Some of the most beautiful words in the entire world have already been used thousands of times. But that doesn't make them any less beautiful. So too with people. – Author Unknown
Monday, March 4, 2012 (DAY 365)
After a night at a hotel that has probably spawned a variety of new diseases we were quite eager to leave this lap of luxury. Debating over breakfast our route to Ecuador, we had heard rumors in Bogota as well again in Cali that there were tobacco farmers on strike and therefore not allowing any overland traffic to or from Colombia. We knew that it was another 14-hours at least by bus to the border, and since our plan was to get to Peru within the next few days we had a decision to make–risk taking the 14-hour bus only to find out that the border was indeed impassable and return to Cali losing two or more days, or suck it up and take a flight from Cali, which was the nearest airport to get us to Ecuador. After some eggs and tortillas we chose the latter option and headed for the airport. Since the earliest flight wasn't until the evening Char and I have no problems finding ways to entertain ourselves and so the afternoon was spent having another laughing session. However, things got real when it was time to go through the security check and head to our boarding gate. I have never experienced a more thorough airport inspection than I did by both airport security and the Colombian government. First of all every person carrying on a bag has all of the contents examined if not dumped out on the table, they even flipped through my book. Secondly, they would take five people at a time in to a room where one by one you were body scanned. It’s a good thing they didn’t find my Trident. Because you know, 4 out of 5 dentists recommend it.
After a night at a hotel that has probably spawned a variety of new diseases we were quite eager to leave this lap of luxury. Debating over breakfast our route to Ecuador, we had heard rumors in Bogota as well again in Cali that there were tobacco farmers on strike and therefore not allowing any overland traffic to or from Colombia. We knew that it was another 14-hours at least by bus to the border, and since our plan was to get to Peru within the next few days we had a decision to make–risk taking the 14-hour bus only to find out that the border was indeed impassable and return to Cali losing two or more days, or suck it up and take a flight from Cali, which was the nearest airport to get us to Ecuador. After some eggs and tortillas we chose the latter option and headed for the airport. Since the earliest flight wasn't until the evening Char and I have no problems finding ways to entertain ourselves and so the afternoon was spent having another laughing session. However, things got real when it was time to go through the security check and head to our boarding gate. I have never experienced a more thorough airport inspection than I did by both airport security and the Colombian government. First of all every person carrying on a bag has all of the contents examined if not dumped out on the table, they even flipped through my book. Secondly, they would take five people at a time in to a room where one by one you were body scanned. It’s a good thing they didn’t find my Trident. Because you know, 4 out of 5 dentists recommend it.
After passing the intense security that involved everything but a cavity search, we arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador at 12:10am. At this point pure exhaustion and delirium were beginning to set in especially as we waiting in a long for over 90-minutes to go through customs and immigration before actually entering the country. Prior to arriving we had heard some horrific stories about Guayaquil, a city of 3.75 million people. One such story consisted of a local woman entering a taxi and several minutes later the taxi driver stopped the car, put a bag over her head and began to beat her. He then robbed her and threw her out of the car in a random park. This story was not only confirmed by a local guy we spoke with, but occurred just the week before. Since it was late and the bus terminal was within walking distance of the airport Char and I decided our safest option was to sleep at the airport until morning, taking turns as the other person watched over our things and random knapsack beat downs. Surprisingly this was the first time I have slept overnight at an airport, and of course it would be in Ecuador in one of the most dangerous cities. Thankfully we didn’t experience any issues and even though we were awake at 5am and gambled on taking the five-minute $3 taxi ride across the busy morning rush hour traffic at 9am when the bus terminal opened, we came to find out that the earliest bus to Lima was an overnight 14-hour bus that didn’t leave until 9:45pm that evening.
As we were sitting outside the bus terminal we began talking with two other solo travelers, Janine from Switzerland and Pancho from Argentina, both heading south to Lima as well. After brief introductions we decided to grab some food at the food court in the bus terminal and while we were eating and getting to know each other we met another new friend, Norbert who in turn grew up in Guayaquil and had spent the last several years working in Toronto. He explained to us that just as with any city there are dangerous areas and safe areas, but he also agreed that we shouldn’t use taxis but the local buses were cheap and safe. Since we had quite a few hours to kill he played our tour guide and lead us around the city on local buses, even paying for all of us, because he was quite proud of the city he grew up in despite the dangers. He took us to Iguana Park, which is exactly as the namesake would suggest. Large Iguanas are protected and roam free throughout this gated enclosure. We then walked down to the pier and had a great afternoon before returning to the bus terminal to board our 14-hour bus. The surprising people you met on the road and the kindness they show is something I am always grateful for because otherwise the four of us would have spent 12-hours sitting around a bus terminal for the day. (Unfortunately Norbert isn't in the photo since he was taking the picture.)
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