Border Crossing

After spending a week back
in Guayaquil I decided to head north to
Colombia. I left on the 11PM bus
heading to Tulcán.
About a 13 hour bus ride.

No one sat next to me so I
managed to sprawl out and sleep
the majority of the way to Quitó

Quitó was cold
but luckily I had my new
cream colored alpaca shawl to
keep me cozy and warm.

I realised we hit 3700m above sea level
when I instinctively started mouth
are breathing and my chest felt funny.
This is the part where my ears started
popping and my mild cold started
waging a war campaign

Made it to Tulcán on a beautifully warm sunny
day. Got in at 12:30PM. Took a $3.50 cab ride
to the boarder. They had a huge 3+hour wait
line that wrapped around the building. Luckily I found out
I only had a 10min wait to exit the country. Got both
passports stamped and I was on my way.

Crossed the street, over the bridge and poof
I was in Colombia, and I managed to cross over
during the day like I wanted.
No wait to get my entry stamp.
Saved the $38 by using my Ecuadorian passport
and the immigrant officials gave me his number...

It was too easy. I thought it would
be harder or more complicated
El Farc or Guerrilla was not waiting for me.
No one raped or murdered me. For my first overland
boarder crossing it was pretty cool (crossing
into Canada does not count).

$1,700 peso cab ride later I was in Ipiales
got on the first bus leaving in 10min to Cali.
That cost me another $40,000 pesos. Either I just
dropped a small fortune or I am getting amazing deal.

That bus ride was torturous!
It only got colder and colder. We hit higher elevations
My ears were kaput. I was feverish, deaf and dying.

A poor girl had her bag stolen from her seat at
a terminal bus stop in Paso. We were resting for 20min
almost everyone had gotten off. I was too sleep to move
Noticed to guys in black jackets sitting in
front of me. Then one guy moved across from me
Then he moved again behind me.
We smiled.
I got up to close the two windows across from me.
That couple had also left their bag on their seat.
Everyone did. Then both guys got up and left.
Apparently they had boarded when everyone else
got off. No one check to see if they
had a ticket. Poor girl said her university
tuition was in her bag.

As night fell we started stopping more.
I was oblivious in my mucous infested haze.
I did notice at one rest stop armed military guards.
Normally armed guards in Ecuador do not
faze me. The mall has a small army of heavily
armed guards. They can launch a small war
perhaps with the neighbouring mall...
But these guards were military. That I have not
seen in Ecuador. Even in el Oriente were you stop
for control check points (due to Colombian drug trafficking)
they use regular police for that. I found it especially odd
at a gas station.

At this point I had not eaten since 7PM
the previous day when my cousin S took
me out for grilled pork chops. I got off
the bus grabbed a bag of chips, a Colombian and
the worlds biggest aspirin for under $3,000 pesos.
This is the point where I discovered I was
also mute. Apparently you need to hear in
order to talk.

Back on the hell mobile we had a few more
mini stops and then a really long one.
About an hour away from Popayán we stopped
again. For over an hour. This is when I got
off the bus to stretch my legs. My L5 was killing me
I had previously herniated it back in '09 and it had
had enough. Besides it had suddenly turned
Very hot and balmy. I needed air.

It turns out we had been during "caravans" .
Us and another 5 buses. Turns out over the last
two months there has been an increase
in guerilla activity from Ipiales to Popayán.
They have been robbing night buses (So much
for crossing over during the day). Apparently when
they rob a bus they make all the men get off and
are most ungentile towards the ladies left behind.

So we are left to wait on the side of a road
at designated spots. The drivers make sure
the right amount of buses turn up and then
we wait for the police to come by giving the all
clear. I had not noticed before because
we had only been stopping for a few minutes
and besides I was much more concern with sleep.
This time the wait was over an hour.
It was a beautiful moonless night, along
a country road.

About 3 more hours on the hell
mobile I made it to Cali. Got in at 2am.
Should have been midnight...
Once we passed Popayán we just sailed right through.
I should not have anymore road issues for the rest of my trip.

I was done.
Checked into a motel
near the bus terminal. No WiFi but for
$35,000 pesos I had cable, itchy sheets and a
mirror over my bed. It was clean.
Turned on Spanish TNT and I passed out with my
cloths and the lights on. I recall my seductive self
looking down at me as my lucid dreams began.

Woke up refreshed around 11am just in time for the movie
I had seen before but cannot recall now began.
I was a hot sexy mess. Sprawled out languidly
on the bed. Turns out there were a lot more mirrors.

My fever had broken. But I was like a 20 year chain smoking
addict with a gross hacking cough. Spent the next two hours
memorized by the amount of mucous coming out of my
tiny little head. I believe it was my brain
clearly melting out of my noise.

Halfway through the "La Grujula Dorada"
I was ready to move on. It was 2PM and hot
91 degrees hot. I noticed I had spent my first night in
Colombia at the "Hard Rock" as in cafe motel.