A Strange Twist of Luck

Day 23 - 23 Nov 2012

The sun is slowly setting over the horizon, turning the earlier clear blue sky into a purplish-pink shade. Next to me, the shoe polisher started packing his mobile store and was gone within five minutes. I started to get nervous and began to tap my feet impatiently. Every few minutes, when a bus pulls into the bus stop, my hope will be up thinking that this could be it - the bus that will bring me to my intended destination. Yet, my hope is dashed once again when I see that it is not the bus that I've been waiting for.

I just did an overland border crossing from Colombia into Ecuador an hour ago. Earlier in the day, I was traveling with a couple from Argentina - William and Lily - whom I met on my way to Pasto the day before. We realised that we were heading towards the same direction and they invited me to travel with them to Otavalo the following day. Thinking that this should not be too difficult, I agreed to their offer.

We were supposed to leave our hotel at 8 a.m., and I was all packed and ready to go. However, there was nobody else at the lobby when I arrived and I decided to make myself comfy at the sofa and wait for them. It took another 10 minutes before they appear. Due to some miscommunication the day before, they were under the impression that we were supposed to meet at 8 a.m for breakfast and depart thereafter. Since it was still early, I told them to go ahead and have their breakfast while I will wait for them at the lobby. We finally set off from our hotel at 8.50 a.m. and caught a 9.15a.m. bus to Ipiales, the town nearest to the border. At Ipiales, we shared a taxi to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Las Lajas. The Sanctuary is a gothic style basilica church famous for its magnificent architectural conception. It was built over a canyon with a bridge connecting to the other side of the canyon.

Las Lajar

Las Lajar

I finished touring the Sanctuary earlier than William and Lily and spent another 30 minutes waiting for them to finish taking their photos. It was close to 2 p.m. before we finally had our lunch at the border after getting the Colombia exit stamp. When I thought we could set off to the Ecuador immigration control at 2.40 p.m., William suddenly mentioned something along the line that he needs to go back to Ipiales again and will meet us at the border in 10 minutes' time. Since it's just 10 minutes, I said fine. Well, that was simply just too optimistic. It was 3.20 p.m. before he finally came back. When we reached the Ecuador immigration control building, there were already about 25 peopple in the queue and yet only three counters were open. I spent close to an hour just to get clearance. By then, it was already 4.35p.m. and I started to feel uneasy.

Whenever I do any free and easy travel to a new country, I always believe in arriving at each new destination during the day due to safety reasons. I recall from my earlier research that it takes approx 30 minutes by a shared taxi from the Ecuador border to the nearest bus terminal - Tulcan, and it will take at least another 3 hours by bus to reach Otavalo. In South America, the sun usually sets between 5.30 - 6 p.m. and this means we will definitely arrive in Otavalo at night. Since the Argentina couple is traveling with me, I thought my worries are unfounded.


Strangely, after a 15 minutes' ride, the Argentina couple got off from the shared taxi. When I asked them if this is Tulcan terminal, they gestured with their hands and were pointing in one direction and then the other. That's when my patience finally worn out. I quizzed them if they are indeed heading to Otavalo for the night. After a couple of minutes, I gathered that they have a change of plans and would like to spend the night in Tulcan instead to take some photos. I was groaning insde when I heard that. I can't believe this is happening to me now. I said a quick goodbye to them and immediately set off in the direction where I thought the buses were. I did not realise that I had walked past the bus stop. When I asked a señora on where to take the bus to Otatvalo, she pointed back to the bus stop which I walked past earlier. Unfortunately, the bus to  Otavalo was already there. I tried to make a dash for it but I was too late. The bus had already pulled out of the bus stop. For the next 25 minutes, I stood waiting at the bus stop hoping that the bus to Otavalo will arrive soon. I looked on with dismay each time the bus that pulls in is not the one that I've been hoping for.


I had mixed feelings on what I should do. I can either spend the night in this sleazy town that I believed to be Tulcan or continue on to Otavalo. As I did not like the particular feel of this town, I decided to press ahead with the latter option.. Finally, a man at the bus stop asked me if I'm heading towards the terminal. When I told him I was waiting for a bus to Otavalo, he told me to board the bus that will bring me to another terminal. From there, I will have better chances of catching one of the inter-provincial buses to Otavalo. I was getting desperate and decided to heed his advice and board the bus.


I got off at the bus terminal and immediately went to the nearest ticket counter to enquire on the next available bus to Otavalo. It seems there will be a bus departing at 5.50 p.m. When I pasked if this bus will bring me to the Otavalo Terminal, the lady at the counter said "yes". I vaguely recalled from my guide book that there are some inter-provincial buses that will drop passengers off at the Panamerican highway. While this is ok during the day, the guidebook has stated that it is NOT SAFE at night. Armed robbery, bag snatching/slashing, holdups at expressways and " express kidnapping" are the most significant hazards within Ecuador. I decided to take a leap of faith and believe what the ticket lady told me. Big mistake! When I went down to the departure hall and found the bus, my heart sank. She was lying. The bus was heading to Quito and it will drop me off at the highway.

I was extremely upset with William and Lily. Since I've started my travel, I have never been caught in such predicament. I can wake up early even at 4 a.m. just to make sure that I will get to my destination during the day. Now, because of them, I'm caught in this dire situation. As the sky turned darker, I begin to feel really scared about what's lying ahead of me. In fact, I had never felt more scared or alone than that night. After spending a couple of minutes worrying, I told myself to calm down and start weighing the available options I can take. I can either:

1) Kick up a big fuss if they drop me off at the highway and insist that they bring me to the terminal,

2) Continue on to Quito and find a hotel there for the night; or

3) Fought ahead to Otavalo and pray that all's well when I walk from the Panamerican highway to the town.

After much consideration, I decided to choose Option 3 and began to pray really, really hard for my safety.

3 hours later, I asked this young boy sitting next to me if we are reaching Otavalo. He said no, but just before he alighted for his stop, he told the man sitting in front of him to alert me when the bus is reaching Otavalo. That's when a strange twist of luck happened and I think my prayers have been answered. The man and his companion both spotted long hair (longer than mine by the way) and it turns out that they are Otavalenos and are heading to the Otavalo town as well! Knowing that I can't speak Spanish, they gestured that I should follow them when they get off the bus. Eventually, when we got off the bus, instead of being all alone as what I had feared earlier, I had company of six Otavalenos men accompanying me! One guy mentioned that they will accompany me to the town centre and it is cheaper for me to take a taxi from there to my hostal which costs only US$1. They got a taxi for me, told the driver my hostal address, negotiated the price and made sure that I was well seated in the taxi before they left. I finally arrived at my hotel close to 10 p.m. and I had never felt so relieved than before.

It had been a tumultuous day for me. Looking back, I'm not even sure if I should blame the Argentina couple for what happened or just myself for not being assertive enough and being too accommodating. When you are travelling alone, it is always great to meet new people and make friends along the way. However, I realised that one has to be cognisant of the fact that different people have different traveling style. Another lesson I have also learnt is never lose hope in what you are doing. When everything around you looks bleak, there may actually be a light just around the corner. And for that, I'm very grateful to the group of Otavalenos men that I had met tonight.