Peru/Ecuador crossing to Quito

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Crossing from Peru to Ecuador/Quito

We took an overnight bus from Haunchaco to Mancora and dumped most of our stuff with our friends, After another wonderful breakfast in Green eggs and Ham we jumped another bus headed for Machala this time with Civa.

All went smoothly at the Peruvian border though John didn't get back tax money for goods, even though his paperwork was in order, We didn't really think that Peruvian customs would just hand over cash paperwork or not.

Back on the bus we covered the last couple of miles to the Ecuadorian immigration building in the town of Huaguillas where we once again jumped off to get our Ecuadorian entry stamps. I made the mistake of using the bathroom at the immigration office, word of advice, Find a bush and squat behind it or hold it, truly dire.

It was very hot and humid so we loitered around the bus waiting for everyone to get stamped, I just happened to ask the baggage chap how long it would take us to get to Machala.

" Sorry Senora but this bus is going to Guayaquil"

I produced my tickets which clearly stated Machala, Just then another chap entered the conversation and told me another bus would be along soon and our tickets would be valid, We quickly grabbed our bags from the luggage hold and the Guayaquil bus roared off leaving us in a cloud of dust…….literally.

True to his word it wasn't long before another bus rolled in, this time packed, we squeezed down the aisle with John spitting fire and off we set, This was not what we paid for, Welcome back to Ecuador.

The bus driver was a lunatic and played chicken with another lorry which was carrying above all things, tanks of gas, we were a wee bit nervous as he threw the bus into the corners as we clung on the the hand rails above us. All the windows were closed and the heat was immense as we roared through miles and miles of Banana plantations and small bamboo stilted houses, after 2 hours this gave way to the outskirts of the city of Machala, I felt I would pass out with the heat and the smell of sardined humans, In Ecuador there is a belief among some that fresh air blowing in your face can cause colds and respiratory problems so it's not unusual to be in this situation, God knows how many viruses and bugs were floating around in this trapped air.

We jumped off near what looked like the centre of town and a group of kind Cubanos suggested a nearby hotel. It was average but I didn't care had it have been a barn, it had air conditioning.

Machala is sticky hot even though at this stage it was 8pm. We showered turned the AC up full and went in search of food, Its a dirty noisy town and we ate quickly, bought tickets for a bus to Quito the following morning, walked back to the crisp coolness of the room and crashed out.

We took Pan Americana bus the following morning, choosing this bus as it would leave us in the new town Quito rather than the big bus station in the Old town which was more convenient for us. Departing a half hour late we started though the Banana plantations towards Quito. The bus stopped every half hour and you could feel the passengers frustrations as we crawled along, the driver stopping occasionally to chat to pals or buy sodas and generally piss around. We had asked several times when we bought the tickets if the bus was direct and were assured it was, this was what we wanted to avoid. On top of that all the windows on the bus were stuck or glued, I was the only one I could see that had a window that opened about an inch, (this after John took to it like a bull in a china shop and forced it open). It was like sitting in the soup pot.

We arrived 2 hours late to Quito and grabbed a taxi and headed to our pals house.
Being back in Quito is a little strange but it is lovely to see old pals and as usual our Ecuadorian family have spoiled us and took us in with open arms, they have been truly missed.

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