The Border

So I was ready to head to Peru, and got up fairly early to get on my way. One of the biggest problems I had come to find out is that this border comes with a large "no man's land." I have crossed many Central American borders and generally they are immigration office, bridge, other countries immigration office. One countries buses drop you off on one side, and the other countries pick you up on the other. At most you have to walk half a kilometer. Here, due to long standing boundary disputes (I think) this is not the case. The immigration offices are a couple of km's into the country on either side. Inside this zone it is chaotic, and confusing, and every one and their brother AND their mother who wants to fleece tourists out of money is there.

So I had heard about a bus company that drove from an Machala, Ecuador (about an hour from the border) to Tumbes, Peru (about 30 minutes from the border). apparently they would stop at both immigration posts, and help tourists through. The bus was double or triple the normal price, but still only a few bucks. This is the option I tried for. At the bus station it was confusing. I am no slouch in Spanish, but I could not figure out what was going on. There seemed to be a lot of disagreement about which bus it was and when it would come. Finally after a lot of waiting and pacing, the woman in the ticket office shouted at me to hop on a bus that was just about to pull out. I got on and went to get settled and then went to talk to the driver/money taker guy. I wanted to make sure we were going all the way into Peru. We were not. WHAT???!!!! It took me a long conversation/argument to get him to admit this, but as I was the only tourist on the bus, the only one that wanted to pay the amount to get us to Peru, we were not going. I had heard this might happen.

But I was prepared. Instead of being taken all the way to the border AKA chaoticville, I had them drop me 4km out at the immigration post. That was a quick stamp in the passport, and then back out to the road. One of the main things I had heard is never get in a cab. The cab drivers often will drive you to a deserted field or lot, and their "policeman" buddies will show up and demand money for your protection, because it is a dangerous place. Yeah, protection from them I suppose. Or sometimes they will even force you to go to the ATM and take money out. I have heard of people loosing up to 200 USD that way. So I waved off several persistent cabbies, and hoped on the next bus to the bridge over the river separating the two countries.

When I got there I had to walk down a long street crowded of shops and people. I did not actually get hassled much on this side, but I suppose had I been facing the other direction, I would have. Then, I crossed the bridge and the barrage started. Taxi, taxi, taxi, but no way was I getting in one. I had read that it was better to take a moped/rickshaw type thing, and I eventually pushed my way past all the offers of taxis and money changers to get to the moped turnaround. I did change a little money, enough to make it to Tumbes and ATM, but that was supposedly one of the biggest scams; fake bills. The moped taxi driver told me one dollar for the 10 min ride, but when I got out he said 10 dollars. I laughed him off, and he was a bit miffed, but I told him no way was he getting 10 dollars from me. I looked in my pocket and the smallest bill I had was 10 soles, about 3 bucks. I gave it to him, and said I'm sure he would claim to have no change and that he was lucky to even get that (as opposed to the 10 dollars he was now asking for). I left, and headed towards immigration. Again, a quick stamp in the passport, and back out to the road. I waited for a while for a bus, but none came. Eventually I did hop in cab, but there were four other seemingly unconnected people in it, and it seemed safe. It took me the half hour to Tumbes, and all in all I got through unscathed.

Mainly I think it was because I was prepared. I only really got fleeced out of 2 dollars, and that was more because I didn't have change. If any of you plan to cross, this is my advice. Go in the daytime. Try for the international bus, but failing that, make sure it drops you off at immigration. Don't take a taxi unless there is absolutely no other choice, and then preferably with other people. Only change a small amount of money to get you to the next town. Pay attention, it is pretty much straight the whole way, so if you are in a vehicle and it starts to make a bunch of turns, beware. Good Luck, and remember, knowledge is power.