Carrie and I needed to get more pages in our passports, so we went to the United States embassy here in Quito.
The whole process was actually quite simple:
- Go in, fill out a form
- wait for your number to be called
- explain to the person behind the glass that you need more pages in your passport
- wait 25 minutes
- get back your passport with more pages in it
Our passports now look more like little books than just little passports.
Look at the flag in the distance. It's the red, white, and blue. This was as close as I could get without getting in trouble for taking a picture.
We’re excited to fill up those extra pages!
Things you might want to know:
How much did the extra pages cost?
$0.00.
Good stuff!
I got in trouble for taking this picture. But they didn't make me delete it, so that's good.
Interesting points from the United States Embassy:
- Even before you enter the grounds of the United States embassy, there are guards there letting you know that it’s not okay to take pictures. No electronic devices were allowed in with us. Carrie had to check her Kindle, and I had to check my camera, at the door. We could, however, take our watches.
- The embassy grounds are BIG, and the embassy is significantly outside of the city. Every day, we walk by the embassies of England/Germany (same building), Belgium, Norway, and Mexico. All of them are pretty much right here in the city, and while they do have gates and ways to close things off, none are as expansive as the grounds of the U.S. Embassy. For me, it was neat to see, a bit pretentious, and intimidating, all at the same time.
- To get there: Take the Ecovia all the way to the Rio Coca Station ($0.25). From there, take a taxi to the “embajada (em-buh-hah-duh) Americana. Make sure they “empieza la metro, por favor” (“Use the meter, please” It’s about $1.50 to the embassy.)