It began early in the morning after our stay in the desert. We (the 3 of us + 4 new travel buddies) all got to Neiva to catch the next bus to Popayan, and luckily we only had to wait for about an hour tops to get one. This bus didn´t supply enough seats for everyone possessing a ticket and as I was the one to get on board last, I sat on the floor. It took about half an hour untill the bus pulled over and stopped at a gas station due to massive black exhaust clouds that made it impossible to see the road, for anyone following us. About another half an hour later weh ad a new bus that even had enough seats for everyone and our journey could finally continue.
Another catch was that the bus didn´t go to Popayan directly but had a stop in another small ass town somewhere along the way and we would have to change busses. We knew about it, and when we arrived there around 3pm, we expected to be fetched by 100 bus company workers who wanted us to buy the last available seats on a bus that was about to depart. BUT the last bus to Popayan had already left about half past 3 and we would have to wait another day to get to Popayan too.
Two of the swiss girls, that had come along with us, somehow managed to get a bus that only the 8 of us would take to Popayan. It was a bit more expensive than a regular bus, but since we didn´t have to pay another night at a hostel, we ended up even, but a day quicker. And THIS was just a crazy ride: It took from 4pm to about 11pm to climb about a million mountains and drive over 300km of uneven road, that made it impossible to sleep on the bus. We were bored so much and the bad feeling that you have, when you don´t know whats happening or where you´re going increased constantly after pouring rain and thickest fog further limited the drivers visibility of the road.
Upon arriving in Popayan we were more than happy to leave the bus and stumbled into the next hostel, in expectation of a hot shower and some food. Sadly food was out and we had to roam the streets to fill our stomaches. A little food stand in front of a club, in which 12-17 year old teens celebrated the graduation of the oldest among them, possibly had the best nightly revenue in a long time. Because 7 starving tourists basically stripped that old woman of everything eatable that she had on her little grill. Further more, we were some kind of spectacle to the graduation kids, because they happyly practised their limited english on us and utilized their cameras to the fullest in order to get a picture of us in every possible pose.
We too, then made it to bed at some point that night, still having in mind that our little group would split up the next day, as Mr. Monatana and Gin wanted to stay a bit longer in Popayan. So after a heartbreaking farewell, Chris, I and 3 others got the first bus in the morning to the boarder of Ecuador to then drive either to Quito or to Otavalo. This was supposed to prevent ourselves from being snatched at the boarder by guerilla groups, who are specialized on kidnapping and robbing gringos. It was another long-ass-boring-8hrs drive to Ipiales but after weeks of training, Chris and I managed to kill time very efficiantly by sleeping most of the time.
At the boarder we got our stamps for leaving Colombia and the immigration stamps for Ecuador. Another bus (reeeeeaaaaaally really cheap, compared to colombian prices) sealed the deal and dropped us of in Otavalo around 10:30pm. A new hostel was found on the spot and a solid nights’ rest gave new energy to all of us. We even got up early to roam the local (crap) market and have some decent fruity breakfast. Chris and I got ourselves new sunnies and he even bought a new pair of chillax-pants. This is a very colorful version of sweatpants that are sold everywhere along the street. Most of them look like ass, but Chris got a nice pair, and since they are really comfy, he kept wearing them for quite a while.
Our next aim was the big city, Quito, in the middle of the Ecuadorian Andes, at an altitude of a few thousand and something meters a place to stay. And it was only 3-4hrs away by bus, which made it even more attractive, since we´ve knocked back about 27hrs of bus transportation within the last 3 days…
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen