Welcome To Colombia

Lots of people complain about bus journeys in Bolivia and Peru, but I haven't had any to complain about yet (excluding my camera loss). That all changed with my first Colombian bus journey yesterday, I won't bore you with the details, no, I will, it was a lot longer than stated, my first seat had zero leg room, my second tilted forward so that I slipped off if I went to sleep and actually seem to have bruised my bum from friction burns or something, I didn't have enough money to pay for it so the driver was supposed to stop, but forgot, despite my reminder (ok, I was partly hoping he'd forget totally), then the cash machine at the bus station was out of order so I had to give him my MP3 player as a deposit, and have to go back now to reclaim it and pay what I owe. So we arrived past midnight and there were no places at the cheap hostels, or the expensive ones, so I eventually stayed in a hotel and the taxi driver charged me for all the mucking about.

It had all started so well too, I managed to pay a visit to this church built on a bridge against a rock face where somebody had seen the virgin years before so that the same rock face is now the alter of the church.

The further north I have come the more friendly people have become, Colombia being the friendliest yet, in fact a but too friendly, I was a bit worried I might get molested on the bus last night. And I ended up sharing my banana sized and shaped snickers type goo with half the people on the bus, I couldn't have finished it on my own.

I think I said before that the border crossings are getting a little ridiculous, the Ecuador-Colombia crossing was stranger than ever, the buses drop you off and pick you up in no man's land, so you have to walk back into the country you've come from to get your passport stamped and then into the country you're going to to get your passport stamped again and then walk back into no man's land to get on another bus in to you destination country. It would be so easy to miss it all just by accident. Most boarder crossings are the dodgiest places known to mankind, not this one, it was actually quite pleasant, I stopped for a lunch of a sausage that was warmed rather than cooked and some potatoes which were the highlight of the meal.

And another thing, in most countries so far it's been worryingly difficult to tell the difference between the police and the army. Here I don't know the difference between the police, the army and the militia, men in uniform all look the same to me ;) I was going to say how nice it is to be back in a hot country, it feels like I am on holiday again, but there's just been some bloody loud thunder out there atm, hope it's not shells. I was going to walk to the bus station too.

Geek

It only occurred to me as I was plotting Otavalo on my map and noticed that I had gone from negative to positive latitude that I have crossed the equator.

I've been posting some presents and stuff home recently, the post around South America is good, but it's bloody expensive, usually more than the presents themselves, today I spent $40 on postage!

In other news I got this from my insurance company: "I am pleased to confirm that your claim has been accepted." Well fuck me! So for all your camera insurance needs I recommend Photoguard.

Tolerant Britain

I just picked up a copy of The Lonely Planet for Western Europe, here are some choice quotes on Britain (mainly from the Dangers and Annoyances section):

• Britain is remarkably safe considering its size and the disparities in wealth.
  
• Avoid large groups of young lads after the pubs shut down (11 pm), as violence is worryingly commonplace in town centres across Britain.
  
• Drugs of every description are widely available...
  
• Britain is not without racial problems... but in general tolerance prevails.
  
• Shopping is the most popular recreational activity in the country.
  
• On Brighton: "Fat Boy Slim hails from these mean streets..."
  
• In Manchester apparently "Paradise Factory is a cutting edge club..." Right.

I wondered if Switzerland would have a Dangers and Annoyances section. It does, apparently "some people may find congregations of drug addicts in cities unsettling."

Correction

Here, as in the US, they don't ask about the toilet, they ask about the bathroom, so I always think of "baño" as "toilet", and so in turn I incorrectly translated "baños" to "toilets", but of course Baños is called Baños because of all the thermal baths in and around the area.

A Charmed Life

I was going to write about how lucky I'd been today, but it was just with bus and train times, which is even more tedious than usual, so just take it as read. Oh and I didn't get decapitated either, I had a bit of a close shave though (haha).

The first bus conductor I had this morning (I've spent 8 hours on three buses today) was a little crazy, really. After talking to him a bit about being able to get off in Sibambe where the train ends up (I couldn't) I asked him about how long it would take. He held up two fingers, "12?" I said, he held up four fingers "4 hours?" I said, he held up one finder, "1pm?" I said, he finally replied, "No, 11." We got to Alausi, through which the train passes, at 11:30.

So I managed to get the train, it was a little bit of a let down, I think I've been spoiled for sheer hills, valleys and clouds recently and there were no derailments or decapitations :( I found out why no one had heard of Sibambe, where I originally tried to get the bus to, it consists of the shell of an old station and the shell of an old church. Saw asparagus in the wild, it was 3-4m, really. Though I think it's a slightly different variety to the one in Mum's garden as at the bottom of these there were cactus looking leaves.

I am not used to small countries, I am now in Baños, a placed called "Toilets", over half way across the country in about three days. Interestingly you can see smoke from the volcano on google maps.

Funny Money

Ecuador uses the American dollar as its official currency. I have never been so confused by coins. Mostly the bigger they are the more they are worth. (The 50 cent coins are huge.) Except for the $1 coin. That's smaller. And the 5 cent coin is bigger than the 10 cent coin. And mostly they say what they are worth on them in big numerals. Except for the ones that don't. Some of the coins, including the tiny 10 cent coin, have the value printed on them in impossible to read words. Also some of the coins have "Banco Central Del Ecuador" written on them. Is Ecuador producing dollars? I can't imagine the US government allowing them to, is the US producing dollars for Ecuador? Trusty wikipedia doesn't have the answer so I can't tell you, This is all I could find: "Though Ecuador continues to mint its own coins, they are denominated in fractions of a dollar up to 50 cents."

Hopefully going on a train ride tomorrow through fantastic scenery, apparently you can ride on top (check the date :)

I think I did leave some things in Cusco in my rush to leave. My "North Face" (non) rain proof jacket, and I seem to be down a couple of pairs of pants and a T-shirt too. Oh well, I have too many clothes with me anyway.