On the Road

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The following days were a combination of crap and really really crap, and served as a reminder that we had become too accustomed to the amazing transport systems throughout Mexico.

We had found the buses in Quito incredibly efficient because they drive around pretty much every street and pick up every Tom Dick and Harry- there will be a bus driving past anywhere at least every five minutes which will take you in any direction you could possibly want to go. This is really good in a city and means you are able to move around quickly. However, these are not the types of buses you want to get on to travel cross country.

So we woke up early on Saturday moring determined to get to the border before Sunday, 7am. We had around 24 hours which is a long time considering it was only about 600km to the border. Yeh right. This journey was going to take a long time. We had been informed that we should get a bus back up north, where we could get a direct bus to Cuenca. So we caught the bus back up to Ambato where said direct bus was. The journey was longer than it should have been, and the driver was crazy. At one point we were actually driving in the wrong direction up a dual carriageway like it was a perfectly normal thing to do. We arrived to Ambato around 10am, and were told there wouldn't be another bus until 1.15pm. We weren't prepared to wait that long, as the men at the terminal had confirmed our suspicions that this bus was not going to be the direct service we were hoping for. We decided to get on a bus south again, down to Riobamba where we thought there may be more buses running to Cuenca. Bearing in mind that Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador, there didn't seem to be a lot of transport heading towards it.

We got on the bus to Riobamba and became incredibly frustrated. The bus boy was hanging out the door yelling 'Riobamba! Riobamba! Riobamba!' encouraging Tom, Dick, Harry and their mothers, cats, dogs and barbers onto the bus. No exaggeration. The bus would stop while the bus boy got off and did the run around, sticking his head in shops and restaurants, as well as helping people across the street and practically man handing them onto the bus. Fortunately about half of the journey was through the countryside which meant that the opportunity to do this was a little sparse. This didn't stop us taking many a detour through farming villages where we would pick up people with bags of corn and leaves and veg and live chickens and whatever else, and drop them wherever they wanted to go. The bus had looked pretty posh when we got on it. It had a built in (not even wall mounted) 40 inch LG flat screen, and it was pretty much brand new- it even had the word 'ejecutivo' plastered on the side, giving us the false idea it was a first class service too. We had been decieved as it was just as bloody bad as the rest. Anyway, the only salvation was that the ride was quite pretty; like Wales but with better roads!

When we finally arrived in Riobamba we were so annoyed, but we didn't want to stay there, so there was only one alternative- we had to get another bus. As we pulled into the bus station it was 12.50pm. We had just passed a KFC which was going to be our cooling off point between buses. However, we decided to go into the terminal just to find out what times the buses were running. Again, there was only one company which ran a service to Cuenca, bearing in mind it was only 250km away the service wasn't very regular. We had no choice other than to book onto the 1pm bus, thereby foregoing lunch and our cooling off period.

As we were getting on the bus there was a lady selling 'salchipapas' (sausage and chips) Ecuador's second dish to chicken and rice/chips. So we bought a bag each although it really wasn't what we had wanted to eat again. For once we were grateful for the bus sellers (we do not understand why the drivers allow them onto the bus) and we bought ourselves a pineapple ice cream. In total our lunch came to $1.60. What a bargain. Bus travel is extremely cheap here too; it is charged at a dollar per hour. It is with sunken hearts that we handed over $6 each for the journey to Cuenca, because we knew what that meant. Six hours to travel 250km just didn't add up; we were not excited for what was ahead.

When we finally arrived in Cuenca it was almost 8pm and we had been travelling for around 12 hours. This would not have been so annoying if we'd actually covered any distance. We were planning to take the border crossing through Loja to Puira in Peru, as the other border crossing nearer to the coast has been called the worst border crossing in South America by the Lonely Planet, and there are numerous accounts online of people coming into trouble there. Anyway, we were told it was another 5 hours to Loja (didn't look that way on the map) and the next bus wasn't until a lot later. We would not be able to make it to the border from Loja that night as the crossing would be closed. Damn, damn, damn. So we were stuck in Cuenca- we hopped into a taxi, and luckily already had the address of somewhere to stay as we'd had a sneaky suspicion this might be the case. We arrived at our guesthouse and were really pleased. It was $7 a night each and really nice. We stayed in the dorm (which had singles, not bunks) which was really great. The place was more like a house, and had a big lounge with sofas and a TV with so many DVDs. We were all set up for our day indoors.

We had been informed by the taxi driver that it was illegal for any establishment to sell alcohol on this day as everyone had to be fresh headed for the census tomorrow. Bloody great. A terrible day couldn't even be laughed off with a few beers. Fortunately we found a lovely little restaurant across the street which had a three course menu of the day at £4.50. We decided to go for it, and were not disappointed with fresh carrot soup, tomato pasta, and a strange cough medicine flavoured cake. Yes, no chips! We stopped at a shop (not really a shop, but a hole in the wall into which we suspect was someones house) where you are able to see the goods through metal gates, and you make your purchase through them. These seemed to be everywhere. Anyway we got some packet chicken soup and a large packet of crisps, these were the most inspiring products they had. Fortunately we had ordered some baguettes to take away from the restaurant, and we were all set for food the following day.

Our day indoors was spent watching films and reading. We also spent it looking for the quickest route into Peru. We found out that we could catch a bus directly from Cuenca to Machala near the border, and then catch an onwards bus to Mancora, our first destination in Peru. This would of course utilise the 'dangerous' crossing of Huaquiallas and Tumbes, but by this point we had had enough. It was a shorter journey than the Loja crossing, and we could do it on two buses- it would also mean not having to go back on ourselves from Puira. We made the executive decision to do this crossing, however the first bus to Machala was at 7.30pm and was a 5 hour ride. We wouldn't reach Machala until 12.30am and the border was a good 2 hours from there. We didn't want our first crossing to be in the dead of night, so decided to spend another night in Cuenca, and catch the first bus in the morning.

We headed out into the town that evening, after having to stay in all day. However, nothing was open. We were told by one of the workers at the hostel that this was because it was Sunday, and that it was illegal to sell alcohol on any Sunday too. What a load of balls. We had had barely anything to eat all day and there was nowhere selling food either. We scoured the town and eventually found a little stand selling empanadas (pasties) so had them. We also found a panaderia open so Luke bought some chocolate brownies. We returned to the hostel still hungry, and watched Eclipse before heading to bed for our very early morning.

We woke at 5.30 the following day, and were on a bus to Machala by 6.30. We were finally on our way into Peru and were really excited. Another Tom, Dick, and Harry bus later and we were in Machala by 11am. We booked onto the 11.20 bus which would take us through the whole process of border crossing, and directly into Mancora later that day.

Now this was our first border crossing, but we can honestly say it was a piece of cake, and we had no troubles whatsoever. The bus took us to Ecuadorian Immigration first where we got an exit stamp. We then got back on the bus and were driven across the border into Peru, straight to Peruvian Immigration. Here we got our entry stamp, then got back on the bus and were taken directly to Mancora. The whole process was completely easy and would have even been fine even at night. The bus company we used were CIFA, and although the buses were tatty and there was a bit of Tom, Dick and Harrying going on, they were really helpful for the border crossing. The bus from Machala to Mancora was only $9 each, which was a real bargain considering. The problems people had experienced that we had read about online were when they had had to make their own way between the two immigation offices. There are a lot of thieves and tricksters hanging about in the 5km or so space between them, and people offering taxi rides for extortianate rates, that don't even take you to the right place. There are also loads of money-changers. As we had already paid for a bus straight to Mancora, we didn't need any Peruvian money immediately. Also, the drivers are often happy to take dollars anyway, as we found in Mancora.

We stopped off at a check point on the way into Peru where we all had to get off the bus, and the undercarriage was searched. A few people were asked to reveal the contents of their bags, but we were quickly on our way, and finally arrived in Mancora around 4.30pm.

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