The worst thing about deciding to take the more "scenic route" to Ecuador (let's face it, it was 1000x better than the coastal road) was that it was subject to some good old fashioned "jungle time" where there is no hurry for anything at all, as long as lunch is on time. Here, you can throw everything you know about punctuality out the window, for it is not "a thing". This resulted in hours of waiting around for collectivos (shared taxi vans), buses and various other types of vehicle to fill with passengers before they could depart for the next destination. I have vivid memories of waiting for a couple of hours at least in a makeshift taxi terminal in San Ignacio, minutes from the Peru/Ecuador border. It seemed as though no one else would turn up to make the trip to the border crossing, it was a little frustrating but I managed to take it all in and just enjoy the moment, watching a crappy Peruvian soapie. I guess that's just how it operates there.

From Chachapoyas I made the 2.5 hour journey by collectivo along the river to a small town by the name of Bagua Grande. Its funny being the only tourist in the area, everyone is fascinated by you, they all want to take a closer look, check you out a bit further and some people will even spark up a conversation either to amuse themselves or because they are genuinely interested in your story and how you came to be in such a remote outpost. On all the rides I took from Chachapoyas to Vilcabamba (Ecuador), this would occur frequently, and to be honest I loved every second of it. By now my Spanish had developed into something more audible and coherent, and I was all too happy to show complete strangers how good (I thought) I was. We chatted about Australia (everyone would tell me how far it was), current affairs in Peru, the Government (always a popular favourite), girls (another favourite when speaking to a man) and also football OF COURSE, among many other things.

An hour from Bagua was the next stop of Jaen, and here I enjoyed the Barcelona match in the taxi terminal whilst casually snacking on seed pods from the Pacay plant. Also known as Ice-cream beans, these things are one of the strangest snacks I've had before. The white fuzz surrounding the seed is the only nice part to eat, and it just tastes sweet, no specific flavour. it is enclosed in a pod and you kind of have to suck on the whole seed and remove the flesh from the seed in your mouth, then spit the seed out. It was half the fun of getting to the edible part! In South America I did not hold back with putting random objects into my mouth, this was no exception. I was soon back in a van to another town called San Ignacio, with another companion to chat with for the journey: a middle aged man with hand tatties who laughed too much at everything. Pretty funny dude. The best thing about this ride was the amazing jungle we passed. I know I've rambled on endlessly about the scenery in SA but driving through remote as hell jungle, with huge rivers, rice fields, crops, farmers herding large amounts cattle along the road, kids playing football on any piece of cleared land they could find etc. It was special. It was funny to see kids/women trying to sell you something at every chance they got. I remember slowing down for a speedbump in a small village and seeing this coconut being thrust at me through the window, among many other goods and snacks. Toll gates were another favourite, though the vendors had to be wary of the booth employees, who would chase them away if they got too close. Another thing I found hilarious was that no matter how small the village, even if it consists of a few houses, there was always an ice cream fridge out the front of the local store. Just a few observations I made along the way.

A whole day in transit amounted to not much on a map, but it was time to check in to a hostel in San Ignacio, close to the border. The next day I headed to the taxi station and waited for ages, praying there would be other people to fill the taxi so that we could actually leave. In the end, I was in luck and on my way to the border crossing - La Balsa. You could tell these guys don't get much business, as we were notified that the immigration official was "on his way" from his house a few kms away. He eventually turned up and I was directed to the police office next door. A policeman in his underwear answered and entered some details into the computer before allowing me to proceed. So eventually I was free to pass, got my stamp and crossed the bridge into Ecuador!! Ran through the formalities on that side and played some guitar with a small boy whilst waiting for the ranchero (open sided truck) to be repaired so that we could continue to La Zumba.

The ranchero was certainly an experience, the open sides made me a little dizzy, considering we drove along a windy, bumpy mountain with nothing but thick jungle below. It was a great opportunity for some photos though. 2 hours later and I was in La Zumba, frantically searching for a way to Vilcabamba. The buses had all, unfortunately finished for the day. I met a taxi driver who knew of a local bus, and we were speeding to town in search. I managed to jump into the packed bus just before it left town. When I say packed, this thing was overcrowded. I laughed at the sign that read "maxima capacidad 40 personas" because there were at least double that inside. The doorway was filled with people including myself. There were people sitting almost on the bus driver. As you can imagine it was a terrible ride, we arrived in Vilcabamba 7 hours later, after rain and numerous delays on the unreliable, muddy and dangerous roads. You do have to be made of something else to deal with bus travel in SA. The children in the ranchero in front of us provided some entertainment, as they were hanging off the sides of the truck like it was some fun game as it climbed the mountain. One even lost her schoolbag from the truck. In Australia, the sight of things like this would give most people a heart attack, here it is the norm, and I liked it.

At last, I had made it to Vilcabamba, almost 2 whole days in transit, surrounded by the most amazing people and scenery seemed like an eternity. It was safe to say I slept much longer than usual that night.