Crossing the norther border --ugh!
I was forewarned by friends and the Lonely Planet travel book, but still I found the Peruvian/Ecuadorian border crossings a hassle. First on the way north the long distance bus I took stopped at Tumbes. I had read of a bus that would go across the border and on to Guayaquil, but somehow I could not find the station. So after walking a ways, I got on a local bus that took me to the Peruvian immigration office. This is too far from the actual border town to walk, so from there I had to take a motorized rickshaw type of taxi to the border. After walking across the border bridge, I had to take a taxi north out of the town to the Ecuadorian immigration office. I was told that I would have to return by taxi to the town bus station to get a bus to Machala and on to Guayaquil, but luckily was able to jump on a bus leaving town via the road past the immigration office. Next time I might just take...
