Ecuador

Had a lovely time in Lima and stayed in the hostel that I had previously stayed in. Befriended a girl, Vanessa, that worked in the hostel and she was a wee doll. She took me around loads of places in Lima on days off and I got to meet her family and she took me to mass one Sunday! It was a wee bit different from home - obviously the language, but there's a lot of kissing and holding hands that goes on. Had a great time there, but decided to leave Peru and make my onward journey to Ecuador.

Caught a decent bus for the 30 hour trip up to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Of course, we had to get off at the Peruvian border before entering Ecuador. Our bags were removed and placed back on the bus. We were all ready to go, when one immigration officer got onto the bus and asked in Spanish, 'Who owns the pink travel bag?' - Well, of course it had to be mine. So off I went, had to open my bag; they asked if I could speak Spanish - I replied yes haha. They found an illegal tin of tuna in my bag that apparently wasn't 'declared' at customs; then they proceeded to smell my hair-dryer and open hair dye in my bag and all the other contents in it. Maybe they thought I was a drugs mule or something. I look like a total scrag after a year of travelling.

Finally made it to Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador and stayed there for a day and a half. This city has been known to be very dangerous, but they're trying to clean up the image. I didn't wander out at night, but it was nice and pretty along the Malecon during the day. Two days was enough there so then jumped on a bus heading towards Quito, which was another 9 hours away.

I'm at present in Quito - a beautiful city in the middle of Ecuador. I really like it here - lovely people. I've been at a Spanish language school for the last week and have one more to go. I just couldn't stay away from learning all those verbs again. It is a 'sister school' of the one I was at in Cusco and I'm staying in the residence here, so I can just roll out of bed in the mornings and head to classes next door! It's great. The teaching is a bit different and there's more homework. I didn't like the homework at first, but now I'm realising that the stuff is actually starting to go into this dumb brain of mine.

I've met so many great and crazy people here and have been enjoying days out after studying; jogging in a huge park here, going for lunch, a couple of crazy nights out with the locals, visiting the sights in the city and more recently going to La Mitad del Mundo - the Middle of the Earth.  Of course, I had to lie on both sides of the equator, see the water running differently at each hemisphere, balance an egg on a nail (myself and my friend were able to do this and received a diploma). Now we're doctorates of eggs on nails - great for the CV.

When I arrived home in Ireland after being in Thailand, I was given a wee cannister of my aunt Anne's ashes to take with me on my travels. She knew she wasn't going to be around when I was home and knew I wouldn't be back for the funeral and she said she wanted to travel a bit with me and be left somewhere nice and warm. So I decided to spread the little bit of ashes at the centre of the earth, between the two hemispheres, where it was nice and warm. So not only has she travelled miles with me, picked up a new language, nearly got arrested etc, she now lies at 00, 00, 00 - near the line of the equator, near a flowering bush, beside a little blue church there.  I think she'd like it there.

So Quito, as I said is a beautiful city, but supposedly dangerous also. On my first day arriving here I saw someone being robbed - of course I took the wrong street, so quickly turned back. There is the local bus called the 'Ecovia' - it's basically like a street metro, with people shoved in like cattle. A few students in the school have had their bags slashed (without even realising) but it's mainly theft without serious injuries. I've been grand. The school here tries to scare the b'Jaysus out of you telling you not to take certain taxis etc, but I've been fine and have enjoyed speaking Spanish to the wee taxi drivers. Of course, they ask you all the time, if you're married/single etc...my answer is that I'm married - so much easier, as I've learnt from previous situations that if you say you're single, then they want to practically marry you!

However, last night here in the residence where I'm staying right next to the school I nearly crapped myself. Basically the school is like an old colonial type building and my residence is attached to it. There is a guard on 24 hours a day. Last week there were 9 of us here, now there are only 2 as the rest of the students have gone back to the US.  The front entrance door to the residence is always left open (and has to be - no idea why). Even though there are cameras here, the wall isn't too high so anyone can get in.

I decided to go to bed at around 10.30pm as I was tired from my weekend to La Mitad del Mundo. I locked my bedroom door; as I always do and double check that it's locked before getting into my bed. I obviously dozed off, but was awoken 30 minutes later as I heard this kind of creaking noise. I opened my eyes and looked up and realised that the door to my room was open.

I nearly s*it myself. I thought maybe I'd left my keys out in the living room and someone had got in and found them, but realised that they were beside my bed.  I jumped up quickly and shouted to see if someone was there, before quickly closing the door. Right, I jumped out of bed...put my bra on (didn't want to be bouncing all over the place...and if I died, I didn't want to be braless haha), threw on my tracksuit bottoms and lifted my straighteners (as my weapon of defence) to hit whoever it was over the head!

I walked to the door, armed with my black weapon, heart pounding, and opened the door. The place was in darkness and I couldn't see anyone. Made my way, with the other girl living here, to the security guard, speaking to him in Spanish about my door! He thought I was going bonkers, as he said there was no-one around and they would've been caught on camera. The place was checked and there was no sign of anyone or any disturbance.

So I went back to bed; lodged a chair up against my door, straighteners by my bed and managed to get some sleep. Have no idea what happened - I'm now thinking either there is some sort of ghost here or either I was sleepwalking or something hahaha. I think some of the ones here think I'm nuts after that!

I've another week left here and due to leave on Monday. I have no idea where I'm going yet, as I haven't decided what to do. One girl I've met is going to Columbia, but she's taking a 30 hour bus to get there and will be flying home five days after that. Thinking of going with her to see Columbia for a bit, but I really like Ecuador, so I may just stick around for a bit.

May have to stay here a bit longer than next Monday anyway, as my shingles have decided to make a re-appearance in my right eye again. I was getting the usual symptoms that I had in Cusco, and Sandra took me to the eye specialist here last week. Apparently the symptoms were the sign of the virus starting to re-emerge again, so I managed to catch it before it got any worse. Again, another expensive bill (it's much more expensive here in Ecuador than in Peru. Quito is so modern, it is ridiculous, to even think of this place as being in a Third World Country) and medication, but it is worth it in the long run. 

Tomorrow, I've to go and see the specialist again with Sandra (who has been brilliant with me..she's kind of like an Ecuadorian big sister, as she won't let me go on my own and has been translating everything properly for me, so probably would've been lost without her) to see how my eye is. I feel fine as  usual and he has no idea why it has returned so quickly, but has told me the usual. I'll have this virus dormant in my body for the rest of my life and have to live with it...and that's exactly what I'm going to do for now.

Me lying on the equator line

Myself and Millie receiving our 'diplomas'

Guayaquil, Ecuador

Cathedral in Quito

Centro Historico in Quito

Quito Street

The President of Ecuador  - Rafael Correa, in Quito

The Road to Nowhere

I took my 9 hour bus journey from Trujillo to Talara in a local bus called 'El Dorado'. Before entering the bus, passengers had to make sure they'd no guns on their possession. A fingerprint had to be taken which was attached to a piece of paper with your seat number on it. I was the only white 'gringa' female on the whole journey. The bus was quite old; air conditioning was turned on by opening the windows and the flies and smell of arses were included in the price. It did have one working TV at the front which continuously showed 3 films of 'George de la selva' (George of the Jungle) and one actually repeated itself in the course of the journey. Never before have I seen George of the Jungle and never again do I want to see it.  The sound was deafening and there was a constant whirring noise on the TV. 


The bus was full and a girl in her mid 20's sat beside me. As soon as she sat down, I could have sworn she had a kipper in her bag; either that or she'd some sort of infection. Jaysus, the smell of fish was wild, and it disappeared as she left the bus. In the seat across from me sat a man in his 50's who constantly gobbed (spat up phlegm) the whole way there, either on the floor or the seat in front of him.  At every toll, people got on selling food/drinks (I stuck to my ham baps) and of course, fishy beside me, fed her face at each stop and fell asleep after her food had disappeared down her oesophagus (obviously her body was exhausted from all the digesting it was doing).  


We drove through endless desert upon desert. Looking out the window each time, the scenery never seemed to change. I moved seats once darkness had arrived, as lots of people got off at the stop prior to mine and some weird, local guy decided to sit beside me, replacing the guy who was gobbing and kept staring at me. Naturally, I gave him the 'WTF look' and moved to another seat .  I eventually arrived in Talara to streets full of moto-taxis - it was like being back in Thailand again for a short while. The moto-taxis were unable to take me to my place of rest in the desert as the sand was too much for their little tyres. So I managed to find a taxi car to take me, which was expensive, but I didn't care as I just wanted to arrive in Lobitos as I was tired.


On entering Lobitos, there is a military check-point, which I already knew about. However, stopping at this check-point, I could hear the soldiers telling the driver that the house I was going to HelpX in was closed. Naturally, in my head, I was like, no - it's ok, of course it's not closed as I was in contact with them via email before I left Trujillo.
I arrived at the driveway of the house (this place really was in the middle of nowhere/desert) only to be greeted by two armed soldiers with a dog.  The taxi driver told them I was an 'amiga' of the owners and they exchanged words and I could still hear them saying it was closed. I asked them if it was ok if I could get out and speak to the people in the house. I was then followed by these armed guards to the front door; which was a window. The soldiers prohibited me from entering and I had to sit on the bench outside the window and talk to the people through it.


The owner had apparently gone to Lima on Tuesday and couldn't seem to be contacted by phone, email or facebook. In the house were 5 HelpXers (the 2 main people I was in contact with via email were from Germany - Sebastian and Andrea; hippy looking people, with dread locks in their hair; another guy from France, who had arrived in the morning and was quite shy and obviously in shock at the soldiers being outside the house. He went to bed...probably wondering how to get the hell out). There were 3 other guys there, who were in Lobitos to surf.  Naturally, at the start, I wasn't too concerned and thought that the soldiers had to 'ok' my arrival, as the area is used as a military base.


Time passed, and Sebastian, the German, spoke to the soldiers and still, I wasn't allowed in. This time there were 5 of them around me, talking on their walkie talkies, disappearing into the darkness, then re-appearing again to make sure I hadn't entered.  I didn't feel threatened by them (maybe the Police and military presence around good aul N.Ireland had something to do with that). By this stage I was wrecked, and Jack the Ripper could've been standing in front of me and I wouldn't have been bothered.


Whilst sitting there, I got to chat to the Andrea, the German girl and she said that as soon as the owner left on Tuesday, the military swooped into the house, cordoned off the place (with that type of sticky tape the cops use when there has been a murder scene...which was still visible on all of the doors - probably why I couldn't get in a door and had to sit at a window).  They wanted to know who was in the house, questioned them and went into every room taking photos and not allowing people to enter.  Now, by this stage, I was getting a bit suspicious. It's like the people inside were under some sort of house arrest (even though I'm sure they weren't) and then there was dopey me, sitting outside trying to get in.


Time passed and still under no circumstances, was I allowed in and there was to be no more than 8 people inside. It was a night on the desert for me then. I was escorted off the premises by armed soldiers with their fat perro (dog) in tow and it didn't matter to them that I was by myself, female, and had nowhere to stay. Even my 'pretty please' in Spanish didn't swing it for me. A tiny bit of me wanted to try and bribe them, but I chickened out. Later, Sebastian and Andrea came and said they knew of a place nearby that I could stay. There was a wee surf hostel located down the sandy pathway that was able to accommodate me for the night. The HelpX house paid for my night and told me to come back the next morning. Even after everything that had happened, they were still desperate to get me back into that house the next day (?), which was a bit strange alright.


I slept in the nice surf hostel and got to waken to the sound of the waves; but as soon as I got up and had a look outside (i.e. sand with oil rigs dotted over the place) and saw my other house on the hill; I decided, enough was enough - time to leave. Even if I wanted to stay, there was no way the military would let me and I didn't fancy a bullet to the head if I tried to enter the house.  The wee hostel I stayed in was very basic but nice; full of surfers who were friendly and I met a nice guy called Elmo, who was finishing his surfing there after 3 months and was looking to get into Talara to get a bus to Lima. He told me that there was always something not right about the house I was meant to be in and advised me to stay well away. 


I took his advice and decided to get a combi (without saying goodbye to the others in the HelpX house) with him to the nearest Cruz del Sur bus station here (there was no way I was jumping on the local 'El Dorado' bus again). I decided to spend a few extra Soles in comfort and safety on my next journey.  The only Cruz del Sur bus out of this place goes direct to Lima. If I wanted to get to the border of Ecuador with some bus company/border crossing, I'd have to take the local dodgy buses; but have been well warned off these as the border crossings are dangerous and can be quite hairy if you take the wrong bus. I think I've had my fill for one day and Lima sounds great - so I'm taking the next fancy bus out of here back to the city of Lima. God knows where after this; I'll figure out something on my 18 hour journey back to Lima (I could swear Cusco is trying to pull me back again - how dare it!!).


If this had happened to me 4 years ago, I probably would've been on the first flight home. Now, I don't get too bothered - always another extra story to tell. I think the last year of travel has definitely chilled me out - great stuff!

Oh Trujillo, you're breakin my heart

'You're shakin my confidence daily, oh Trujillo, I'm down on my knees, I'm begging you please to go home, go on home!' (sing this to the Simon and Garfunkel 'Cecilia').


Woo-hoo - two new posts within the space of a few days. Shows how bored shiteless I am in this place called Trujillo. This dump is the third largest city in Peru, the 'Capital of the Everlasting Spring' (yeah right, a cloud of fog more like) and the birthplace of Peru's judiciary and was the scene of the Revolution of Trujillo in 1932 and to be honest looks like the revolution never ended. A bit of brightly coloured buildings in the plaza and pink and blue buildings falling down all over the place, with every car being a taxi (probably to take people anywhere but here).  Apparently it was twice the capital of Peru - thank God, some judge up here decided to give it back to Lima, as he obviously realised how awful it was and saw sense in returning it to its rightful place.


This place is boring with a capital 'B'. Reasons to those stated above: -

• Tried to find a bit of nightlife here - the first being an Irish bar called 'The Office'. Googled it and went in search of it (as there was nowhere near the plaza opened or any bars that were mentioned either closed down, were non-existent). Asked lots of people where it was and got looks of uncertainty, so the time came to google it again, not only to realise this bar was actually in Trujillo in Costa Rica (just thousands of miles up into Central America).

• The hostel is like a ghost-hostel with the room resembling that of a box, with an entrance of white iron gates, resembling that in a convent. It does have big showers mind you; and the daily breakfast of two baps and jam are coming out of my ears.

• The streets are lined in a grid shape and unfortunately they all lead back to the Plaza de Armas, which is dull, in comparison to Cusco terms. The only exciting thing happening, was one man singing out loud to people sitting on the benches (to be honest, I think he was a bit mental anyway).

• Received a sheet of info from the lady who owned the hostel and one of the main highlights of Trujillo was to go and visit the 'Museo de Jugetes' - 'The Toy Museum' ..eh no thanks along with a UNESCO  World Heritage Site of 'Chan Chan' - In my non exciting historical eyes; it's a big sandcastle that has eroded away.  The only joy I got visiting here was trying to be a rebel by climbing over a bit of rope onto another piece of sand and getting a whistle blown at me by the Security Guard shouting 'Prohibito'. It was open from 9-4.30pm - myself and Grainne arrived up at 2.20pm and were walking out of it by 2.40pm down the dusty 2km road back onto the main 'highway'

• Turn from the plaza and take a left down one street and you'll find a shop selling glasses and next to this shop, you'll find another selling glasses and the same repeated the whole way down - I have no idea how any of these people make a living when the shop right next door is exactly the same.

• There is the beach however, which is a 40 minute combi-ride out of the historical centre and is a nice change, but looks a bit like Newcastle Beach in County Down about 30 years ago where you're not sure if it is sand or dog poo that you are treading in along the path.  Maybe it's history and quaintness are lost on me because I can't wait to get the hell out of this complete dive. It like being in a prison here - even walking on the streets zaps all the energy from you.  The only joy we've had so far is eating at a nice restaurant for 9 Soles (£2) for 3 courses and Grainne trimming my hair!!

But, of course, I am getting out of here in less than 24 hours time and Grainne is heading south to Arequipa, so I'm on my own travelling again. Three days was enough here. I have booked myself onto some dodgy bus that the locals get heading up the coast (gone are the posh/safe/expensive/GPS Navigation/ 2 bus drivers & host/fully reclining seats/free wifi/food on board Cruz del Sur buses that I've been using here in Peru) to Talara which is 9 hours drive away. It'll be my own food/stuck beside a chorlita with bread sticking out of her backpack/seats that recline 5 degrees or knowing my luck, forward/free Wifi for anyone wishing to steal my laptop/1 bus driver maybe taking a nap up the coast/28 Soles (£6 for a 9 hour bus journey compared to nearly 90 Soles for the same length of time on Cruz del Sur to get to Trujillo from Lima).

After this, I will be heading off into the desert of Peru - the west coast is very deserted the further north you go. As I said before, I will be going to a place called 'Lobitos' which used to be an old English port which has now been taken over by the Peruvian military and is being used as a base and training area, in the middle of a desert 40 minutes away from the nearest town or city.

After my bus arrives in Talara, hopefully with my bags still with me at this point, I have to try and get my way to Lobitos using a moto-taxi or combi (but somehow I don't think I'll be appreciated on a combi the size of a workers van with people squashed into it and me and my big pink bag entering) and find my way to a big 'pink house'. But before I find this I need to pass through the police check-point in the area. The people I'll be working with sound absolutely lovely and the place seems pretty chilled out, so looking forward to it. Anything is an improvement to Trujillo, even the vast emptiness of a desert on one side, with the sound of the ocean on another sounds good...'Jubilaaaaaation!!!!' (the end of the song for Cecilia/'Trujillo').