CYCLING: The most harrowing border in South America!

Day 3: Chasing the boat
So we are now in Peru but we never did get a boat across the bay thus avoiding Guayaquil on the way out of Ecuador.

After a very peaceful night under the bush 'near' Playas in Ecuador we started making our way down the coast to catch the infamous boat across the bay to Machala. Firstly we took some more bad advice and took a shortcut across a very soft sandy road to get to Playas which was shorter but the longer tar road would have been far quicker! After about 3 hours of cycling and being told at least 3 times at different points along the road that Playas was 'solo 12km' we decided to hop on a local bus with our bikes much to the amusement of the local commuters to make sure we made the boat in time!

From World Travels - Ecuador

Sadly there were no boats going from Playas but we were told to head on another 12km to the port town (which was more like 20km) at the end of the road where there was sure to be one. But to our surprise there were only boats that would take you to Isla Puná which sits in the middle of the bay with Machala on the other side. We did convince them to take us across to Machala but they wanted $250 for their trouble as petrol was pricey in their little boats and there were many pirates in the bay. By this stage we were begining to feel uneasy and the rather unconvincing lady man was getting uncomfortably close so we took their advice and took the 'direct' bus around the bay via Guayaquil to Machala instead.

Machala is edgy and very big city like. The border we were due to cross to Peru along the coast was described as the 'most harrowing border in South America' so we did some googling and the reports did not get any better - 'avoid if possible'. We toyed with the idea of taking a bus across the border but thankfully we pulled ourselves together and got on with it.

Day 4: Crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru
We got up at 6am and at this stage we still did not have a map so got some sketchy directions from the receptionist, crossed checked them with where the sun was coming up, and did a beeline for the border.

We cycled all morning stocking up on free bananas along the way as this was banana country when finally we started coming across military check points which only meant we were getting close to the border! We had been instructed to seek an exit stamp in Huaquillas just 3km from the border but instead found a border just 500m before Huaquillas only to discover this was the new border kindly being constructed by the EU which was not yet open, but as with most things in Peru the sign posts go up long before the actual construction.

From World Travels - Ecuador

We got our exit stamps in Haquillas with no problems or queues - odd, far easier than expected. Then we cycled through town, through literally a tunnel of stalls just waiting to be preyed on by someone but before we knew it we were crossing an old bridge on the ortherside into Peru - no boom, no searching, nada! Only about 2km into Peru did we pop into the immigration office to ask for an entrance stamp but only because we had been looking out for it. What on earth was all the fuss about?! Clearly the authors of the books and blogs we'd read had not crossed an African border or at least not the one between South Africa and Mozambique!

From World Travels - Peru

We stayed in Tumbes, Peru that night after meeting some very pleasant Peruvians along the way. The one guy and his possibly son could not believe that we did not speak Spanish in South Africa and that in England he would not be understood if he spoke Spanish. We enlightened each other with some info about our own countries and he kindly provided us with some much needed fresh water then we were back on our way.

From World Travels - Peru

Day 5 and 6: Mancora and rest day
The next day we pushed on to Mancora where we spent 2 nights. Nice little surf town, great food and we even bumped into Wing - the Californian who'd also been staying with Kajsa's Montañita home stay. Jokingly Kajsa had said to ´say hi to Mark and David´ as she set off home to Sweden knowing he was heading in our direction!

From World Travels - Peru

Day 7: Hectic climb, awesome downhill biking, serious wind and beautiful views

From World Travels - Peru

Today we had a harrowing 25km uphill cycle to start the day off with - something about the sign saying 'El Alto 26km' kind of gave us an idea it was going to be a long cycle before breakfast! We wound our way up the sandy desert pass making every other incline we'd done feel like a downhill in comparison but the view from the top was all worth it. Oil pumps litter the desert hills in all directions making it all look quite ominous!

From World Travels - Peru

We decided against staying in the open tonight and decided to rather stay at a rather dodgy little truck stop/petrol station just like in the movies! To save cash we now lay side by side on an old double bed, no sheets, no pillow, no water in the bathroom and no power in the plugs - oh well what can one expect for $5 :)