The Almost Perfect Journey: From La Paz to Bogota

First off you can have my intinerary (or whatever it would be, you'll read below...),

La Paz to Lima $50, 27 hours
Lima to Mancora $30, 18 hours
Mancora to Guayaquil $13, 8 hours
Guayaquil to Tulcan $20, 15 hours
Ipiales to Cali $13, 10.5 hours
Cali to Bogota $20, 13.5 hours

Brings us to a total of $146 and 92 hours of actually sitting on a bus. the distance between the two cities (as the bird flys or by road im not sure) is 1508 miles.


So i decided to get a bus direct from la paz to lima peru. i could have probably saved a little if i had gone to lake titicaca first, then switched buses for the ride to lima, but i wasnt feeling well in la paz and took the easy way out. I ended up having to change buses in the peruvian lake town anyway, which was annoying, considering thats what i was trying to avoid. no matter. a total of 27 hours later i was in lima, and the ride wasnt so bad, they fed us--pathetically small amounts of food, but what do you expect?--and the seats were good enough to sleep in (with the help of a little diazepam). upon arriving lima i found the bus to mancora, the northern peruvian laid back beach town i was going to rest in and had lunch while i waited the few hours for it to leave.

Same thing to mancora, easy ride, comfy seats, not much food. when i arrived in the morning i found the hostel i stayed at the last time i was there, right on the beach. all did for the 24 hours i was there was drink juice on the beach, eat amazing cheap seafood, and sleep on a bed. next morning was off to ecuador, which was fine, except the bus wasnt air conditioned and thus very hot. we arrived in a big dirty nasty city in ecuador called Guayaquil. i found a bus from there to the town on the colombian border meant to leave in 20 minutes. perfect...or so it would seem. nobody seemed to know from what area this bus departed, but i was pointed in a direction and after asking a few people i found a bus that could be it. i showed the driver my ticked and asked if the bus was going to Tulcan. he looked at the ticket (in low light) and said "yeah yeah yeah, tulcan." after about 20 minutes of driving the conductor came on to check tickets, he looked at mine and said (in spanish, i have translated it for your benifit) "no, this bus isnt going to tulcan. its going to salinas." i didnt know where salinas was, just praying it was near the border of colombia. but no, it was 2 hours due west and once we arrived i learned there were no buses leaving till 3 am. i was pissed. like just about to break some windows or something, but i realized i would be able to get to colombia if i was arrested in ecuador. so i found a hostel, slept the night, ate more seafood, and went back to guayaquil where i bought the same ticket again, and got on the bus. just over 15 hours later i found myself at the border of colombia.

easy crossing, no difficulties, i love being american, half the time i get through quicker than the locals, or even the europeans, dont ask me why. the border town of colombia is called ipiales and is famous for a cathedral they have there. i bought my ticket out, left my bags at the bus station and found my way out to the church. its unbelievable. forget notre dame. ill get photos up when i can, but its built clinging the side of a massive canon. its amazing. i then took my night bus to cali (and then would proceed from cali to bogota cause it was cheaper that way than to get a direct to bogota from ipiales).

i got to bogota last night, took a city bus from the out-of-town into the hostel district and was dropped a block from my hostel, from a city bus from a big ass bus station a half hour ride away. maybe that doesnt sound like an accomplishment on screen, but i was proud of myself. i switched hostels this morning cause i dont agree with paying for breakfast or internet when your already paying for a bed. so i found my new hostel (which is new itself--only been up and running for a month) and will spend a day or two chilled out to get over a little cold i have. which i got right upon coming into colombia (a place where swine flu may actually be a problem) and convinced myself that i probably got it from all the buses i have been taking. i dont think thats true, cause im not dead yet, but lets keep our fingers crossed.

well there you have it, 7 days, $146, 92 hours sitting on a bus, and god knows how many kilometers later i made it. it wasnt so bad.