Yesterday (September 30th) was monumental for 2 reasons. Firstly, Elisabeth, Sue (South African friend), and I spent 12 hours travelling among 5 forms of transportation. Taxi, bus, van-bus hybrid, taxi, taxi. The travelling was a test on the patience (an understatement), but the carrot at the end of the rope was leaving Colombia and getting to Ecuador. The second monumental event of the day was an attempted coup in Ecuador.
When we arrived in Ipales (a town 2km from the border) at 9:00pm last night. In the taxi we listened to the radio and heard there was an attempted coup in Ecuador. Heart warming news for three people who have put up with 12 hours of switchback dirt roads. Apparently, the national police, upset over pay cuts, detained the president for 12 hours in Quito and he eventually had to be rescued by 500 special forces operatives. There was a decent amount of rioting in Quito and Guayaquil, but it seems like most of the other parts of the country are stable.
Needless to say it feels slightly odd to be sitting in Colombia, 2km away from Ecuador, trying to get INTO Ecuador after a coup was attempted yesterday. Instead of going to Quito (original plan), we are getting to divert to a town called Mindo that is right on the equator. We will spend few days there, see how things are going in Quito, and reassess the situation.
The trials and tribulations of travelling!
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