We decided to take a bus from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Lima, Peru. Flights between the two cities run $370 to $450 and a bus ticket costs $60. We bought tickets early enough to get two front seats on the upper level. Long distance busses in South America are pretty cool. They come with meals, drinks, movies, bathrooms, fully reclining seats, foot rests, and usually have two levels. And they even have a stewardess too.
We left Guayaquil at 11:30 am and were scheduled to arrive 26 hours later in Lima. We booked a direct bus with Transportes Ormeño to avoid any border crossing problems. The border between Ecuador and Peru is pretty well known for problems and scams. The border crossing turned out to be a breeze and we soon found ourselves cruising through Northern Peru. Northern Peru is desserted and barren. Deeanne was sure with front seats she wouldn’t get car sick but started feeling pretty ill at some point late in the day. Riding up on the second level you definitely get much more sway compared to riding lower. It is almost like you are on a land boat. The roads aren’t exactly great either. We found ourselves wishing we could get off and spend a few days at Mancora or Cabo Blanco as we passed through. I was dreaming of a few more nice days on the beach surfing and Deeanne didn’t care where it was she just wanted off. Unfortunately we had to be in Cusco by Sunday the 23 of August to hike The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
After two Dramamine Deeanne managed to fall asleep for the night. I stayed up and watched The Shawshank Redemption and then slept a bit. We woke up to a landscape of huge sand dunes. Surprisingly we were ahead of schedule and arrived a few hours later into Lima.
I love Lima, Peru. It is considered the culinary capital of South America and for good reason. Oh how I missed good food. We only had a day in Lima and all we did was eat. After finding a cute place in Miraflores (a coastal suburb of Lima) we ate some great falafels at a Middle Eastern place. They were so delicious Deeanne ordered a second plate. Cesar a friend of Antonio took us out to a great lunch spot and gave us a tour of Miraflores, San Isidro, and Barranco, the three great suburbs of Lima. We toured the city center where Pizarro is buried and made our way through the old Catacombs. We hit up a Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and Pizza Hut for dinner. I know these last two don’t sound very culinary but you just can’t pass up a Dunkin Donuts and pizza just sounded good. The Pizza Hut was also in a very cool spot overlooking the ocean called Larcomar.
After our whirlwind culinary tour we caught a Sunday flight to Cusco. We booked what looked to be a great hostel. It turned out to be a nightmare. The shower fluctuated between 220 and 50 degrees. You had to jump in and out trying to catch the 7 seconds of 100 degree water. These were shared bathrooms so you then had to walk across the courtyard to your room. Cusco at night is 35 degrees and you froze by the time you got to your room. The beds were so bowed it was like sleeping in a hammock. Needless to say one night was more than enough for the both of us.
We arrived in Guayaquil on Friday August 7, late but no worse for wear after our bus trip from Quito. It has been so many years since I’ve been in Guayaquil, yet it still feels like home. The warm balmy costal air just envelopes you. Maria-Belen and Luz picked Deeanne and me up from the bus station. It was great to see their familiar faces. I only wish my Spanish was a bit better because I found out in the car that Maria-Belen was getting married in two days; a fact that I somehow missed in our phone conversation the week before. What amazingly great luck though, our timing couldn’t have been better; after all these years and I made it back for her wedding. I was the guy that walked her down the aisle for her Quinceañera when I was here and they are like a second family to me.
Saturday we went to church with the whole family: Maximo, Luz, Maria-Belen and her fiancé Javier as well as everyone else that was in town for the wedding. The rest of the day we caught up and Maximo took Deeanne and me for a walk along the river on the new boardwalk (Malecon) and up to a beautiful look out that overlooks the city. The new Malecon is the jewel of the city; and rightly so - it is one of the most beautiful pedestrian boardwalks I’ve ever visited.
Sunday we hung out at the house and visited some more. The hairdressers came and did everyone’s hair and nails for the wedding (by everyone I mean the women and Maximo). The wedding ceremony was at 6:00pm; it was simple yet elegant. Belen and Javier seemed to enjoy themselves and the ceremony was quite sweet.
After the ceremony we all headed to the reception at a nearby hotel. It ended up being rather long since our Spanish isn’t the greatest, but everyone had fun playing games and singing karaoke. One interesting difference is that in Ecuador dinner at receptions is not served until the end. We were totally unaware of this fact. We couldn’t figure out why they only served snacks and sweets. We finally asked and found out it is because if you serve dinner first everyone leaves so they serve dinner last. This meant dinner didn’t arrive until after 11:00pm by which time I think Deeanne and I were both nauseous with hunger. Now we know, next time eat before heading to a reception in South America so you don’t starve. Everyone went home at 2:00am, this might as well be morning for Deeanne and I; it made for a rough next day. Monday we tried to sleep in but couldn’t and spent the rest of the day in a fog (I honestly don’t remember what we did). Tuesday we headed to the Galapagos and Belen and Javier headed to Cartagena, Colombia for their honeymoon.
Eleven years ago when I lived in Ecuador there were two national heroes: Jean Claude Van Damme and Sylvester Stallone. You could rest assured that any journey of more than 2 hours would be accompanied by one of the two. So you can imagine that when we boarded the bus for our nine hour trip to Guayaquil on Friday it was with great anticipation. It wouldn’t be a bus trip in Ecuador if you didn’t get at least one Van Damme or Stallone action flick.
Bus trips are famous for one other thing too – salesmen. Where better to sell people something than on the bus where you’ve got a captive audience. This doesn’t seem to bother Ecuadorians. I must say I too have come to relish a good sales pitch. We were fortunate on Friday to witness one of the best sales pitches I have ever seen. It was better than a Sunday sermon and about as long. A very nice fellow preached to us about the benefits of Ginseng and the hazards of smoking and drinking. He had every passenger hanging on his every word. Even I could hardly wait to hear what he had to say next about Ginseng. Just so you know Ginseng cures: cancer, ulcers, gastritis, headaches, old age, liver problems, prostate problems, and helps your sex life (I might have missed something too my Spanish isn’t perfect). If you are not taking a Ginseng supplement you should buy some today.
We caught the 8:30am Transportes Ecuador bus expecting to arrive in Guayaquil by 5:30pm (nine hours later). Things never go as planned in life though; and in South America in particular. One hour into our bus trip we ran into a road block. Without alerting anyone (not even the media), a cycling group was conducting a bicycle race. We were informed that the road would be closed for three hours.
Passengers started grumbling, and wanted to take a detour; but several teenagers had paid to go to Santo Domingo, which the alternate route did not go by. One man suggested we each donate a dollar. We came up with $10 for their fare quite quickly. We were just about to go the other way when the road appeared to open. Twenty minutes down the road it closed again (there was no going back at this point). What are you going to do? We stood by the road and watched people relieve themselves. The view down the valley towards Santa Domingo was nice too.
Still no Van Damme or Stallone sightings, I was starting to wonder if Ecuadorians had suffered a breakup. I have so little faith, I just had to wait. Seven hours into our trip on comes “Lionheart” the same Van Damme movie that I’m sure I saw at least five times while living in Ecuador. If you haven’t’ seen it you should check it out! It features some amazing 80’s leotards as well as kickboxing moves. I was kind of wishing we still had more time to go. I would have thought that an 11 hour bus ride warrants at least two or three Van Damme/Stallone re-runs. Come to think of it I don’t know why those two haven’t paired up yet. They would be awesome together!
