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We had a choice of a 3,4,or 5am start, we had decided on the 5 am, but because of the heat and inability to sleep we caught the 4 am collectivo to San-Ignacio. This is a small Toyota van that they jammed 17 people into. We were traveling along a really most excellent road an I saw a sign saying 53 km to San Ignacio and we both commented on how good the road was. This was a mistake because it deteriorated rapidly. It was passed corrugations and I felt they were moguls, with the bus going all over the road to try and keep to the small potholes, which were axle breakers and diff ripper outers. We had 52 km of the fastest rally driving we had experienced so far. But keep on reading. This trip was 3 1/2 hours.
People got on and off along the way. Eventually we arrived at San Ignacio.
We caught a 3 wheeler motorcycle to the next collectivo stop. I was trying to find out how long was the wait because the town looked a really nice one to explore. However, our next transport arrived and into a 4 wheel drive Subaru
station wagon we climbed. The driver and an elderly lady and a man in the front two bucket seats and 4 of us in the back. Talk about sardines in a can, it was Ok so long as we had one shoulder forward and one back. We went over a bump and both my shoulders went forward, the fellow next to me would not let me have my shoulder back, Paul had his upper body hanging out the window because his head kept hitting the hand hold on the roof. This driver was insane, going as fast as he could go. People waved us down and a lady got in the back with our packs, she had a ride to a village, got out and three more plus a baby got in. (10 plus a baby in a Subaru). We were glad he had 4-wheel drive as the road deteriorated even more, mud, rocks, pot holes, rivers and no road maintenence for many years. This trip was 2 1/2 hours.
In spite of the exciting ride, we made it to La Balsa, the boarder crossing from Peru to Equador. We completed our boarder crossing formalities, ate our fruit and
walked over the bridge to do the paper work in Equador. This done we asked where we might catch our next transport. The boarder guard pointed to a truck that was coming down the hill full of indiginous people going to Peru. We climbed on and waited. And waited. It was really hot, sunny and humid. We waited 3 hours, and then the driver tooted the horn and peole came from out of the woodwork. This transport is called a ranchero - a truck with rows of wooden slats. This ride was the most hair-raising of them all, the driver had his foot flat to the boards or hard on the brake. The road was like a 1 way farm track and when a blind corner came up he tooted, but did not slow down. The road was steep with big drop offs, I had to have my eyes closed alot of the time. We were holding our packs in but could not hold on and hold onto the packs at the same time. A man told us the locals try to sit in the front because there is less bouncing and flying around. At an opportune moment Paul tied the packs onto the seat so that we could hold on with two hands. We were flying around inside, out of control, bruised bums, bruised arms, but lots of laughing because half the time we were airborne.
During the trip we were stopped by armed soldiers - our first passport check. The road improved a bit and we started picking up children from schools and droping them home and collecting workers. The truck was absolutly packed and little children standing in the back. Many of the children were so relaxed they did not even hold on, but a young man next to Paul kept crossing himself. This trip took about 2 hours. This bus took us to Zumba, another nice town. The next bus we booked did not leave for an hour, so we had a late lunch. This was chicken soup - with a foot in it. I said to Paul, there is a foot in my soup, the owner was looking on so pleased we were in his shop. I had to pass it over for Paul to consume. Then the main meal was chicken and rice again.
The next bus was a regular bus, the driver and his assistant looked like they had been doing major mechanical work with grease all over them. This road was steep, narrow but a very well maintained track. Six hours of winding, steep with creek crossings and picking up people along the way. The landscape was so like NZ, with regenerating bush, small gardens carved into the bush, banana trees growing with bananas on them and tree ferns. The bus went up into the clouds and it was dark and the road had no reflector markers. We arrived in Vilcabamba at 2200, it had been a very long day.
What a fantastic trip and so worth doing.
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