August 14 - 23, 2013 - Getting to Lima, Peru
August 14:
From Bogoto I took the bus to Popayan, a small city to the south. It cost be 71,000COP and 17 hours. I got to the bus terminal early hoping to catch the 10:30 bus but unfortunately it was already sold out. I had to wait til 12:30 for the next bus. After a very long ride I arrived in Popayan at 5:30 in the morning, went directly to my hostel and slept.
August 15:
I spent the day walking around town and trying local foods. I bought some fresh fresas (strawberries) and moras (blackberries). That night I treated myself to coffee and cheesecake. Not as good as mom's but it still hit the spot.
August 16:
I woke early and headed to the bus terminal to find a bus to Ipiales. The first bus I tried wasnt gonna leave at 9 like they first told me so I got my money back and tried another one. And it was leaving at that very minute! Perfect, I hopped on and we were on the road by 8:45am. It was yet another long bus ride. When I reached Ipiales I checked into a hotel just across the street and chilled for the evening.
August 17:
Just outside Ipiales there is a Cathedral called Las Lajas and its built in a valley across a river. The place was beautiful. I took a taxi colectivo for 2000 and walked town to the cathedral to have a look and take pictures.
It was 2000COP for the trip back to the hotel. I gathered my things and walked back over to the bus station. There they have taxi colectivos waiting to take people to the border. For 1600COP I got a ride with 3 others to the Colombian immigration office. From there it was super easy to cross over to Ecuador. I only had to wait a couple minutes to get stamped out of Colombia, I walked across the bridge into Ecuador and waited another couple of minutes to get stamped in. Easy. I got another taxi colectivo to the bus terminal in the city of Tulcan. There I caught a bus for $6US for Quito. A 5 hour ride.
Ecuador Visa Fee: $0
Exchange rate: Ecuador is on the US dollar so its a 1 to 1 exchange. And it makes things easy!
August 18:
I spent wandered around Quito a bit and bought a bus ticket to Cuenca. I didnt get to do too much in the city. Im running out of time to get to Lima. That night the hostel owner dropped me off at the bus stop and I took the night bus to Cuenca. I stayed at Vibes hostel in Quito. Great place and I highly recommend it if you are in the area.
August 19:
I arrived in Cuenca around 6AM and thankfully the hostel let me take the bed right away so I could get a few more hours of sleep. Cuenca is a nice little mountain town set along side a river. I spent the day venturing out to all the churches and cathedrals and walking along the river.
August 20:
Another day in Cuenca wandering the streets.
I caught the bus that night to Mancora, Peru. A sunny beach town on the coast of Peru. I had heard some real horror stories about crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru. To top it of I was going to attempt to do it at night. After booking my ticket I started to get a little worried that my 8 hour direct journey would turn out to be more like an 12 hour bus to bus to bus journey. I set off nonetheless hoping for the best. We reached the border at 3am. We filed off the bus and quickly got stamped out of Ecuador then waited a short time to get stamped into Peru. WAY easy. We all got back on the bus and continued on to Mancora.
Visa Fee: $0
Exchange rate: 2.8 soles = 1USD
At 5am we reached the city and I was the only one to get off. Everyone else continued on. I got my bags and a tuk-tuk to take me to the hostel. Again, thankfully, they let me have the bed immediately so I could sleep.
It was a super short trip through Ecuador. I will have to return to do some more exploring and hit up the Galapagos Islands!
August 21:
Some of the girls in my room and I all went to the beach and then to eat. Unfortunately, it was a tad cold/windy to stay too long on the beach but it was perfect weather to wander through town. That night all the girls from my dorm went out to the Full Moon Party at a different hostel in town.
August 22:
A slow morning then a morning and afternoon full of sunbathing. I really soaked it up as I know the next few months are gonna be chilly to down right cold.
I catch an 18 hour bus (100Soles) tonight to Lima! Wahoo....almost there.
August 23:
I finally made it to Lima, after having to change bus companies due to mechanical problems with the first bus. It was a fairly comfy ride. They served dinner and breakfast and played several movies. We reached Lima around 2:30 and I shared a cab to my part of town with some guys from Argentina who were heading to the same area. Now I wait for Brittney to get here! Its gonna be a packed 2 weeks with her.
And its even cold here!
August 14:
From Bogoto I took the bus to Popayan, a small city to the south. It cost be 71,000COP and 17 hours. I got to the bus terminal early hoping to catch the 10:30 bus but unfortunately it was already sold out. I had to wait til 12:30 for the next bus. After a very long ride I arrived in Popayan at 5:30 in the morning, went directly to my hostel and slept.
August 15:
I spent the day walking around town and trying local foods. I bought some fresh fresas (strawberries) and moras (blackberries). That night I treated myself to coffee and cheesecake. Not as good as mom's but it still hit the spot.
August 16:
I woke early and headed to the bus terminal to find a bus to Ipiales. The first bus I tried wasnt gonna leave at 9 like they first told me so I got my money back and tried another one. And it was leaving at that very minute! Perfect, I hopped on and we were on the road by 8:45am. It was yet another long bus ride. When I reached Ipiales I checked into a hotel just across the street and chilled for the evening.
August 17:
Just outside Ipiales there is a Cathedral called Las Lajas and its built in a valley across a river. The place was beautiful. I took a taxi colectivo for 2000 and walked town to the cathedral to have a look and take pictures.
The lady is roasting up a Guinea pig. And the yellow and green things at the bottom ended up being a tasty little bread almost like a sweet cornbread. Yum.
It was 2000COP for the trip back to the hotel. I gathered my things and walked back over to the bus station. There they have taxi colectivos waiting to take people to the border. For 1600COP I got a ride with 3 others to the Colombian immigration office. From there it was super easy to cross over to Ecuador. I only had to wait a couple minutes to get stamped out of Colombia, I walked across the bridge into Ecuador and waited another couple of minutes to get stamped in. Easy. I got another taxi colectivo to the bus terminal in the city of Tulcan. There I caught a bus for $6US for Quito. A 5 hour ride.
Ecuador Visa Fee: $0
Exchange rate: Ecuador is on the US dollar so its a 1 to 1 exchange. And it makes things easy!
August 18:
I spent wandered around Quito a bit and bought a bus ticket to Cuenca. I didnt get to do too much in the city. Im running out of time to get to Lima. That night the hostel owner dropped me off at the bus stop and I took the night bus to Cuenca. I stayed at Vibes hostel in Quito. Great place and I highly recommend it if you are in the area.
August 19:
I arrived in Cuenca around 6AM and thankfully the hostel let me take the bed right away so I could get a few more hours of sleep. Cuenca is a nice little mountain town set along side a river. I spent the day venturing out to all the churches and cathedrals and walking along the river.
August 20:
Another day in Cuenca wandering the streets.
I caught the bus that night to Mancora, Peru. A sunny beach town on the coast of Peru. I had heard some real horror stories about crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru. To top it of I was going to attempt to do it at night. After booking my ticket I started to get a little worried that my 8 hour direct journey would turn out to be more like an 12 hour bus to bus to bus journey. I set off nonetheless hoping for the best. We reached the border at 3am. We filed off the bus and quickly got stamped out of Ecuador then waited a short time to get stamped into Peru. WAY easy. We all got back on the bus and continued on to Mancora.
Visa Fee: $0
Exchange rate: 2.8 soles = 1USD
At 5am we reached the city and I was the only one to get off. Everyone else continued on. I got my bags and a tuk-tuk to take me to the hostel. Again, thankfully, they let me have the bed immediately so I could sleep.
It was a super short trip through Ecuador. I will have to return to do some more exploring and hit up the Galapagos Islands!
August 21:
Some of the girls in my room and I all went to the beach and then to eat. Unfortunately, it was a tad cold/windy to stay too long on the beach but it was perfect weather to wander through town. That night all the girls from my dorm went out to the Full Moon Party at a different hostel in town.
August 22:
A slow morning then a morning and afternoon full of sunbathing. I really soaked it up as I know the next few months are gonna be chilly to down right cold.
I catch an 18 hour bus (100Soles) tonight to Lima! Wahoo....almost there.
August 23:
I finally made it to Lima, after having to change bus companies due to mechanical problems with the first bus. It was a fairly comfy ride. They served dinner and breakfast and played several movies. We reached Lima around 2:30 and I shared a cab to my part of town with some guys from Argentina who were heading to the same area. Now I wait for Brittney to get here! Its gonna be a packed 2 weeks with her.
And its even cold here!
No comments:
Post a Comment