Yet another bus saga.........

Catching an Ecuadorian first class bus from Cuenca to down to the Ecuadorian-Peruvian border we had another 'public transport' experience. I've already mentioned the method Ecuadorians used to slow buses down but today I witnessed some masters of this art.

Firstly, I'd just like to point out that the bus driver was psychotic, he was on a mission to get where he was going as quickly as possible, however in between careering down narrow roads with large drops over the edge he wanted to stop every kilometer and pick up more people. Do you think he drove slowly and used his gears to control the bus? No, of course not, he just applied the break harshly and often interspersed with rapid acceleration.

Now I did mention that he and his conductor had mastered the art of Ecuadorian bus driving, I wasn't joking about this. Every few stops the conductor would jump off the bus and run around to each of the axles making a small adjustment on the hight of the break pads to compensate for break wear. Around half way though our jerky journey everyone on the bus could smell something burning. Shortly after we stopped for a loo break and you could see smoke coming out of the wheel arches - the driver was literally burning through his break pads, having his assistant make adjustments to ensure that they maintained sservicability

Anyway survived the bus ride, again it was through spectacular scenery though arid Andean foothills this time not jungle. Now in Mancora (Peru) for a full two days of chilling on the beach, which will be really tough.