Peru to Ecuador

Well, I got sucked into a scam. When I was in Tumbes, a guy asked me if I was going to Ecuador. I said that I was and he told me that I had to go that night because the border would be closed due to protests the next day. He told me he was going too. We got in a taxi and headed for the border. Everything seemed fine, but he told me I should watch my stuff because there were thieves at the border.

Now the border check points are about 10 km apart. I suspect it may have somehting to do with disputes over it's boundries though I read that they were resolved six years ago after some deaths on both sides. The guy asked me for $7 to pay the police to let us through. He paid the police and away we went. We made a tight turn into an alley, and that's when I knew something wasn't right. It was very dark. A police man came out, and talked to the guy I was with. I was told I had to pay the driver $10, not 10 sols as we had agreed to. I also had to give the cops a buch of money to get out of this place that looked like some kind of temporary jail.

Oh well, $50 isn't too bad considering I had another $600 in my hidden pocket. It's pretty spooky walking around with that kind of money, but I lost my bank card and travelers cheques are a real pain in the ass down here. Some want as much as 10% commision and you have to pay commision when you buy them.

I'm happy to be in Equador. The first night, I stayed in a city called Machala that was ok, but nothing special. There were really nice parks and people, but it seemed like everything was built for funtion rather than having any meaning or style.

Today, I took a bus from Machala to Cuenca. It was such a beautiful trip. The banana plantations were homogenious, but very green, and the bus went through places that had wild vegitation but were not parks. It was almost like my first taste of the jungle. The houses in the countryside were much nicer than those in all of the other countries I have visited. Another thing that surprised me was the number of privately owned cars - most of which are newer and nicer than mine.

Cuenca is the most beautiful city I have seen in South America. Many of the buildings are hundreds of years old, and the gardens and parks rivial those of Victoria. There is a little more traffic than the rest of South America, but nothing you could compair to Canadian cities. I had some fantastic ice cream and pasteries. It was a real treat considering the only food I have really enjoyed so far is the juices.

Tommorow, I'm headed for the town of Banos. The name sure doesn't sound good if you know any Spanish, but it's supposed to have good acces to the Amazon Jungle. It seems that Ecuador is going to be my last chance at the Amazon as Columbia and Venezuela are supposed to be a little dangerous in those areas.

That's it for now.