From Maya to Inca: The alternative Ecuador-Peru border crossing

Thursday 20 June 2013

The alternative Ecuador-Peru border crossing

I came here to Vilcabamba to cross the border less travelled. I met a couple in Cuenca who told me about this route from Vilcabamba to Chachapoyas via the border at La Balsa and it sounded much more interesting than the route most people take on the night bus. Lots of beautiful scenery, little villages and less tourists. Perfect. Until I got up the morning after I arrived in paradise and the hostel owner showed me the article in the newspaper. The roads had been closed because of landslides and there was a fuel shortage. So that put an end to my grand plans. I could either wait around for days, but then still risk being hit by a landslide or stuck on a bus for hours in front of a landslide, or I could take the normal night bus close to the coast. So I swallowed my disappointment and opted for the night bus.

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Interesting facts

Another slightly subjective fact. Peruvian mountain roads are among the most dangerous in the world.
Kuelap is a Chachapoya fortress in Northern Peru built before Machu Picchu.
Peruvian men are the most persistent men on the planet.
Blue zones are called blue zones simply because Dan Buettner and his research team (who first identified the blue zones) used blue ink to circle the areas on a map with the highest life expectancy. Nothing more, nothing less.
The Inca civilisation arose from the highlands of Peru sometime during the early 13th century.
Contrary to popular belief, Panama hats are not made in Panama but in Ecuador.
Ten of the volcanoes along the Avenue of Volcanoes are higher than 5000 metres.
Rafael Correa has introduced the "pico y placa" system in Quito, following the Colombian example, "pico" meaning "peak" and "placa" meaning "plate". Cars are restricted from circulating in Quito on certain days during morning and evening rush hours according to the last number of their registration plate, in order to ease traffic congestion.
Quito is 72 kms long and 10 kms wide.
Quito is the oldest capital in South America and lies 2800 metres above sea level.
The sex of the tortoises bred in the breeding centre in Puerto Ayora on the Galapagos islands depends on the temperature of the incubators. The eggs kept in incubators at 29.5 degrees celsius become females and those kept in incubators at 28 degrees celsius become males.
The giant cacti of the Galapagos islands are the only species of opuntia cactus in the world that grows like a tree.
Legend has it that the Incas discovered the Galapagos islands in the fifteenth century but no solid evidence has been found to prove this.
Slightly subjective. Playa del Carmen sells the most expensive ice cream in the world. But it tastes pretty good.
The piece of lime in the top of a bottle of beer was originally not for the taste. It was used to wipe the rust off the rim.
Mayan mothers used to wrap planks of wood around their children's foreheads to flatten them.
The dazzling blue ocean along the Mayan riviera is due to the fact that there are no rivers feeding into it. And because of the lack of nutrients flowing into the sea, there is also less animal life along this part of the ocean.