Beth and I were feeling quite accomplished. We had made it to our final destination in South America - and we’d had a fantastic time getting there. We had braved freezing cold temperatures, made it through a dose of Cipro, lived through 16,000 feet worth of altitude sickness, and logged 249 hours of bus time. We had seen five countries, discovered incredible landscapes, eaten amazing foods, met up with old friends, and had many come to visit us. We were reflecting on all our adventures, and looking forward to the next and last leg of our journey - Central America. Mostly, we were ready for some serious beach time.

But as Beth said as we were waiting in the Quito airport, “We may be done with South America, but it’s not done with us.” (more…)

To cross the border into Ecuador, we had to take a bus to Tumbes in northern Peru and grab a busline called CIFA that would escort us across what was supposed to be “the most dangerous border crossing in South America” into Ecuador.

Our 18-hour bus ride to Tumbes was uneventful, until we got off the bus. We strapped on our bags and tried to find the exit to the bus station, discovering that it was locked. One of the employees asked us if we were ready to leave. We told him we were going to CIFA and he told us it was just three blocks to the right. Then he opened the door.

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