Ecuador to Columbia

Well, I am now in the country that people have either told me is the best in South America or not to go there. My plan is to steam through most of it right away as time is short and I want some quality beach time.

It took some time to get through the border. There was a long wait for my exit stamp from Ecuador and then anoth wait for my entry stamp to Columbia. On the Columbian side, there were a lot of police who looked like they were from the future. The Equiptment they had on was all black and looked like the hockey gear from ¨Strange Brew¨or ¨The Running Man¨.

The military presence is big too. I walked from the border to the nearest town and passed soldiers patrolling on foot. I wanted to get to Popayan, so keeped asking directions to the bus terminal. There aren´t many grinkos in Columbia. There are a few people with pale skin and brown eyes, probably of Spanish blood. I haven´t seen any eyes other than brown yet. People look at me as if I am different, not in a bad way, just in a strange way.

The bus ride to Popayan was the most beautiful drive I have done yet. It quicky switched from fields were cut all different shapes and sizes on rolling hills to massive mountains. For about 3 hours, the road was etched into the side of a cliff. It was probably the most amazingly engineered road I have been on. The cliff was so steep that it was rare to see the river in the valley bottom thousands of feet below.

The ride was a little scarey too. True capitolism exsists in the third world as people try to make a buck anyway they can - and the government permits this unlike at home. On busses, this meens picking up anyone on the side of the highway that flags you down. It also means that if there is a bus in front of you, you had better pass it to get that flag before he does. It also means that you don´t let yourself get passed. Usually as soon as the bus would pass another, someone would ask to get dropped off and the race is on again. When there is a military check point, there is no attempt to pass, but things don´t slow down much. The military doesn´t seem interested in busses much, but about half of them look alert like they are working. The one time I have been seached was in Ecuador, and I could have had a gun and a pound of cocaine and he probably would have missed both. The bus I was on had a special light that would flash when passing on a blind corner. People think I should watch out for crime here. I think that the bus rides are the real danger. Most criminals let you escape with at least your life. If the bus goes off a raod like the one I was on today, there is absolutly no chance anyone would survive.

I can´t get over how beautiful the first day in this country has been. In half a day, I ahve passed through many different mountain formations and many different types of vegitation. We passed a lot of Wan Valdez looking people either riding horses or donkeys, the trailers they pulled, or leading them with goods on the horses backs.

There has been a sudden change in the apearance of people when I crossed the border. Most changes in people´s appearance is more defined by region and takes distance to manifest. Columbian´s are much taller and tend to have more European blood. There are also a lot of black people. Most people of all races are tall and slim.

Columbia has left a fantastic first impression. I wish I didn´t feel the need to speed through. On the other hand, I think that I have got a basic feel for each country I have been to which is good though. If I speed through to the Atlantic beaches, then I can take my time for the rest of my trip. From what I hear, the Columbian beaches are the best.