It Could Have Been Worse…
Well….we made it to Lima…after a 12 hour bus ride from Quito – Huaquillas (they said it would take 9 hours), and a 19.5 bus ride from Tumbes – Lima… 31.5 hours on local bus transport.
Fred and I left Quito on Friday at 6:45 p.m. and arrived to the Peruvian border at Huaquillas at 7 a.m. We wouldn’t have known to get off the bus had some locals on our bus not pointed it out to us. A friendly local guy was there right away, speaking english, and started picking up our bags and showing us where to go for the passport stamp, etc. He then hailed us a taxi to take us to the border (only $1 each) but he came with us too… We don’t mind tipping these locals a buck for their help but this guy was over the top. A better guide book at this point on this particular border crossing would have been much more helpful (we just had Foot Prints which is not as detailed in this regard as Lonely Planet).
Once we got out of the taxi to the “bridge crossing” we were swamped with money changers. We had been warned about changing money in Peru and brushed them off. Anyway, he walked with us across the border. It would have been difficult to find independently since the Sunday market was on and there were detours down back alleys and of course, no signs. Anyway, he then hooked us up with this independent taxi driver and another “guide” to take us to the border control for Peru (which was not right at the border, you have to drive for about 5 mins which is very weird), then take us 24 km to Tumbes. There was no lineup of yellow, metered taxis of course, only tuk tuks like in Bangkok so we agreed to this old beat up “collectivo”. The Ecuador guy said it would be 50 Soles (about $20 more or less, which we agreed to) the taxi man didn’t speak English, but another guy from Peru jumped in who spoke some English. They drove us to the passport place, then 24 km to Tombes to the bus depot. Enroute, he offered to stop at the bank machine ATM, which we wanted to because we had no Soles and everyone there wants to be paid in Soles. After the bank, then they wanted payment. Only now, the payment was 400 Soles!!! Can you imagine! Like $120 US! It was supposed to be 50 Soles! Needless to say, an argument ensued, only we are on some back alley street now, they have our luggage in the trunk, there are 2 of them, and they wouldn’t drive us to the bus depot because they said it is unsafe to show money transactions there. So we told them to take us to the police station then (to plead our case for this extortion) so of course they wouldn’t do that. It was the Peru guy in the passenger seat that was the real hustler who spoke some english. But not enough to really converse with and conveniently he couldn’t understand english and tried to make it out like we didn’t understand the agreement.
Finally, after Fred spoke real harshly at the taxi driver to take us to the police, he said $40 US. They said the bus terminal was just around the corner. I left the cab to check and make sure it was – with the younger Peru guy right on my tail (he was actually about 35-40 and a big guy). Fred then paid the $40 and we left – totally ticked off. Next time, we will make sure THEY write the price down before we agree to it (I will always carry my small pad of paper and pen with me now). Also, Fred bought me a Spanish dictionary but it is too big to carry in my pant pockets so I am going to buy a smaller one for quick reference.
Then, we walked to the bus terminal, and the next bus to Lima was at 11 a.m. But, it was the economy bus, not the double decker deluxe one that we were anticipating (after already spending 12 hours in an economy bus). The double decker bus wasn’t leaving until 3:30 p.m. and I didn’t really want to stick around in that hell-hole (wow – talk about gungy and full of riff-raff hustlers) and the economy bus “looked” like it was roomy (the one we took from Quito had ample leg room) so we decided to take the economy bus (only $17 each) from 11 a.m. arriving in Lima the following morning at 6:30 a.m. (when we booked the ticket in Tombes, the lady said it arrived at 11 a.m. so obviously she didn’t understand). Anyway, the bus was disappointing to say the least. It was like taking an Air Transat (charter) flight with hardly any leg room. It is okay for their 5′ body size, but at 6′, we were crammed. I was very impressed at how Fred managed sinces he had the window seat and I was able to stick my legs out the aisle.
But – this is not the worst of the story (I got off on the bus/ticket tangent, sorry)….while we were waiting to board the bus with our 2 luggage and 2 carry-ons, Fred’s carry on was STOLEN right from under us!!! I had mine over my shoulder, luckily, since it contains our laptop, camera, extra USB and memory cards, travel book, my treasured Skip Bo card game, headphones, and 2 other novels, etc. Fred gets a sore shoulder from carrying it all the time, so he set it down on top off his luggage, which was right in front/beside us, but both of us I guess were next in line to hand in our bus tickets and some guy came out from nowhere, grabbed Fred’s bag I guess and took off. Fred and I didn’t know it until the guy directly behind me tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to where Fred’s bag had been and motioned that it had taken off (of course, he couldn’t speak english). So, I alerted Fred who took off running out of the terminal and a guy pointed him in the wrong direction (of course – probably in cohoots with the thief) and was unable to find the culpert or his carry-on.
The episode sure caused a stir in the terminal area. Everyone wanted to know whether our passports/money were in the bag, luckily, they weren’t (Fred keeps them in his cargo pant pockets). He lost his toiletries, alarm clock, his new Newsweek Magazine, his Galapagos Islands book he was enjoying (My Father’s Island), 3 pairs of prescription glasses/sunglasses, contact lenses, and his snacks and small travel pillows for the bus rides.
There was no sense it contacting the police, (which are all over everywhere in Quito and Tumbes by the way) – the carry-on would be long gone in some shack. We got on the bus and us, and the rest of our belongings, made it to Lima. I kept my carry-on between my legs with one of my legs through the shoulder straps even. But, it sure has put a bad taste in our mouths about Peru. What a welcome. Shafted by shisters (I’m not sure how you spell it), victims of thievery, and to top it all off, when we went to purchase flight tickets to Cuzco (where you go to climb Macchu Pichu), when we went to pay with our US cash, we were told 2 of the $20 bills we had were counterfeit!
Luckily, we were warned by the older waiter at The Magic Bean about counterfeit money at the Peru border and the money exchange scammers. Unfortunately, he learned a hard lesson – $500 US later. And, he is from Ecuador and speaks Spanish and obviously should know of all the scams that go on in South America. At least we went to the Scotia Bank ATM so the counterfeit money must have come from the bank machine in Quito (Fred doesn’t remember using a $50 bill and getting $20 in change but he might of, since they always say it is better to have the small bills).
After arriving in Lima, we took at taxi (15 soles) to El Patio, but unfortunatley, it was alll booked up but he recommended a hostel around the corner so we are at Hostal Tinka and it has CNN even! Our first glimpse of TV in almost 3 weeks. The room is 100 Soles, which is about $35 and is right in Miraflores (tourist district).
So, at least it turned out to be a sunny day and we walked down to view the Pacific Ocean and Fred enjoyed a superb Mango Salad at a beautiful cliff side restaurant called Mango’s. We think we might even go back there tonight – or go to Pizza St and check out the action. Our flight leaves at 6:05 a.m. and we have to be at the airport at 4 a.m. so that means we leave the hotel at 3:30 so up at 3 a.m.
We have been travelling now for almost 3 weeks and between airport travel, visiting the Galapagos, and Kapawi Lodge, we have been getting up around 6 a.m. daily (if not earlier). We need a vacation on this holiday! Fred says Easter Island will be our place to kick back and relax – which will be in a month or so!
Well – that’s a synopsis of our last few days. Fred told me not to put it in our blog, because it might upset my mom and dad (don’t worry Mom – remember, I was a police officer for 10 years) but I think people need to know travelling is not just sun, sand, and surf. It was not easy, especially if you don’t speak spanish, there are NO signs to help direct you, and hardly anybody here speaks english. Plus, foreigners here (white skinned) stand out like a sore thumb so you really are targets. Despite reading all the “Dangers and Annoyances” sections in travel guide books, and watching documentaries of “Top Travel Scams in South America”, it proves just how extra prudent you need to be. Both of us were diverted at the exact moment, and the culprit knew when to strike. We have travelled to @80 countries and this is the worst that has happened to us (yes, I know Mom, “touch wood”) so with continued diligence, we’ll hopefully be incident free for the next 7 months and 1 week.
Since Fred’s sunglasses were stolen, he treated himself today to a new pair of Oakley’s and since my cheapies ($10 from a street vendor) are busted in a couple of places (my good Gucci’s ended up on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea after a rogue wave hit me from behind in St. Lucia at Christmas) I got a snazzy pair of Oakley’s too.
A new adventure begins tomorrow when we fly to Cuzco. We made sure we booked an early flight since we hear thick fog comes in in the afternoon, and well, thick fog, mountains, and old airplanes doesn’t sound like a good recipe to me so I’ll get up at 3 a.m. instead.
Look for our next blog after our climb to Macchu Pichu!
Lisa n Fred
Tags: Peru, peru border crossing, tourist scams, Travel
frednlisa
Wow, sounds like you guys are on the Amazing Race, but without the security blanket of the production crew! Hope the rest of your trip is eventful, but in a less criminal way.
Jealous like you can’t imagine,
Gary
…And to think I always thought Peru was one of the safest places to go….my hairdresser is Columbian and he’s always telling us that Bogota is so beautiful…..enjoy your climb…take a pic of Stanley there. Have you seen any beautiful woven tapestries?
Keep blogging…and keep safe.
L abccm
Hi Gary and Caroline,
Yes, hopefully our bad luck has ended. For sure, Flat Stanley is coming to Machu Picchu with us. I forgot to take him horseback riding yesterday, he would have enjoyed it!
Fred and I made two woven tapestry purchases made by the Incas – a beautiful mat with colourful cats on it, as well as a huge wall hanging with Peruvian women with braids on it. Fred has taken photos of them – I just have to figure out (STILL) how to import my photos onto the blog site.
Buenos Dias! Lisa and Fred
Hey F & L
The correct spelling is “shyster” and it sure sounds like you ran into quite a few! Sheesh! Who needs to watch tv when you can read FrednLisa’s blog. 🙂
Just catching up with reading this as I have been a tad busy. Hopefully things will be a lot smoother for you guys!
Carol
Hey Fellow Adventure Travelers…
“People need to know traveling is not just sun, sand & surf”… Amen to that! Wow, sounds like you’ve had some bad luck so far, in this particular part of the world the scam
artists are everywhere — tough place to start out guys, so keep the faith.
Happy Trails you two & best of luck going forward…
Jess & Warwick