Moving down South and crossing borders

So after Banos we took the bus down to Cuenca...officially the worst bus ride yet. The farmers are still striking over plans to privatise water so buses are avoiding certain parts of the country. This means that getting enywhere involves long complex routes scaling mountainsides. This would have been fine if the ecuadorians were skilled road builders. Unfortunately they are not. Even more unfortunately I managed to get a seat not only over a wheel for ultimate bump-sensitivity - but also opposite the toilet which appeared to use its own cess pit to flush..mmm. 12 hours later i stumbled from the bus so shook up and queasy all i could do was get to my hostel and sleep (and in a truly cultural way found a british tv channel and entertained myself with hot fuzz).
The next morning was altogether brighter, Cuenca as a city is very pretty, set out in very european squares with churches marking every plaza. The place is very proud of its indigenous heritage and houses some really interesting exhibitions. First i visited the cathedral of the immaculate conception (every good town should have one), there are more impressivley blinged up cathedrals in Quito but Cuenca´s has a more modest charm about it. The only thing lacking in modesty was a 10ft tall statue of Pope Juan Pablo in a very comical style at the front of the cathedral..i felt awful having to supress my school girl giggles.
The local aboriginal museum was fascinating objects originating from 1000 BC, a lot of the designs seem very asian but incredibly ornate and well preserved ceremonial items and the such. We also visited the musuem banco central after being told it was the best in Ecuador, it looked pretty impressive but unfortunately musuems aren´t big on foreign guests and nothing was catered to the english language so we had to guess work our way around a lot of the artefacts..although this may have actually made it more interesting!
Part of the large museum was inca ruins of a nunnery and a collection of native birds, toucans and parrots were very impressive but not as impressive as the alpacas just wandering around everywhere.
I only had one day in Cuenca which seemed to be enough, the next day we left early for our first border crossing. Cue another hellishly long bus journey (I am just loving these strikes) and the worst organised immigration system i have ever come across.
I am so glad i was with a group of backpackers for the crossing from Ecuador into Peru, it is so confusing. In order to get your leaving stamp a bus drops u at the ecuadorian side then drives off, after receiving your exit stamp you have to wait for another bus to take you over to the border. All seems very simple. Not at all. The second bus drops you on the edge of a large market and you then have to navigate your way through pushy stall holders and pickpockets (hugging your bag like it is your best friend) in order to find the actual border. Call me crazy but I was expecting police officers and fencing..ohh no, a tiny bridge and a laminated sign announcing ´welcome to peru´were all we found. On the otherside much of the same, market stalls and no police to be seen anywhere..it all felt like a dodgy practical joke. We eventually found the immigration office on the otherside who seemed to be having staffing issues and only had one woman stamping everyone in. Although whilst I waited I was entertained by the desperate money changers and their dodgy offers...
Finally got immigration sorted without any issues and hopped in a taxi to take us to Mancora and our first beach resort. As we hit the open road the sun was shining (baking us in the back seat) and the arid Peruvian landscape definitely had a different feel to Ecuador, here´s to hoping it offers as many great experiences!

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Part of trip: South American Adventure

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