Hello all,
I arrived this morning in Quito after a long and interesting bus ride. We left Mancora (Peru) yesterday at 3 heading for the Ecuadorian border. We had our tickets and the woman at the bus station told us that her sister would meet us in Tumbes and help us to get across the border. Fine, We´ve crossed borders before but it is always nice to have some help. So we met up with the sister and got to what we thought was the border. It turned out to just be the office where we leave Peru. So we got our "leaving Peru" stamps and got back on the bus and headed into the border town, through the border town to the "entering Ecuador" office. So basically the whole town is in between Ecuador and Peru. We were discussing how difficult it would have been to figure that out on our own (practically impossible) and how easy it would have been to sneak into Ecuador or Peru through that border. We made it on to our second bus ok, heading to Quito. We were stopped a bunch of times by the police who asked all the men to get out of the bus to be patted down and have their bags searched. Every time it happened I got a little nervous. That road is also the one where theives hold up the bus and rob you. I also don´t really trust the police here. They have pretty absolute power and aren´t very accountable.
Anyways though, we made it here safe and sound at 6 in the morning and made it to the "Hostal Raices" which is the same hostal we stayed in both other times we have been in Quito. It felt a bit like coming home. We know where the internet places, bank machines, good restaurants and most importantly good ice cream shops are. We slept until noon and then went for an explore. It´s cold here! (not like Canada but by no means tropical) We are going to be here until Friday and then off to Toronto and then home! We are just enjoying the last few days but also really looking forward to coming home. It feels like it´s time even though I know I´m going to miss the every day challenges and adventures of Latin America.
I will see you all soon and I love you all!
Anna
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
It´s been a long long time
Well I have failed miserably on keeping this thing updated. Uruguay was absolutely wonderful. I spent over a week with Bethania in Montevideo and at three different Atlantic beaches. Then Bethania had to get ready for her trip through Brazil to the north to see Melodie so I went to spend some time with Juan Pablo. We went to Tareriras which is where Agustin lives and spend 4 or 5 days there. Agustin lives on a farm there so we relaxed, helped out and drank máte on the beach. Then I had to go back to Montevideo to catch my flight to Lima. Lima was an interesting time. The airport is far away from the city and my friends had told me that I needed to meet them at the bus terminal. In Lima there is no bus terminal. All of the bus companies have their own offices some on one street and others scattered throughout the city. I had no contact with my friends other than internet. I eventually found them but not after worrying about getting robbed for several hours.
We then got on an overnight bus to Piura heading for Mancora, a little town on the beach in Peru. Unfortunately in the bus station in Piura, one of my friends had her backpack stolen. It had her passport, her money, her bank cards, her camera, everything. We had to get on the bus and the police said they couldn´t do anything about it. So we came here. We then had to figure out how to get her a new passport without having to go to the consulate in Lima. We needed a police report saying that it was stolen but the police here wouldn´t do it cause the backpack was stolen in Piura not in Mancora. So I had to go in and explain that the bag was stolen on the way here (I bullshitted the Peruvian police, thats right) so that they would write the report. The guy was interrogating me and we went to the bus station and talked to them. It was a pretty stressful experience but eventually he wrote the report.
We ended up in a really crappy hostel the first night and went looking for another for the rest of the time. We went into the first one we saw walking along the beach and met Harry. Harry owns Punta Ballinas hostel which was the first hotel in Mancora. We aren´t too sure where he is from but we know he has connections to Switzerland, The States, Germany and Peru. He is a crazy story teller and kept offering us free beer. We are not people who turn down free beer so... We sat around drinking a beer with him then Lauren asked if he would have rooms for us in his hotel and how much they are. He said well the price is usually $22 a night but how much can we afford. Our general policy is that we won´t pay more than $10 a night, which seems crazy in Canada but here cheap hostels are 5 dollars a night and expensive hostels are $15 dollars a night. So Lauren said "how about $10" just to see what he would say, and he said sure. So we are living in paradise. A whole bundle of luck fell into our laps.
We are going to be here for around a week an a half and then take the 15 hour bus to Quito. In 2 weeks I will be home! I am having fun here but I am going to be happy to be home. I think I will be ready. I miss the snow and the cold and all of you!
I love you all and will see you soon!
Anna
We then got on an overnight bus to Piura heading for Mancora, a little town on the beach in Peru. Unfortunately in the bus station in Piura, one of my friends had her backpack stolen. It had her passport, her money, her bank cards, her camera, everything. We had to get on the bus and the police said they couldn´t do anything about it. So we came here. We then had to figure out how to get her a new passport without having to go to the consulate in Lima. We needed a police report saying that it was stolen but the police here wouldn´t do it cause the backpack was stolen in Piura not in Mancora. So I had to go in and explain that the bag was stolen on the way here (I bullshitted the Peruvian police, thats right) so that they would write the report. The guy was interrogating me and we went to the bus station and talked to them. It was a pretty stressful experience but eventually he wrote the report.
We ended up in a really crappy hostel the first night and went looking for another for the rest of the time. We went into the first one we saw walking along the beach and met Harry. Harry owns Punta Ballinas hostel which was the first hotel in Mancora. We aren´t too sure where he is from but we know he has connections to Switzerland, The States, Germany and Peru. He is a crazy story teller and kept offering us free beer. We are not people who turn down free beer so... We sat around drinking a beer with him then Lauren asked if he would have rooms for us in his hotel and how much they are. He said well the price is usually $22 a night but how much can we afford. Our general policy is that we won´t pay more than $10 a night, which seems crazy in Canada but here cheap hostels are 5 dollars a night and expensive hostels are $15 dollars a night. So Lauren said "how about $10" just to see what he would say, and he said sure. So we are living in paradise. A whole bundle of luck fell into our laps.
We are going to be here for around a week an a half and then take the 15 hour bus to Quito. In 2 weeks I will be home! I am having fun here but I am going to be happy to be home. I think I will be ready. I miss the snow and the cold and all of you!
I love you all and will see you soon!
Anna
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Uruguay and beach and sun!
So I arrived yesterday to Uruguay safe and sound. The bus was long but I made friends with the couple sitting beside me and a group of nuns sitting in front so we passed the time. Last night I went with Bethania to a candombe parade which is a huge drum parade through town. pretty fantiastic. We are heading to the beach on friday to relax and have fun. I´ll update soon with more detail. Love to you all!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
¡Viva Santa Cruz!
As the title makes clear, I am in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We got here yesterday (later than we had planned) After New Years the skies opened up and I experienced the most torrential rain of my life. The streets filled up with water and all the mud and garbage flowed by in a huge river. We were waiting for our bus-taxi to leave but we couldn´t because there was water halfway up the tires of the van. This all happened in the space of 5 minutes.
We drove from Camiri to Santa Cruz on this twisty road with cows and goats wandering across in the pouring rain. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life because the driver couldn´t see, I couldn´t see, and we kept hydroplaning.
Anyways, I´ll tell you a bit about my future plans. Tomorrow or the next day I am leaving Santa Cruz for Uruguay! I am so excited. I talked to Bethania and Juan Pablo the other day and I am going to stay with both of them at some point. I´m going to be there for two weeks and then to Cuzco. I´m very excited also because I have found Santa Cruz and Camiri to be hard places. The young people I have met are very concerned about their appearance. I have seen more anorexically skinny girls here than I have seen in a long time. They get all dressed up for things that I would never get dressed up for. I think it would have been a really hard place to be for 3 months and I think we are all in agreement that we are glad that the program worked out the way it did. Anyways, I will update again soon. I love you all!
ANNA
We drove from Camiri to Santa Cruz on this twisty road with cows and goats wandering across in the pouring rain. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life because the driver couldn´t see, I couldn´t see, and we kept hydroplaning.
Anyways, I´ll tell you a bit about my future plans. Tomorrow or the next day I am leaving Santa Cruz for Uruguay! I am so excited. I talked to Bethania and Juan Pablo the other day and I am going to stay with both of them at some point. I´m going to be there for two weeks and then to Cuzco. I´m very excited also because I have found Santa Cruz and Camiri to be hard places. The young people I have met are very concerned about their appearance. I have seen more anorexically skinny girls here than I have seen in a long time. They get all dressed up for things that I would never get dressed up for. I think it would have been a really hard place to be for 3 months and I think we are all in agreement that we are glad that the program worked out the way it did. Anyways, I will update again soon. I love you all!
ANNA
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