Ecuador - End of the road?

The border crossing from Colombia to Ecuador is not one I am going to forget in a hurry. I have never been at a border where there is a refugee crisis and both the Red Cross and Unicef are present. At the border there is a camp for the Venezuelans fleeing the atrocities that are going on in their own country. As we have been travelling, we have seen so many Venezuelans walking on the roadside trying to get anywhere, where they might be safe. These people are trying to make enough money to live off by selling sweets at road junctions or by selling bottles of water. I have met many Venezuelans who were fortunate to get out whilst neighbouring countries were still taking them in. Most of these were educated and could see what direction things were turning and have been able to make successful lives for themselves elsewhere. The ones currently on the roads are those who do not have money, who could not fly out when the airports were still open. Most of them are making their way to Argentina, the only South American country at the moment who is still accepting them. The people at the border looked in good spirits and most had bags of belongings with them. At the border they are given free water and food and blankets. They are not at the border too long because every day a few hundred are allowed through to Ecuador. From there they will walk to Peru, then through Bolivia hoping to be allowed to settle in Argentina. Seeing these families with their young children, many just newborns is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, when a lot of people hear the word refugee, they forget that these are people doing whatever they can to keep their families safe. Nobody would chose to walk tens of thousands of miles carrying all their belongings and their children, not knowing how they are going to feed their children – if they had a choice.

After crossing the border, it was time for our final bush camp and what a camp it turned out to be! The first choice campsite turned out to have been fenced off, so we drove off exploring and Danny found the perfect site. It was a piece of land that was attached to a hotel but also on the site was a large complex of thermal pools. Included in our camping fees was entrance to the thermal pools. Would you believe it but I was also on cook group. In fact, the final cook group consisted of just me and Danny and we had planned to go out in style. We produced a three course extravaganza. First course was garlic mushrooms on toast (food presented Masterchef style – all stacked in an arty way with paprika sprinkled over the top) – oh yes and we served the food silver service. Main meal was a veggie carbonara style pasta and desert was a very sweet banoffee pie with dulce del leche. Alas we took no photos of this spectacular. After everyone had eaten, we then put on our swimming costumes and spent the next couple of hours in the thermal pools. If only all bush camping could be like this!

The following morning we arrived in the busy market town of Otavalo. In fact Otavalo is the biggest market in Ecuador and most tourists who visit the country will visit here to stock up on alpaca blankets and warm jumpers. I still have a pair of alpaca leg warmers that I bought in 2006! Before we could go shopping however, we had one last truck job to complete. At the end of every truck trip, there is the mammoth truck clean. Every part of Bob is removed and thoroughly cleaned before being packed away all clean and dry for the next group. It takes a good few hours with everyone working flat out to achieve this. I finally got a photo of my tent with my tent buddy Renea before it was packed away for ever. My job was to clean all the camping stools and it is safe to say that I never want to see another camping stool as long as I live!

The final morning of the trip was Easter Sunday so we all donned our bunny ears one last time as we visited Mitad del Mundo. This is a huge momument to show where the equator is. Well it is one of three different sites in Quito which claim to be the exact location of the equator. As modern technology gets better and more precise, scientists continue to argue as to where the exact point is. Inside the monument are history and science displays and you can watch water going down two plug holes in different directions. There is a good view from the top and in some of the photos it is possible to make out the yellow line that is the equator. We had a good time at the complex, posing for comedy photos and even partaking in a virtual reality planetarium show.

Now the trip was supposed to finish as soon as we left the equator; we were supposed to be dropped off in the middle of Quito. Only we didn’t really want it to end. So we all booked an airbnb apartment that slept 10 for a couple of nights. It meant we could have a big farewell party before everyone dispersed. Some were going to the Galapogas, some to Cuba, some on a Carribbean cruise and other poor souls had to return to their home countries to go back to work. I had been on the truck for 4 months, but 6 of them, Bryan and Mandi, Gerrit and Marianne, Marijke and Carol (and of course Paul and Danny) had been on it since they first started out in Quito some 8 months earlier. They had completed a full circuit of South America. A big party was certainly called for!

These are the final shots before Bob was taken to the Quito truck park. Soon everyone left and we were the final four who closed up the apartment on Tuesday lunchtime. The trip was over...

I moved into a private room in a hostel and spent the next couple of days exploring Quito. I have been to the city before and memories came flooding back as I walked around. I had forgotten just how steep and hilly the city is though. Quito is often grey and damp at this time of year but the sun came out and I was able to explore fully.

Now I wasn't alone in Quito, both Danny and Marijke were still about and plenty of rum was drunk. I was due to fly out of Quito very early Saturday morning at 6am. this meant leaving Quito at 2am Friday night to get to the airport. Friday 27th April was also opening night for Avengers Endgame and we had been trying to book tickets for the last couple of weeks. Eventually Danny had asked one of his travel contacts in the city to book them for us. They got us opening night tickets in 3D in the best seats. Oh yes, and then they refused to take any money for them. They were a gift for Danny. So on my last night in South America, I was at the cinema with the 'tour leader' watching the Avengers. I even got a free poster sponsored by Coke Zero. What a way to finally finish the trip!

Leaving Colombia

Our final city in Colombia was Popayan. It is known as the white city because most of its colonial architecture is white – apparently because the lime wash that covers the buildings was thought to stop a burrowing larva they used to have which caused peoples feet to rot! Popayan is also known for its daily processions during Semana Santa. Every night images of the life of Jesus were paraded through the streets, making a shape of a cross until they came to rest at one of the churches. Different stories and displays are shown each night. There are also marching bands and members of the forces and church dignitaries that make up the processions. They are parades through town during the day too – these are composed of scouts, police, marching bands and various organisations such as mountain rescue and the red cross.


Popayan is a small city and it is still being rebuilt after an earthquake in 1983. The earthquake happened on 31st March which was Maundy Thursday (day before Good Friday) around 8 in the morning killing many people in church as the central dome collapsed on top of them! A visit by the then Pope, John Paul II is commemorated in a stained glass window. After spending a couple of days here and witnessing a splendid sunset, it was time to move on.


We had a couple of long drive days, driving through the mountains before we would get to the border with Ecuador. The drives did not disappoint as the scenery, as ever, left you spell bound. We were on steep mountain roads though, and one of our planned camping spots had to be abandoned as Bob simply couldn’t get up the steep, narrow, winding road. An old farmer let us camp on the edge of his property instead.

Our final morning in Colombia was Good Friday and as we drove towards the border, the roads were packed with people walking along the side. At first we thought they were Venezuelan refugees as unfortunately we have passed many hundreds of them walking the roads south as our trip progressed. But there were too many, and without luggage, and many of them looked exhausted and were walking with sticks. Then loads of cyclists passed us: again with no luggage. As we stopped at a famous viewpoint, all became clear. In the far distance we could see an amazing looking church built in a deep canyon. These were not refugees, these were pilgrims going towards the church.

As we got closer we could see the hundreds of people attending the Good Friday service. The truck pulled into the designated car park and we began a long walk to get closer to this spectacular building. Las Lajas Sanctuary was built inside the canyon of the Guaitara river. The church was built between 1916 and 1949 and it is a truly remarkable piece of architecture. It is absolutely stunning. Walking down the hill towards the church, the paths were full of people selling religious artefacts, candles, icons. Holy water was being given out to anybody who made the pilgrimage. There were food stalls and drink sellers. We arrived as the morning service was dispersing, so we could go inside the Sanctuary if we wished. It was a breath-taking sight. What a way to end our time in Colombia!

San Agustin: Statues and Semana Santa

San Agustin is a little town nestled high in the Andes Mountains but all is not what it seems.
A mysterious ancient civilization once inhabited these parts and they left behind the largest group of monuments and megalithic sculptures in South America. Historians and archaeologists are still trying to unravel what these gods and mythical beasts represent. Over 300 statues have been found but scientists can only narrow their age to between 50 – 400AD. No writings have been found to help and whilst some statues are clearly guarding tombs, what the others are doing is anybody’s guess!

I spent a very enjoyable morning walking around the archaeological site trying to work out what things could be. There were no signs or information boards explaining anything, just statues in a beautiful location. It was clear that some statues were placed at entrances of tombs and in some places you could see the length and shape of the tomb. It would have been helpful to know if anything else had been found in the tombs, bodies (how many – one or a whole family), grave goods – anything! With it being a public holiday (more on that later) there were many local families walking about with their children and multiple small dogs. Having small pet dogs seems to be very popular in Colombia!


San Agustin is lucky to have many natural water springs in the area. It is overflowing with water – literally. In fact so much water comes out of one spring that the town has built a free swimming pool. The water drains into a river at the other end of the pool. Whilst it was a warm day and the water looked so inviting, just dipping my toes in made me realise I wouldn’t be going in. Natural spring water is icy cold!

Semana Santa (Holy Week) is one of the most important celebrations in all Spanish Catholic cities. It is the celebration of the Passion of the Christ and it runs the last week in Lent or in other words the week before Easter Sunday. It starts the Sunday before Easter and ends on Easter Sunday. The day we were in san Agustin was the start of Semana Santa. Whilst I had been at the archaeological site, a major procession had been happening in town leading into the church. I went down in the afternoon and saw the display of floats. Each display shows one event in the life of Christ or it depicts a saint or other important person from the new testament. This was the first time I had seen such displays but it would not be the last!