The End of the Adventures in Ecuador (and Peru!)

Note: This is my last and longest blog post. It also doesn't have too many exciting pictures. However, I think you'll find that if you read on it's packed with adventure, mishaps, crazy experiences, and a happy ending. Thanks for reading my blog, supporting me throughout my trip, and welcoming me home. ~Tina  

So after hanging around Aguas Calientes for a while we were all more then ready to go. Everyone was tired and Jacquie and Shelby still weren’t feeling too great. Through the company we used to book our Machu Picchu tickets we were scheduled to take a 6:45pm backpacker train about half way back and then transfer to a bus to get to Cusco. We were anticipating getting in around 11pm or so. However, this is where the trouble began. First our train was delayed about an hour. We finally got on board only to find the train chilly and loud. Jacquie, Shelby, and Sarah were all feeling ill and a bit feverish – they had terrible chills and were shaking the whole train ride back. Finally we arrived at the town where we were supposed to transfer to the bus. We got out to find lots of people holding signs with names on them and everyone shouting and calling. We looked all around for our names but couldn’t find them anywhere. It was dark and late and soon we were some of the only people left standing outside waiting for our bus. It was chilly, we didn't know where we were, and we didn’t know what to do. Luckily a woman finally came back down the road calling out “Jacquie?, Tina?, Sarah?”. We connected with her and found out we were supposed to be on her “bus” (which was sort of like a very large van). We were confused how we missed our names on the white board she was holding until we looked closer. Our names were there….. “Yaki”, “Sara”, “Chelvy”, and “Kristina”. They were written in twos like a first and last name and we hadn’t even realized they were our names! No matter – we were soon on the bus and even though the bus driver had to pull over half way home to close his eyes for a bit we made it back to Cusco just after midnight. It was freezing there – you could see snow just a bit higher in the hills – and we just wanted to get to bed. After shivering for several minutes waiting to find a taxi, and then briefly getting lost, we finally made it back to the hostel, frantically packed our stuff, took a quick shower that didn’t really get us all that clean, and crawled into warm(ish) beds for a couple hours sleep.

All five of us woke up at 5am the next morning to get to the airport early. We had a morning flight from Cusco to Lima, a 45min layover in Lima, and then a 1hr flight from Lima to Guayaquil. We knew the 45min would be tight so we headed to the Cusco airport early to print both boarding passes and make sure everything was good. Everything went smoothly until we checked into our flight. “Airport is closed for one hour. Weather issues”. That’s when we started to worry.

We asked if there were any later flights out of Lima but found nothing. Our only option was to wait until Dec 30^th (it was 12/26 and we had a flight to the US 12/28) or pay around $800 just to get to Lima. There was nothing to any other cities nearby either. Discouraged we headed to our gate to think about our options. Jacquie had her US phone and was able to contact her boyfriend Dan in the US. We used her phone to look up flights (nothing) and bus companies (the only other option we could think of). We thought we might be able to get from Lima to either Guayaquil or even our final destination of Quito via bus if we really needed to. We didn’t really have any other options.

We soon were able to board and had an uneventful flight to Lima. When we arrived we dashed to the departures board to see if our flight had already left (of course it was right on time and already gone 30min ago). At least we hadn't checked any luggage (we had tried to plan for something like this happening) so we raced as fast as we could to the ticketing agents to figure out if there was any new information about open seats but it was the same – nothing available until 12/30. So, we figured, a bus trip it was! Unfortunately, the group still wasn’t feeling well. Every time we would turn around someone would be running to the bathroom for an emergency stop. We knew that there were two bus companies that go from Lima all the way to Guayaquil and Quito. They are 26 and 34hr trips (respectively) and cross from Peru to Ecuador. We found a little internet café in the airport and learned that one company had a bus at 1pm for Quito and 2pm for Guayaquil. It was 12pm and the station was located 45min away. With no time to waste we ran downstairs, flagged down a taxi, and hurried outside encouraging the driver “rapido, rapido!!”. We squeezed four of us in the backseat and gave Jacquie the front since her Spanish was the best. Luckily our driver was incredibly kind and called both bus companies after he learned of our situation. The other company had no seats but the one we had looked up thought they might have space. We crossed our fingers. 

We finally arrived at the bus company and got into the ticket line. With four people ahead of us we began planning. Looking around we figured out they might not take credit cards. We began pooling our cash trying to figure out how many US dollars we had collectively - this was a team effort now. Jacquie and I anxiously waited at the counter for our turn hoping no one would take the last tickets, hoping we could afford it, hoping the bus hadn’t left yet. FINALLY it was our turn. We asked the lady if there were tickets from Lima to Guayaquil. “Yes”, she said, “I have four left”. One short. We were devastated. “Wait”, I asked, “what about from Lima to Quito?”. She replied she had four for that as well but then paused, looked again, and said she found one more seat. That’s all we needed! Even though the bus was suppose to leave at 1pm it was running late (this should have been our first sign that things probably wouldn’t work out but it wouldn’t have mattered – we didn’t really have another option). We were able to pay in cash, buy some toilet paper from a lady selling in on the street (they don’t have any on the bus), grab our stuff and hop onto the bus.

We figured that if the bus left at 2pm on 12/26 we’d arrive in Quito around 2am on 12/28 giving us about 4 hours until our flights started taking off to the States. It would be just enough time to get to the hostel, pick up our bags, and get to the airport. Jac, Sarah, and Shelby had 6:15am flights, I had a 7:15am flight, and Amy had a 10:15am flight. At this point we could do nothing else but wait and sit…..

The bus was fairly comfy – a small step up from a Greyhound. We had assigned seats and I was in the middle next to a man who was traveling with his family from Chile to Columbia, a five day journey! They were prepared with blankets, toothbrushes, and towels for showers! (We, in contrast, had no clean clothes, no food, and almost no toothpaste left). The other four girls were together in back by the bathroom, both a blessing for those that needed it quickly and a curse because of the smell.

Strange landscape in Peru

We thought this part of Peru looked a bit like something from outer space.

However, the bus did have one awesome feature - dropdown screens in the aisles (like on an airplane) where they would occasionally show movies in Spanish with English subtitles. This did WONDERS to help the time pass. The first movie was Denzel Washington’s “Training Day” which was pretty intense but not bad. Around 7pm I started feeling hungry and wondering if we were going to stop for dinner. I’d eaten through most of my leftover raisins and nuts and was rationing out the rest of my meager amount of food (more raisins, more nuts, a piece of chocolate, a cookie, some coca candy, and a fruit leather bar) worried that it would have to get me through 31 more hours. But around 8:30pm we pulled to a stop and everyone started to get off. It looked like a food place but when we got out they said they were closed so everyone got back on the bus. I worried that was it and now my one chance for dinner was gone.

However, about 10min later we stopped again at a sketchy roadside outdoor food place in the middle of nowhere. They only took soles (Peruvian currency) of which we had very little left (we tried to spend it out since we “knew” we’d be back in Ecuador soon). Both Amy and I were saving some for souvenirs but dinner and water were more important. Sadly we used our gift money to buy water, juice, and a couple light snacks. Jacquie and I tried to find an ATM but all we found were two men standing on a rooftop, dressed in uniform, holding guns, and yelling that we couldn't go any further. We hastily decided we didn’t need any more money.

Strange little roadside stop with nothing else around it

The break was quick and soon we were back on the bus heading along a foggy road into the night. All of us did manage to get a little shut eye during the overnight probably due to the fact that we hadn’t really slept much in days. Around 6am we were woken up by the sun which was very bright and streamed through the flimsy curtains. I tried to drift back to sleep but soon after the woman kitty-corner to me stood up and started speaking in Spanish while holding a book. At first I thought she might be making announcements so I tried to listen. My Spanish isn’t very good to start with but it’s downright awful at 6:30am on a bus in the middle of nowhere after getting very little sleep. It took me about 5min to figure out that in fact she was not making announcements, she was preaching. Bible in hand she was reading and talking loud and clear so the whole bus could hear (whether they wanted to our not). Way too tired to pay attention I turned away and started out the window watching the strange, moon-like country side go by. Where the heck were we?!

Further north in Peru

We made another stop around 11am for brunch at a buzzing touristy town near the coast. Everyone was finally feeling well enough to eat a little food and we ordered breakfast (luckily this place took credit cards!). We stocked up on more TP and even managed to find a place to make a couple calls to the States to let family know we were alive. However, as we watched the minutes tick by we began getting worried. We weren’t exactly sure where we were but we know we were still in Peru and had quite a bit of traveling to go. We were relieved when the bus driver finally moved us all back onto the bus.

Little tourist town near the ocean!

As the clock ticked on I noted it was 2pm… 24 hours down. Despite being smelly, tired, sore, cramped, and thirsty the bus ride could have been a lot worse. (An aside: On Machu Picchu I braided my hair into two pigtail braids to keep it from tangling and getting messy. This worked great expect for one problem. I forgot that I was exposing my scalp to the intense sun. Shelby noticed my part was firey red on day number three and gave me sunscreen but it was too little too late. My head was charred, as was the back of my neck where I didn’t reapply. It was the worst sunburn of the whole trip and it drove me nuts the whole trip back).

More funky landscape near the Ecuador border

A couple hours later we started seeing signs for the border!! We were so excited! Ecuador was familiar territory, a step closer to where we needed to be, and we could use our US dollars again! We also had an Ecuadorian phone that we could use here to call home for cheaper if we needed too! Our first stop was at border control. 

This sign was probably newer then the building we had to go into...

We lined up in front of a small run down building and prepared to enter a tiny room with two security guards. Everything was chaos as people searched for passports, government IDS, and other paperwork. Several people seemed to be missing things and got into lengthy debates and arguments with the guards. I clutched my passport like my life depended on it and after a fifteen minute wait nervously walked up to the small counter. The guard didn’t say a word, just took my passport, stamped it, checked my paperwork, and handed it all back. Thankfully simple. The other girls got through no problem also and we rewarded ourselves with some ice cream from a guy on the street. Yum.

Sign at the border between Peru and Ecuador. Pilsener is pretty much the only beer you can get in Ecuador.

We thought that was it but of course there was another stop at migration. Shoot. Here we found two lines formed in front of a building. The set up was similar to lines you’d find at a bank with a person behind glass waiting for you at the end of the line. We picked a line and began a long, slow wait. After a few minutes a man walked over to an open area next to us. He made an announcement and then brought out a boy. He showed the boy, they talked, and then he pulled up the boy’s shirt to reveal what looked like a hole in his stomach with intestines trying to poke out. Real or fake it was still a bit disturbing and we tried not to watch so we wouldn’t get haggled for money. We felt bad for their situation but this time we really didn’t have extra cash to spare.

We don't know why there are holes in the sign either....

We soon began to notice our line was taking forever while the other line seemed to be going faster. There was someone at the front of the line who seemed to be having all kinds of issues and kept butting back in line to argue with the person behind the window. But while we debated what to do another bus pulled up with more people who quickly populated the other line and the space behind us. We decided it made no sense to switch. How long could it take?

At this point we also realized it was getting late. It was around 4pm and we began to worry that we weren’t going to be making Quito in 8 hours since we knew it was around 10 hours from Guayaquil to Quito and we weren’t even to Guayaquil yet. I decided to step out of line while the girls held my place and ask the bus driver what time he thought we’d be in Quito. He looked at me and replied in Spanish “Oh, around 6 or 7am”. 6 or 7am!? We’d miss our flights!!! I ran back to the girls and asked Jacquie to go verify that I heard correctly and didn’t mangle my Spanish somehow. She disappeared for a moment and returned with a grim look. I was right. There was no possibility we’d be catching our flight, even if we made up a little time.

Now we were anxious, overtired, and still stuck in line. We’d been in line for almost forty-five minutes and our patience was getting worn down. We wanted to get back to the bus and use our phone to call Dan and Jon (my fiancé) to see if they could help us. After almost an hour we made it through and of course it took us just moments at the window to clear. We raced onto the bus, the last ones, and sat down to assess the situation. We turned on our phone to find out, to our dismay, the battery was moments away from dying. Jacquie quickly dialed Dan’s number but before she could even say ‘hello’ the phone went dead. We still had Jacquie’s US phone and were able to make a call (at no small cost) to tell Dan the situation and see what he could do. Soon though Jacquie’s phone died and we were stuck on the bus, no outlets in sight, and several hours until our next break. What could we do but sit and wait?

At our dinner stop we rushed to a phone calling place to get a hold of Dan and Jon. Dan was able to rebook Sarah, Jac, and Shelby onto Amy’s 10:15am flight. I was on a different flight and found out I was stuck until 7:15am on 12/29. It was unfortunate but luckily I knew a hostel to stay at (The Secret Garden) and I didn’t have to pay a rebooking fee. I was prepared for much worse news and figured at least I'd have lots of time to repack, take a good shower, and get some sleep before going home.

Slightly more relaxed we managed to eat a little food, (ignoring the cockroaches scuttling around our feet), and got back on the bus ready to sleep. Again we managed to rest a bit and woke up to another person reading the bible around 6:30am. We were feeling much better this time though as we saw signs for familiar locations just outside Quito. Just after 7:15am we arrived! We jumped off the bus in a hurry and found a taxi right away. We zoomed to The Secret Garden where we had stored our bags. The girls frantically repacked while I booked my room for the night (a private double). They took quick showers and then I saw them off to the airport 45min later. I gave them all hugs and wished them safe flights. I assumed I was now on my own for the next 24hours. 

Trying to figure out how to fit the suitcases

A final picture of the girls as they headed off to the airport (Amy, Shelby, Sarah, and Jacquie)

After they left I went back to the hostel to enjoy their delicious breakfast and relax. I had just finished eating and was drinking tea and chatting with some other tourists when our Ecuador phone (which I now had) started vibrating. Confused I answered it to the sound of a male voice. “Jacquie can’t find her passport, can you call her?”. It took me a minute to recognize that the voice on the other end was Dan. Jacquie’s US phone couldn’t call my Ecuador phone for some reason but she’d managed to call Dan who was now calling me. I jumped up and called Jacquie to find out she’d lost her passport. She was with some policemen who were taking her to the Embassy to get things straightened out. By now she'd missed her flight would need to stay the night with me.

I’ll make this part of the story short but ultimately Jacquie was able to get a new passport because she was smart enough to have printed copies of EVERYTHING. She arrived at the Secret Garden flustered but in relatively good spirits considering an intense ordeal full of paperwork, metal detectors, and Spanish speaking security guards that kept yelling at her. She and I went to get some final paperwork done and to rebook her flight (something you have to do in the mall…. not the airport… go figure). Thankfully she was able to get out on a flight the next morning just before I left. We celebrated with some dessert at the mall and headed to the hostel to shower and repack. We spent our last night enjoying a beer and some dinner, sitting out on the patio, ending the journey in the same place we’d begun.

We set our alarms for bright and early (we were getting to the airport WELL in advance) and slept. Thankfully we had no major problems at the airport the next day. Jacquie had to present a lot of extrapaperwork but ultimately had no issue getting through.

My journey back to the US was relatively uneventful. I had a layover in Houston where I had a Subway sandwich and a Jamba juice and enjoyed the luxuries of a nice bathroom (fully stocked with toilet paper). I arrived back to Portland around 6:20pm PDX time where Jon picked me up from the airport with VooDoo donuts and lots of love. Finally J

Despite the hard hike and the crazy journey home I’d absolutely do it all over again in a heartbeat. It was worth it – the whole thing. Machu Picchu and my whole experience abroad is one I’ll obviously never forget. I saw incredible places, made new friends and strengthened existing friendships, began learning a new language, and reminded myself of what’s really important. The four and a half months were filled with some challenges, surprises, and frustrations but mainly with excitement, fun, learning opportunities, and wonderful experiences. I’m happy to be home but I know Ecuador will always hold a special place in my heart.

Here ends my blog and my Ecuador stories. However, I’m sure there will soon be more adventures to recount, more places to discover, and more exciting journeys to come.

Chao!!!