Border crossing Peru to Ecuador
7 April
After a hearty breakfast at our regular joint we set off with Thomas and Louisa into the unknown - the border crossing between Peru and Ecuador. This is infamous for being one of the worst border crossings in South America and we chose to do this in possibly the most dangerous way making use of local taxis and avoiding the direct bus - madness?!
Comforted by our safety in numbers, we hitched a ride from Mancora in a 1974 American Dodge. This ride is pretty much summarised by Thomas - see quotes.
At the border we were unsurprisingly swarmed upon by 2 men who told us if we stuck with them we were guaranteed a safe crossing. We knew this was completely unnecessary however one of them was completely insistant, even getting in the car to come with us from the customs office to the border (a ridiculous 5km away). Our driver then dropped us off in the middle of the chaotic market leaving us to fend for oursleves against our conmen! We eventually managed to get rid of them after telling them there was no way we were going to give them any money and felt very vulnerable as we walked through this border town across a 20m bridge and into Ecuador. Once at the other side of the bridge we first had to buy and onward bus ticket before getting our entry stamp into Ecuador. We had to leave our bags on the bus, catch a taxi to the customs office where we prayed that the bus would actually pick us up as promised and we would be reunited with our lives - our backpacks.
Amazingly this all occurred relaively smoothly - Nicky has a brief heart stopping moment when the official had to look up visa requirements for South Africa, but fortunately the information she had this time was correct, and she was ecstatic when her passport was stamped.
It was incredible how much the vegetation and scenery changed almost immediately from a barren Peru to lush green mountains and rain - the pot holes and mudslides along the road making for precarious passage, and as a result a flat tyre on our bus trip! The plan was to go through to Vilcabamba but due to the delay after changing 2 bus tyres we arrived really late in Loja and decided to rather stay the night.
7 April
After a hearty breakfast at our regular joint we set off with Thomas and Louisa into the unknown - the border crossing between Peru and Ecuador. This is infamous for being one of the worst border crossings in South America and we chose to do this in possibly the most dangerous way making use of local taxis and avoiding the direct bus - madness?!
Comforted by our safety in numbers, we hitched a ride from Mancora in a 1974 American Dodge. This ride is pretty much summarised by Thomas - see quotes.
At the border we were unsurprisingly swarmed upon by 2 men who told us if we stuck with them we were guaranteed a safe crossing. We knew this was completely unnecessary however one of them was completely insistant, even getting in the car to come with us from the customs office to the border (a ridiculous 5km away). Our driver then dropped us off in the middle of the chaotic market leaving us to fend for oursleves against our conmen! We eventually managed to get rid of them after telling them there was no way we were going to give them any money and felt very vulnerable as we walked through this border town across a 20m bridge and into Ecuador. Once at the other side of the bridge we first had to buy and onward bus ticket before getting our entry stamp into Ecuador. We had to leave our bags on the bus, catch a taxi to the customs office where we prayed that the bus would actually pick us up as promised and we would be reunited with our lives - our backpacks.
Amazingly this all occurred relaively smoothly - Nicky has a brief heart stopping moment when the official had to look up visa requirements for South Africa, but fortunately the information she had this time was correct, and she was ecstatic when her passport was stamped.
It was incredible how much the vegetation and scenery changed almost immediately from a barren Peru to lush green mountains and rain - the pot holes and mudslides along the road making for precarious passage, and as a result a flat tyre on our bus trip! The plan was to go through to Vilcabamba but due to the delay after changing 2 bus tyres we arrived really late in Loja and decided to rather stay the night.
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