Once we finished up with the Salt Flats, it was time to get a move on. The rest of Bolivia is a bit of a blur as all we really did was move, move, move. We’d won a trip to a lodge in the Pantanal of Brazil and we now had a very finite amount of time to get there. Our guidebook warns that transportation in Bolivia can be unpredictable at times and to make matters worse, we had no idea how long it would take us to travel east through Bolivia to Brazil. Some accounts put the final leg as 17 hours while others put it at 3 days.
Generally when we travel we do …

From Banos we spent virtually the next 48 hours on a series of buses to make it to Peru. From Banos we went to Ambato, Riobama, Loja and Macara. Well you can imagine how much fun that was. Considering we actually made it through Ecuador with all of our stuff (hooray!), we decided not to tempt fate and decided to cross into Peru at the Macara/La Tina border crossing on advice of other travelers and our guidebook. The more popular crossing, along the coast at Tumbes, is apparently hectic, chaotic and full of con artists, thieves, and counterfeit money.
To say this border crossing was tranquillo is an understatement. With virtually no one else at the border, save a few …

Standing in line for Ecuadorian immigration I read the latest poll in the local Colombian paper- Do you think FARC financed the election of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa? An overwhelming majority of respondents felt that it had.
Relations have been steadily deteriorating between Colombia and Ecuador due in part to Colombia’s anti-drug campaigns which have included bombing FARC bases in Ecuador in March 2008 and the impression, at least in Colombia that Ecuador is not doing enough to stop drug trafficking or confront FARC. In fact, as a result of the bombings in March 2008, Ecuador cut diplomatic ties to Colombia. Add to that the video which surfaced July 17th in which FARC leaders acknowledged donating funds …

Up at 4:30 am to catch a 5:30 am bus from Quepos to San Isidro. If we missed the first bus, no getting to Panama in time to kayak the next day.
Costa Rica immigration was easy, we got our exit stamp – no fees – and continued on our way. Upon reaching Panamanian immigration we were accosted, truly that is the only word to describe it. One man grabbed my passport, put in a sticker and demanded $1. No explanation. The immigration official on the other side of the glass, who had Jillian’s passport merely nodded and told her she needed the same. Another ayudante (helper in spanish, but they generally are anything but) grabbed …