Border Crossing: Ecuador to Peru

Border crossings are not exactly on my list of favorite things to do.  Crossing over from Ecuador to Peru wasn’t very eventful – but man, was that an uncomfortable journey. To begin with, we took an hour bus ride from Vilcabamba to Loja. We arrived 3 hours before our next bus, so we had to kill time in the extremely dodgy Loja bus station.

Spending hours in bus stations is also not one of my favorite things.

The 8 hour bus ride to Puiria was hardly more comfortable than the station itself. For starters, the bus left at 11 p.m., but this did not stop the bus operator from playing the loud Bachata music to which we have become accustomed on each and every bus ride.

This was a night bus, and naturally, people wanted to sleep. The problem was when someone reclined their seat all the way – as both people in front of us did – they were literally right on top of you. Not so comfortable.

"Firts" Class. One step above First.

At 3 in the morning, we had to get out of the bus, get stamped on the Ecuadorian side, and walk across the bridge to the Peru. The man who was supposed to give us stamps on the Peruvian side was sleeping, so a guard had to wake him up before we could go about our business.

This is what a 3:00 a.m. border crossing looks like. Pretty uneventful.

Getting stamped

We arrived in Puiria at 7 a.m., but this was no walk in the park either. Our night bus to Lima didn't leave until 3:30 in the afternoon. We couldn't very well lug all our bags around town, so we spent the day passing time in the tiny, un-air-conditioned terminal and taking naps in the extremely uncomfortable chairs.

We ate lots of "Bimbo and Snob" sandwiches while waiting for our bus.

Our bus that afternoon was leaps above any other we have taken thus far. Our seats on the second level were plush, and leg room was a-plenty. Dinner service was a perk, as was a friendly game of BINGO (which Ben thought we won prematurely and yelled out “BINGO!” then pressed the “call attendant” button, before realizing he wasn't a winner).

Apparently when playing BINGO in South America, they skip the "5 in a row" phase and jump right to "Black Out".

I was quite impressed with the bus food.

Finally, FINALLY, we arrived in Lima after two nights spent on buses. Walking into our hostel was like seeing a mirage in the desert – too good to be true. We got there well before the 1:00 p.m.check-in, but we were able to take hot showers and eat breakfast – luxuries to a backpacker.

Two border crossings down, one to go

Gettin' Down & Dirty on the Farm

Beautiful view of the Andes Mountains from the farm.

I was finally feeling better – and it’s a good thing – because the next leg of our journey included hiking into the Andes Mountains to a remote organic farm where we would be spending the next week working. This was both of our first times WWOOFing, and I can tell you it was quite an experience.

A little bit about the farm: Finca Verde is a relatively new farm run by an American named Mike. He grows a variety of vegetables, coffee, plantains, and sugarcane. There are also animals on the farm – cattle, donkeys, a family of ducks, chickens, a farm cat named Tito and a dog named Dakota. 

Tito and Dakota being uncharacteristically nice to one another.

Oh, and I should be sure to mention the composting toilets...

With a view, of course.

We spoke to Mike a few days before arriving, and he insisted that we buy rubber boots before arriving. We figured our hiking boots would work just fine, but we took his advice and are sure glad we did. More on that later. 

When we spoke to Mike, he told us that he was planning on spending some time in town and wouldn't be on the farm during our stay.

Bummer! We were really hoping to learn about permaculture and organic farming and were disappointed we wouldn't have his guidance. (Some volunteers on the farm later informed us that he was a “grumpy old man” and it was probably for the best he wasn't there.)

But I digress.

The journey to the farm was an adventure in itself. From Cuenca we took a van 4 hours south to Vilcabamba, where we spent the night. The next morning, we stood by the side of the road with our hands outstretched for an hour, waiting to catch the next southbound bus. We finally made it onto a crowded bus around 10:50 a.m., nearly an hour after we were told it would be there. (We've come to realize that’s how things operate down here in South America.)

As per the instructions from Farmer Mike, we rode the bus for 2 hours past the small town of Valladoloid. The next part of the directions read, About 15-20 minutes later, get off at Pueblo Viejo.

After about 18 minutes, we started to get worried because we saw no sign of any town called Pueblo Viejo. We asked the driver how much further it was, and he looked a bit worried when he replied in Spanish, “We passed Pueblo Viejo 10 minutes ago.” Then he abruptly stopped the bus to let us off.

In the middle of the Andes. Without a person or other vehicle in sight.

WHERE ARE WE?!

So, as many backpacking stories begin, we were lost in the middle of nowhere and carrying all our belongings on our backs. For the next 40 minutes or so we trudged back up the mountain until we reached Pueblo Viejo, which was not a town at all. No, Pueblo Viejo consists of just two small houses and a concrete bus stop. Well that would have been nice to know.

Next, we found a small creek mentioned in Farmer Mike’s directions, and saw a path leading upward. We crawled under the barbed wire blocking our path, and as soon as we were on the other side with our bags we heard someone yelling. A man dressed in construction gear was calling to us. Assuming he was thought we were lost, we ignored him and kept walking.

We know where we’re going, right?! Ummm, apparently not. 

The man walked quickly toward us, asking where we were going. “Finca Verde,” we replied. He then proceeded to tell us we were going the wrong way and pointed to a creek that stretched straight upward. “That is the path,” he insisted.

Right next to the creek was a dilapidated little sign that read “Finca Verde”.

Seriously, this is the sign?!

So we changed into our rubber boots and headed upwards.

And this is why we were glad we bought rain boots...

After an hour of cursing, sweating, and getting sucked into the mud, we finally reached Finca Verde. It was actually the perfect time to arrive on the farm, being that it was Friday afternoon, and the work for the day was just wrapping up.

Silhouette shot

We met five other volunteers and a few farm hands before Nick and Jill, two volunteers from Maine, showed us around the farm and explained some of the ongoing projects.

That night we cooked veggie burgers and bread from scratch and enjoyed a few (okay, a little more than a few) glasses of punta – a type of moonshine made right there on the farm from sugarcane. Let me tell you, that stuff is STRONG.

Delicious veggie burgers

Combine lots of punta, heavy bags and a steep, muddy trail lit only by a flashlight, and you get a pretty difficult trek up to the bunkhouse.

Our bunkhouse in the daylight

We spent the next day (Saturday) relaxing, playing cards, and you guessed it… drinking more punta... oh, and cutting Ben's hair!

Ben wanted a haircut... so I gave him a Mohawk.

Despite being on a farm, we were quickly running out of food (seems a little ironic, doesn't it?). All we had to work with was lentils, plantains, and sour mandarins, so as you can imagine, we had to get pretty creative with our cooking.

Curried lentils with a handful of vegetables we were able to scrounge up.

On Sunday, Nick and Jill made the hike into town to get more food and to use the internet for their first time in weeks. While they were gone, we slept off a strong punta hangover, read in our hammock, and hiked to a nearby waterfall. I’d say it was a pretty productive day.

Notice: Ben is still sporting the Mohawk!

Monday and Tuesday were really the only days we actually worked on the farm. Our days looked a little like this:

-Filtering Rainwater: Basically, we covered two funnels with towels and attached them with clothespins. We then placed one funnel on top of the other and poured rainwater through this very advanced filter system into a jug. Makes for some pretty tasty water!

-Planting Seeds: We filled small bags with dirt (made from equal parts compost, sawdust, and sand) and planted a variety of seeds which will later be transplanted.

-Planting Corn in the Field: Pretty self-explanatory

-Odd Jobs in the Greenhouse: We raised some shelving and moved wood piles to make room for the growing tomatoes.

-Building a Solar Shower: All credit for this project goes to Ben and Nick. Up until now, if a volunteer wanted to shower, they would have to clean up down on the farm, then make the muddy ascent to the bunkhouse. Let’s just say you wouldn't stay clean for long. Hats off to the boys for building a shower for future volunteers.

Another “job” that wasn't included in our daily tasks was making each meal. Cooking on the farm was much more time consuming than cooking at home. I love to cook, and for me it was really fun making everything from scratch without the aid of appliances such as an oven. We had to get really creative making meals using only what we had on the farm.

One night we even made a “Faux Pad Thai” using homemade peanut butter. Yes, I cracked open each shell, roasted the peanuts, and blended them with panella (sugarcane), salt and oil. It didn't look much like Jiffy, but oh, it tasted so good! Paired with hot peppers, garlic, sour mandarins, lemongrass, cilantro and a handful of other herbs, it was pretty amazing with pasta and homegrown vegetables, if I do say so myself.

Farm kitchen... the only thing this picture does not capture is the massive amount of swarming flies and bees.

We had planned on staying at the farm for a longer period of time than just five days, but without Farmer Mike there to really teach us anything, we decided to leave Wednesday morning with Nick and Jill.

Oh, and on our last night, Nick shaved off the rest of Ben's Mohawk. He looks pretty happy about it!

Hiking back down the mountain was even harder than on the way up. We all fell at least once. Some of us (err, me) fell many more times. Once we reached the road and we were sufficiently covered in mud, we walked to the concrete bus stop and waited. A good hour passed before we decided that the bus probably wasn't coming. Excellent.

We left our mud-caked boots at the bus stop for the next WWOOFer to make their way to Finca Verde.

That little duck tape tag (handmade by Ben) says "Gratis" - Free.

The walk uphill with our bags was not pleasant, but the view was incredible. We were the only people in sight and were surrounded by the lush mountains and low-hanging clouds. We walked about an hour until we waved down a passing truck, hopped in back and hitchhiked all the way to civilization.

Working on a farm and hitchhiking – two firsts all in one week!

More pictures from the farm:

While we were at Finca Verde, a new sign was made for the entrance to the farm. Hopefully future WWOOFers will have an easier time finding it than we did!

A strange fruit we found... not sure if I liked it or not...?

When it rains, the chickens hide under the table. Smart animals.

This is the life.

An interesting "beanpod" fruit.

One of the greenhouses

Damn chicken kept trying to eat our plantains!

CRAZY spider!

Hardest worker on the farm

Cuenca

After spending two glorious weeks on the coast – albeit sunburnt and sweaty – we were craving some crisp mountain air. We found just that in the colonial town of Cuenca.

Set in the Andes mountains, Cuenca’s buildings have an old world charm, yet progressive restaurants and contemporary museums give the city a modern aura.

I was very sick most of the time we spent in Cuenca, and therefore got better acquainted with our hostel room than the beautiful city. We did, however, have a chance to wander the streets and experience the charm that draws people from all around the world to call this city their home. 

When in Cuenca...

Beautiful river walk

Vegetarian for the day... a pretty frequent occurrence lately.

Montañita

Montañita is town on Ecuador’s coast known primarily for two things:

1. Decent surf

2. Insane nightlife

The town itself is a small collection of streets packed with tourist shops, eclectic street food stands, and young dreadlocked men selling “happy” brownies. Reggae music blasts at all hours of the day, and at night the streets are packed with gringos and vacationing Ecuadorians looking for a good time. If the clubs aren't your thing, you can grab a cocktail to go from a street vendor, and bring your dance moves to the beach, which is even more crowded in the early hours of the morning than during the day.

The beach was nothing compared to those we visited in the Galapagos – crowded and littered with cigarette butts and bottle caps (remnants of the previous night’s party). Let’s just say that people don’t come to Montañita for the beautiful beach – but rather the epic party that is promised each night.

BEST street food - RastaPan - ie. doughy pizza goodness.