In Quito again

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