit of an adventure.'
'Sounds good to me,' said Alex, settling back in his seat. This was going to be a great holiday.
He looked over to the other side of the road, where a long line of lorries and trucks were queuing to get into the airport. They were all packed full of flowers.
'Some of those flowers'll be on sale in New York before the day's out,' said his father. 'They're a big part of the local economy.'
'Even in December?' asked Alex.
His dad nodded. 'I know it's hard to believe when you
'And remember,' called Amber over the bobbing heads of the crowd. 'Keep your eyes open!'
Alex collapsed into his seat, pulled his cap down over his eyes and slept away the flight. The man in the next seat shook him awake as the plane began the descent to Quito airport.
'Time to buckle up,' smiled the man. 'And take a peek out there. It's quite a sight.'
Alex looked out through the window of the plane and gasped at the beautiful landscape below him. The plane was flying down the central highland valley which ran from north to south between two chains of craggy, snow-topped Andean peaks. The sun was just rising above the peaks, bathing the mountains and the valley in a golden glow. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was spread out ahead of them, resting snugly in the bottom of the highland valley. The sun highlighted the red roofs and whitewashed buildings of the Old Town area and, beyond that, it reflected off the surface of the Pan-American Highway, which carried on down the central valley like a long, thin tail.
'It's called the Valley of the Volcanoes,' said Alex's neighbour. He pointed to a flat-topped mountain very close to the city. 'There's one, see? Pichincha. It's still active.'
'Really?' said Alex, staring at the mountain.
'Oh, yes. They have to close the airport sometimes, when Pichincha's grumbling. The volcanic ash gets in the jet engines and blocks them up. They don't like that.'
Alex smiled and gazed at the volcano, hoping to see a spurt of volcanic ash, but Pichincha sat quietly in the morning sun. The plane dipped lower and lower until Alex could no longer see the mountain tops. It came in low over the fields and paddocks of the fertile lower slopes of the Andes and touched down on the runway of the Aeropuerto Mariscal Sucre as lightly as a feather.
His father was waiting for him in the area just beyond passport control. Alex saw the familiar figure, standing head and shoulders above the crowd, and suddenly, like a thump in the chest, he realized how much he had been missing him. It had been two months since his father had left for Quito with his SAS unit. Their mission was to help the Ecuadorian army to track down and capture a local drugs baron. His father was not in uniform today, though. The unit had been given a week's leave for Christmas, and he was taking Alex to the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador.
'Dad!' yelled Alex, beginning to run. 'Over here!'
His father reached out and caught Alex as he skidded to a stop on the marble floor, then grabbed him up in a bear hug. The people around them smiled as they watched father and son, both blond and grey-eyed and both so obviously pleased to see one another.
'OK,' gasped Alex, as his father's embrace threatened to crack a few ribs, 'you can let go now.'
'Still ugly, then?' said his father, standing back and frowning down at him.
'Still old, then?' retorted Alex, scowling back.
His father grinned. 'Come on,' he said, grabbing Alex's bag, 'let's get your horrible face out of here before people start throwing up.'
'Sure you can walk to the car without help?' said Alex.
They left the building and headed for the jeep, trading insults and grinning like a pair of clowns.
'We'll stay in Quito tonight,' Alex's dad explained, once they were on the road. 'Tomorrow, we're driving to Riobamba and catching the train down to Guayaquil. We'll fly from there to the islands. We can ride on the roof of the train, if you want. It's a bit of an adventure.'
'Sounds good to me,' said Alex, settling back in his seat. This was going to be a great holiday.
He looked over to the other side of the road, where a long line of lorries and trucks were queuing to get into the airport. They were all packed full of flowers.
'Some of those flowers'll be on sale in New York before the day's out,' said his father. 'They're a big part of the local economy.'
'Even in December?' asked Alex.
His dad nodded. 'I know it's hard to believe when you
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