Crossing the Ecuadorian Border with Refugees, 50 Shades of Stark and Unwelcoming Quito
How I broke the laws of two countries in order to cross the overcrowded border and my impressions from the enormous capital of Ecuador
It was May the 4th when I visited Santuario de Los Lajas, which was my last destination in Colombia. This country I liked so much, I've spent more than 2 months there, a long time for someone who's usually staying no longer than 2-3 days in one place.
But time goes on and this blog is not gonna write itself, so I had to move on as well. The only thing between me and the new horizons of Ecuador was a border crossing which proved to be a challenging task. You see, nowadays it is very crowded with the refugees from Venezuela, which is in the state of crisis and turmoil. And by crowded I mean 8 hours long lines crowded.
So, after the sanctuary I boarded a collectivo in Ipiales, the Colombian border town, which brought me to a certain parking near a building, completely surrounded by a crowd. Immediately I got an offer from another collectivo driver to take me to Tulcan, the Ecuadorian border town. Now, if I learned anything in this life, borders do not work this way and it was quite weird.
An investigation revealed that I actually was already in Ecuador, somehow passing the checkpoints. The surrounded building turned out to be the Ecuadorian migration office and the crowd nearby it to be the line, spiraling around it like a galaxy. It was also evident that I was not supposed to be there before checking out of Colombia first. It was late in the afternoon and I had no place arranged to spend the night - Couchsurfing didn't bring any results and I had no booking anywhere.
So I went back to Colombia, passing across the bridge, and inside their migration office which had two lines - one big-ass line for refugees and the second for those with a passport. In about an hour I got stamped out. I was free to go to the Ecuadorian (common) line and wait 8 hours with the rest of the poor sods still growing in numbers and not really moving anywhere. That's not something I would gladly do, so I decided to take a bet.
I got a collectivo back to Ipiales to spend the night there - something I'm NOT supposed to do for sure, but fuck it, I'm not sleeping on the asphalt. In the early morning I returned to the border to proceed with this bureaucratic nightmare. This time the line was next to nothing, and I quickly found myself in front of the official's window. The woman there told me I had to restamp my passport anew so it would be a today's stamp. However, I could do it without waiting in the lines. So I went back to the Colombian side and got a new stamp, piece of cake. Than I returned to Ecuadorian office and received an entry stamp in my passport at last. Took me less than an hour total, no regrets.
Next stop was the capital, Quito, where I went in the bus full of refugees. We were stopped frequently, with different checks and delays as the Venezuelans were required to get a health checks and some were even vaccinated, though I have no idea against what. Maybe I should've got one too, but whatever...
Quito
Fast-forward to Quito center - a dark, brooding and pretty cold place with enormous gray colonial buildings all around, towering above you with solid impenetrable walls and metal doors and shutters. Every climbable surface is covered with thorns, broken glass, barbed wire and electric fences. Feels like a maximum security prison, not really comfy. It is not uncommon to see it everywhere I've been to in South America and the Carribean, but Quito takes it to a new level.
The enormous buzzing megapolis stretched 40 kms along the valley with elevation of almost 3000 mts. Built on the remains of an ancient Incan city, it’s known for its well-preserved colonial center, rich with 16th- and 17th-century buildings. It is the second-highest capital city in the world and is located just a wee bit south of the Equator. This is an important milestone as for me as the first time in the Southern Hemisphere ever. Despite being in a supposedly hot region, the altitude makes the daily mean temperature in Quito equal ~16 °C. No bueno. But at least it's mosquito-free.
Not all of it is so dark and dull, though. As soon as you leave the historical center, the joyful southamerican houses of every shape and color start to take place. Still, it is a world away from the colourful and bright Colombia which I'm already missing. Hopefully, the rest of the country is warmer and more cheerful than the capital. Don't get me wrong, the city still has some charm in its austere beauty, but still not my kind of place.
The currency used in Ecuador is US Dollar, which is neat, and everything is pretty cheap - a joy for my broke-ass self. I'm not sure when I'll be leaving Quito and where will I be going yet, so if you have a suggestion, let me know in the comments!
More photos of Quito:
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Hello @ nameless-berk, I see that you liked Colombia, it is a country that in general is very happy, varied and with beautiful people, this justifies the more than two months that you were there.
I'm going to make resteem of your post, because you have touched on it, a very sensitive issue for Venezuela and is the one that has to do with the stampede of Venezuelans fleeing across the borders of the South American brother countries, to escape the humanitarian catastrophe to which a totalitarian political regime has led us; and you are absolutely right, we are refugees and they already catalog us worldwide that way.
Through my posts I have tried to show the Steemit community some of the serious situations that we suffer in Venezuela and I see in your post a point of support for the management that I have been executing in this sense. Sorry for the abuse of deviating from the central part of your post.
Every day, hundreds or thousands of Venezuelans flee across borders.
Well, from Ecuador, I really do not know anything and unfortunately I can not suggest any specific site of interest; but in any case, if I will be attentive to your next posts.
Greetings @nameless-berk and thank you.
I thank you for your continuous support and meaningful comments. Indeed, your people is in dire situation and everyone feels for you. All the Ecuadorians and other nationals with whom I spoke are united in the opinion that Venezuelan refugees are generally very nice people and it is not fair what's going on there. I think shit like this will eventually happen in Russia as well, because they have a fascist dictator unwilling to give up the power, but the disaster will be even more grave, unfortunately.
Thank you for your support and comment @ nameless-berk ... for the moment what we have left is to try to get more understanding and support from the international community, first to avoid falling into this type of political regimes and second, to try to put even more exposed to this fascist regime.
Hiya, just swinging by to let you know you're being featured in today's Travel Digest!
Thanks guys!
Vilcabamba! Very cool spot in the mountains. I wish I'd had a another couple of days there. Cuenca on the way. Banos is nice too--lots to do around there.
I can also recommend this place:
https://www.merazonia.org/en/
And this too:
http://blog.wisdomforest.org/en/tester/
If they are your thing.
Do my eyes deceive me? An actually useful advice from steemit? That's new. Thanks you, @choogirl, I will make sure to visit at least one of them. Do you think it's worth going to the coast, provided I'm broke and not really into beaches anyway?
Lol! I spent a month in Montañita doing Spanish lessons. I liked it but do NOT stay in the town if you want any sleep. Every night is Friday night. The only time it's quiet is when the power goes out. Go up the beach a bit to where this place is (there's a few places there) http://casadelsolmontanita.com/. Much nicer, but still only 10 mins walk from the town. I only visited some places around there so I don't know what the other beach towns way further north are like.
This is where I stayed in Vilcabamba. Really nice.
http://www.izhcayluma.com/en/
Not my kind of place, I never liked those even when I was rich. There are calmer and cheaper towns nearby, though. Like Ayampe, which was recommended to me. Got the same ocean, but better place overall.
wow,sme beautiful & ripping photography from you.
you are a travel lover.
This comment has received a 1.25 % upvote from @speedvoter thanks to: @mahadihasanzim.
When I crossed from Ecuador to Colombia on the border crossing near Ipiales in 2015 it was super easy, I was through migration within a few minutes. But I got banned from both Bolivia and Brasil when I crossed from Paraguay to Bolivia due to some crazy bureaucracy :D
Yeah, mate, things change, often for worse. What's the story behind the ban? Something I should be concerned about?
Not unless you cross between the two countries in the middle of the Pantanal and then hitchhike with a smuggler to the nearest migration office :D
The issue was, that I had a pre-dated exit stamp from Paraguay since they don't have an immigration office at the rarely frequented border, but the closest Bolivian immigration office at the Brasilian border did not accept the documents I got from the Paraguayan immigration and told me that I had to leave the country unless I could present an exit stamp from the same day. So I went to Brasil and the nice immigration officer told me that they could not let me enter Brasil either since this was the border to Bolivia and not to Paraguay, but they could fine me for "entering without a passport" and give me an exit stamp that I could then use to enter Bolivia, so that's what I did. They also told me that I never had to pay the fine unless I ever wanted to go back to Brasil, so I guess that I am still banned from Brasil..
That's quite retarded and very annoying, I believe. Hopefully this cup will pass me.
My dream is to visit this sanctuary one day. It looks so stunning!
It does indeed. And the best part? It's free and easy to access. Just don't carry a 30 kg backpack all the way down and back as I did. A bad mistake.
We travel similar like this from time .. if we have to do it, we have to do it ;)
Crazy situation at the border. South America is still on my list. The colorful houses look so cool.
Wow what an adventure you had crossing the boarder.
I have to admit I didn't know the architecture there was so beautiful, and so colorful to! Thanks for sharing with us all :)
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Hey! @nameless-berk amazing and interesting post. I hope to read you again soon, greetings!