Crossing into Peru
The river Rio Macará separates Ecuador and Peru where we were switching countries. Before we crossed the bridge we needed our passports to be stamped out. Of course we had a visa (we learned from Mexico not to mess up anymore) but the official - for some strange reason- just assumed we were ENTERING Ecuador handed us an application for a visa to fill out and we did. He kept pointing to the date of August 5th on which we need to leave his country...confusing I thought...we are leaving NOW gesturing and feeling inadequate using our little bit of spanish ..just nothing worked. Frustrated we talked to another official nearby and he finally straightened us all out and we were ready to go while the first officer profusely apologized gesturing the crazy head sign for " loco" meaning himself - accepted, but we weren't very smart either..
On the Peruvian side it wasn't easy to make out the little office where we could get our visa for Peru and after asking some uniformed person on the side of the road (I've heard that this particular border crossing is super tranquilo. Nobody is telling your were to go, nobody is trying to hassle you into changing your money, selling souvenirs or who-knows-what....and so it was..) we found a little temporary shack with a little window on one and the other front side with a little three door hallway in between them both closed and nobody "home". We knocked on the window- heard a door somewhere closing, but nothing moved around the window for quite a while until I peeked around a corner into the hallway and I could make out three doors so I knocked on the one straight ahead. The door opened and a man undoubtfully sitting on the toilette, holding the doorknob while the door is about 1/4 opened, a toothbrush with foaming toothpaste in his mouth gesturing me to knock on the door to his right. I was so stunned I stared at him for too long, so he shut his door only to rearrange himself - so it seemed - and opened it up to give me the exact same scene I just described but now with a lot more enthusiastic nodding of his head in the direction of the door to his right - again. This time I "listened" and knocked were I was "told". The next man who opened had just pulled up his pants and had opened the door before pulling up his fly which he did while I looked staring at him wondering in amusement about another official at the immigration office who obviously wasn't ready for us entering his country at 9 o'clock in the morning. This man came through though. He made it to the window with his hat and his whole uniform and his fly sipped up as well to give us our visa for Peru and welcomed us with a straight face. Good deal - we got three month and that was what we asked for. Peru - what an entry.....glad to be here...can't wait to learn more about your country, people, culture, history and what ever else you have to offer.
