As I'm trying to make it to Quito before the weekend I got up early to get a bus to head to Ipiales via Pasto, this time I was able to knock off 5,000 pesos from the original fare, it wasn't the bus service that the staff at the hostel recommended although it was a much faster service in a smaller less comfortable bus. Cramped on the back seat I endured the winding bumping mountain roads to the border, the views were nice but would have been better if I sat on the right hand side of the bus, shame.
I feel more comfortable bringing my nice camera in public because last night I gave it a bit of a makeover using some elastic bands and duct tape giving it a weathered/broken/old look in hopes to make it less appealing to thieves and muggers - I hope this works.
Arriving at the bus terminal in Ipiales got a collectivo taxi to the border where I accidentally tried to attempt to leave Columbia without getting a stamp for departure.. My mistake. I had to walk back across the bridge to the Columbian side for the Immigration office to get my stamp out. Here I waited behind 100 school kids staring at me for them to pass before I finally got to the front of the line. This is where I wished my Spanish was better, the official wanted was for me to put my index finger on the scanner, I pissed him off a little not knowing what he wanted; also all the kids made his job a bit of a nightmare too.
Crossing back over to the Ecuadorean side I got the stamp and entered a new country to cross off my list.
Finding a hostel room beside the bus terminal was easy enough and also relatively cheap at US$8 for my own room and for me being able to leave towards Quito early in the morning is ideal. I munched down a huge dinner of BBQ chicken, frijoles and rice before watching a film on my laptop . Speaking of which, DON'T bother watching Thor - an unbelievably shitty film.
Road tripping through Ecuador
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