The Border, The Bus, And The Heat

Mateo Del Norte is, at this point, very close to being, technically, back in the north. I am now in the country named after the line that separates the hemispheres and man does the weather reflect it!! It is hot as a bastard up here in Ecuador and each afternoon it rains bucketloads and floods the streets and washes the buildings without cooling things down much at all. I just braved a torrent with an umbrella to get down the hill from my bro Jake's house to the cibercafe. There was a dead and rotting cat in the road and lots of wet Ecuadorians plodding along. It smells good...that is a bonus...it smells like you'd think it would in the tropics, moss, moisture, flowers and fruit. We have a couple days of hanging out before leaving for the Islands of Galapagos on friday.

The day before yesterday I left Lima in the late afternoon after having a really nice lunch with Waldy and Christian. I went back to the house of Silvia to endure the inevitable sadness of leaving her and Marta and the rest of the family. I got a chatty driver and listened to his theories all the way to the airport. Theories about life in Peru and the world, education, politics, the seasons, the regions. It seems as though at times the Big Guy In The Sky gives you what you need when you need it. I have been from bliss to breakdown and back a number of times in the last couple weeks and the whole time it seems as though He/She/It has got my back. The chatty guy helped me to not oversulk. I was in no state to sulk. Long story. I got to the airport in time to get in line behind a family of six, and as we waited to amble up to the AeroCondor counter, they pulled the pants off this little toddler, and while one little daughter smelled at his butt to see if he had shat, another held a blue plastic pitcher in front of the little guy while he pissed into it. It reminded me of a pit crew in Nascar. After he was through, the dad oversaw the operations while two daughters put the kid back together and another son took off with the pitcher to pour it into the toilet in the bathroom that was apparently too far away to take the kid to. In the meantime it was their turn and the mom had been lugging the bags up to be weighed. It was something else. I had never seen that operation performed in an airport waiting line. I was impressed and entertained and what was most funny was that the little kid hardly seemed to notice it all.

On the plane I put my mind to the navigation of the city of Tumbes and the reputedly grim borderland beyond. The travelers circuit is full of horror stories regarding muggings and various ways of getting ripped off there. I was ready for whatever, but again, fate sent me a gift. As we were departing the aircraft I met a guy from Switzerland who spoke spanish at about the same level that I do. And he had the same game plan as me, so just like that, we had backup!! If you have traveled a lot in the third world, then you know how good it feels to know that you have someone that you trust. The Swiss are good people. Their country is organized and well run and the people reflect those imprints. This guy, Eric, was from the french speaking part of Switzerland and we spoke mostly in Spanish, with a little english, and then I dusted of a few old french sentences as well. We got into a place to stay in Tumbes and then got a bus across the border the next morning. It turns out that the guy is a real philosophe and we really enjoyed our conversation. He's a smart guy and we share a common skepticism of the sterility of the modern world. The bus ride up was a lot more tranquil than I had expected. We had a few random detours that could have eroded into trouble, but all in all, it went well. Because I have been without a guidebook since my encounter with the Ladrones in Mendoza, I usually look into travel information online before I go to a place. Some places have more info about them than others. There is not much beyond horror stories in blogs when you google info about the aforementioned border crossing, so at this time, I want to include a little insider info, in case others who will be crossing are interested and happen to find this blog. Please pardon the interruption.

Border Crossing Between Peru And Ecuador At Tumbes:

If you are wanting to go from northern Peru northward to Guayaquil, you obviously have to get across the border. You have no doubt heard that this is a tough border point and you may be a tad bit stressed out about the details of crossing. I made this crossing yesterday and it was fairly easy, and I want to let you know how to do it. I don't know what it is like to get to other destinations besides Guayaquil, so if you are not doing the Tumbes-Guayaquil trip, than this may only partially help you. Ok. If you are not in Tumbes yet, Tumbes is not as bad as it is made out to be. You need to be aware there, but it is not the land of the dead as some people make it out to seem. Find a hostel or hotel that has decent security. There are numerous hotels near the Plaza de Armas so at the very least, if you show up with no plans, get a cab or a tuk-tuk to the Plaza, and work outwards from there. We stayed in a nice place about twenty paces from the plaza. From the airport to the Plaza de Armas, you should only have to pay 15 Soles...don't let them get you for more...agree to this BEFORE you get into the cab. If you speak spanish this is easier, but it is 15 for the ride, not for each person. From the square, you can catch a 1 Sol tuk-tuk to the office of CIFA bus. This is the only company I found that goes more or less direct to Guayaquil. The good part about this is that they are with you throughout the customs process. I have heard of many people trying to cab through the labyrinthine process of the immigration borders and that just seems like work you don't want to be doing. There are so many ways to get had in that area. So a ticket from Tumbes to Guayaquil costs 21 Soles, and lasts about 6.5 hours. You leave from their offices and they take you through the Peruvian side's Aduana station. DO NOT pay anyone here...just wait in line and get your card stamped. There are people there trying to "help you" and change your money, don't give anyone anything and mostly just ignore the bastards. They are preying on the clueless...which most gringos are in these situations. After you get your shit done there, you get back on the bus and cross into Ecuador. There is not a system even resembling order in all of this, so what came next seemed odd, but apparently normal, for these guys and it ended up working. We had to get off the bus we were on which meant we were separated from our packs that were in the baggage hold beneath the bus. That made us uncomfortable, but only the gringos. This Peruvian chick that I was sitting with said that she crossed often and this was how it went. We got on another bus and then went about fifteen minutes to the immigration station of the Ecuadorian side. It took about 30 seconds to get a stamp and then we waited for about ten minutes while eating churros and then our original bus showed up again. I asked to see the bags and the driver showed them to us and then we hit the road. You have to get off the bus a couple more times to show your paseporte to some military types, but all in all, it isn't much more than that. The road in Guayas Province is rumored to be dangerous, but we had no problems. Keep your handbag close to you at all times and I would advise not keeping it beneath your seat. If you do, keep your leg through a loop in your bag so that it cannot be easily dragged off. These guys are good robbers though, often with knives to cut straps quickly, and if you doze off, you can easily be had that way too. I had a friend who crossed over and fell asleep with her bag beneath her seat and woke up without a lot of things she really liked. Just pay attention. Lots of people are getting on and off these buses, selling food and drinks and various other random shit, so just pay attention to your pockets and your bag. If this is helpful to even just one person, than I am happy. It sucks to get robbed, I know this, so whatever measures you can take to prevent it are worth it. Good luck.

Alright. So Jake lives in a huge house in the Miraflores neighborhood of Guayaquil...a house fitting of a...doctor? Yes, a doctor! And that is just what the wife of Jake is!! A doctor, so it's perfect. I have my own big room and bathroom, and the bathroom alone is bigger than most of the rooms I've stayed in in the last while! They have a great view over the city and I realize that Jake's 'view karma' must be good. In San Francisco too they have a terrific view out over the downtown and Bay Bridge. Yesterday we watched the afternoon deluge while drinking beers and in the evening we went to a seafood joint for a bite. The city is hot, but not as hot as it could be. It reminds me of South East Asia and I certainly don't need my Sierra clothes here...

There isn't a whole lotta time this afternoon...we are leaving for Galapagos on friday morning and if I don't get a chance to write again before then, then it will be a week later the next time I do...the 29th or 30th. I hope you are well, hablamos otra vez muy pronto...