Day 164 : Border Crossing to Colombia

Queue at Ecuador border snaking on outside

The border crossing from Ecuador to Colombia is a nightmare!  There were extremely long queues at both the Ecuador as well as Colombia immigration, and is the worse border crossing I have done in South America till date as it took me almost 4 hours to clear both borders.

Strangely, they did not seperate the crowd into an entry or exit queue, so everyone gets squeezed into one queue to be handled by the same immigration.

Queue at Colombian border

Traffic from Ecuador to Colombia

By the time I cleared customs, it was already 5.30pm.  Initially, I had wanted to squeeze in a day trip to Sanctuario de las Lejas, which was just about 20 mins away.  But because of the delays at immigration I had to forsake visting this supposedly amazing cathedral built on a bridge, and head straight to Popayan on a night bus, in order to have enought time to spend in the city and yet be able to reach Cali by Xmas eve!

Day 163 : Otavalo

Last day in Ecuador, as I arrived in Otavalo in the afternoon.  Otavalo is famous for its Saturday markets where it is supposed to attract huge crowds, especially tourists seeking for souvenirs.

Not intending to squeeze with the crowd, I decided to go in on a weekday instead, and also since it is enroute to the border of Colombia.  There are still a number of vendors laying out their merchandisers here, though probably lesser than Saturday, but most importantly, there isn´t that much crowd.

Lots of vendors selling clothings including alpacas and other warm gear, silver jewellery, hammock, hats etc.  I would have bought quite a few things from here if it had been my final stop of my trip, but unfortunately I can´t be carrying them around with me over the next few months, so sorry guys... no souvenirs for anyone from here as I didn´t buy a single thing.

 

Day 162 : Fellow Singaporean Comrades

After 4 days in Quito, I finally found out that there were 2 Singaporeans in Quito!

Fried fish & prawns with rice & potatoes

Singh had contacted me earlier in the morning, and within a couple of hours we met up in the Historico Centro.  Apparently Singh has been in Quito for the last 4 months, and he shared that he is travelling around the world for 10 years (?!?!), of which he is currently on his 2nd year of his travels.  I want his lifestyle!!!

So we walked around the town, and headed for yummy lunch at a local market place (together with Joseph, whom I had bumped into earlier), before heading over to his lovely penthouse apartment with an amazing view of the city that he had rented at a bargain in Quito. 

Singh & I

Joseph, Singh & I

Presence of the Ecuadorian President

I decided to head into the Historico Centro today again to explore some of the few places which I have yet to cover, including the Iglesia de la Compania, Calle de la Ronda and the Basilica.

While in the Historico Centro, I noted that there was a lot of activity in the main square, with lots of camera crew standing in various parts of the square.  Thinking that there must be something big happening, I decided to hang around and wait.

Day 161 : Ecuadorian Ceviche

Ceviche Mixto

Had my first try of Ecuadorian ceviche, which is totally different from the Peruvian ceviche.

Ecuadorian ceviche is served with cooked seafood, but in a cold soup.  It looked like a small portion, but extremely filling.  It is also rather tasty, though can be rather sourish for those who are not a big fan of sour stuff.

Day 160 : ME DAY!

My cake!

I turn one year older today... looking back, this has been a rather interesting year, especially having made the decision to go on this major trip.  Definitely no regrets, as the various experiences and new insights gain of the world has been immensed!

However, not all have been smooth sailing over the last couple of months though (sprained ankle, lost phone, and recently stolen laptop), so am hoping that with this birthday, luck will change for the better!  

Going to be another 4 more months on the road, so should be exciting!  

Spent this special day travelling to the ¨Middle of the World¨, and had a mini sushi party in the house with some friends in Quito, along with a bottle of champagne!

Sushi Platter

Sparkly from Germany!

Fransciso, Christina, Roberto and Alfredo

And of course me!

 Not too bad for a celebration on the other side of the world :)

Mitad del Mundo

Apparently there are 2 sites here in Quito, fighting for the claim of the ¨Middle of the World¨ title.  They are each located about 240m away from each other, one being much grander and flashier in layout than the other.

Intinan

Me in the Middle of the World!

Gunpoint

Woke up this morning, and needed to get directions to go to Midal del Mundo (Middle of the World), and thus knocked on Roberto´s room door. 

He opened the door and apologised for waking me up last night.  He had a slight bruised on his face and he explained that while he and his friend was on their way home in a taxi last night, the taxi had stopped at a traffic light.  It was at this time, 2 men with guns suddenly appeared and entered the taxi.

Day 159 : Historic Centre Quito

After a tiring 8 hour bus ride on a crammed bus (I am too used to taking cama seats and no longer normal coach seats!), we finally arrived in Quito at 6am, where I parted ways with Joseph.

Made my way to the Historic Centre of Quito in the afternoon after taking a short nap.  Unfortunately weather isn´t the best, as it rotated between slight drizzle and heavy downpour.  Nevertheless still managed to see some sights, which mostly comprised of cathedrals and including a tour of the Presidential Palace, which I think would be the highlight of today´s visit.

Day 158 : Laptop Stolen!!!

My laptop has been stolen, while in my bag in the room... sigh...

We had gone out this morning to take a walk around the city, and when we returned to check out of the room at 2pm, I noticed that my laptop was gone!

I checked all my bags just to be sure, and couldn't find it.  So we asked the staff at the counter if anyone had entered our room, since it was a private room and I had the key the whole time.  She denied, saying no one did.  Very strange that it could have gone missing, and we were certain it had to be a staff from the hostel. 

Day 157 : Cuenca

1st stop into Ecuador, and experience hasn't been all that welcoming! 

Firstly, our bus from Mancora to Cuenca somehow departed only 1.5hours after the scheduled time, and so by the time we got into Cuenca, it was already about 10.30pm, and we had not booked a hostel. 

Met an Irish traveller (Joseph) at the bus terminal of Mancora, and apparently both of us had taken down the same hostel address in Cuenca to try our luck in finding an accomodation without a booking (guess I am not the only one doing this trick!).