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After 520 days at Finca Zuasinca, it was finally time to leave Barichara. The land border to Ecuador was open so we needed to say a tearful goodbye and leave Colombia. We drove 1,500 km which took us just over a week and we managed to see a few places that were new to us and go to a mechanic en route.
It was 12-30pm by the time we set off and we drove a route out that we had walked almost every day for well over a year. It was Saturday, 15th January 2022 and we headed for a petrol station we had stayed at before. We chose a Sunday to get past Bogotá and west through a hugely popular restaurant area. It seemed like the whole of Bogotá was out for Sunday lunch. The restaurants were packed ... pandemic??? Obviously it's finished here!! At least we avoided all the trucks because they don't drive on a Sunday.
Our long journey took us through Guaduas and Honda for a wander around the colonial towns and also the ghost village of Armero where thousands died when a volcano erupted in 1985. It's virtually overgrown now and the road is extremely busy because it's a low lying truck route between Bogotá and Medellín.
We thought the next stretch, on another busy road linking Bogotá and the coffee region, would take us hours, but they've built a new road that is now used as a dual carriageway heading east and the original, curvy mountain road is now a dual carriageway heading west. We managed to get through to a rest area where we stayed 2 years ago to watch our football team get through to the quarter finals of the German cup on penalties!!!
We continued driving and stopped at a large petrol station that had a restaurant that served very good food - we got it as a takeaway because we have to avoid getting Covid - we need a negative PCR test to get across the border into Ecuador. We also got a free shower because we had eaten there. Unfortunately it wasn't very hot but we certainly needed it after driving in 35°C for the last 3 days!
The next day we managed to get our axle covers changed and new transmission fluid at a garage in Cali we have used before. It was very interesting talking to Henry, the owner, about his experience during the pandemic. He paid his employees throughout the lockdown and then got special permission to open again because his workers needed to eat!
It was extremely hot in Cali so instead of spending the night there, we drove further south to find a petrol station that allowed us to stay overnight. Unfortunately our GPS took us straight through a night market which meant crawling through packed streets with trucks bringing food and goods for all the stalls. Heavy traffic, stop and go, absolute chaos with people ducking in and out between the vehicles with all their produce. We nearly got smeared with pigs blood from a man carrying a full carcass past us whilst we were stuck in one of the many queues. It was dark, some traffic lights didn't work, the speed bumps were unmarked, pot holes everywhere! Oh boy, what an experience!
The next day we finally got to La Bonanza campground where we stayed for 3 nights. We had kept in contact with the owners Kika and Anouar throughout the pandemic and it was great to see them again and we really enjoyed our relaxing time there. We managed to get all our border paperwork sorted out along with copies and got information from a Swiss couple who gave us the details of a lab that does PCR tests at the border for $40 per person. Unfortunately they were in quarantine because one of them had Covid but mild symptoms because they were boosted.
We left La Bonanza on a Sunday, to avoid trucks, went to a supermarket, and drove to a petrol station where we had parked for free 2 years ago on our way north. Now there is a small charge of less than $2. No problem! The next day we got to a brand new dual carriageway that had obviously been completed in the last two years and we got down to the border town of Ipiales in just over three hours even though we had stopped for coffee on the way!
This gave us time to check out the lab and get our PCR tests done. The paperwork took over an hour but the test itself was quick albeit uncomfortable! Our first ever test! We had to wait for 26 hours for the result. Whilst waiting for the result we parked at the Teleferico Las Lajas (cable car station) leading to a beautiful sanctuary for two nights. We had visited it two years ago but we still walked down to see it again. We even took the cable car back this time - good job because it poured with rain five minutes after we'd set off. We would have got soaked if we had walked back! That evening we got our PCR results and heaved a huge sigh of relief ... negative! Yippee!!
Then we spent two hours the following morning completing all the online forms we needed to do to cross the border. That meant it was 12-20pm by the time we had driven there. We had no idea what to expect because we'd heard of people like us with their own vehicles, being heavily fined for staying too long. Even though no one could drive out because Ecuador was closed. The problem was that Colombia had opened their borders in May 2021. But what were people in motor homes supposed to do - park on the bridge between the two countries for 7 months until Ecuador opened??
Kirsten jumped out and handed in our vehicle permission at the DIAN office. Took two seconds!!! No problem. No questions. Simple. Wow! That's great! Now we just needed exit stamps in our passports. Not so easy!! We were told that we had to go to the second floor where there is an office that deals with foreigners who have overstayed. But they don't open until 2pm. So we returned to our vehicle for coffee and cake to wait for 90 minutes. Good job we had eaten because it took 3.5 hours!!!
We had to sit and wait in the office which wasn't ventilated, double masked, with other people who weren't wearing their masks properly or kept taking them off! We might have a negative test but were risking getting Covid to cross the border!! We finally got seen by an officer who had come in with a young French woman. She'd made the mistake of thinking she had 3 months in Colombia and had come for an extension. But... it's 90 days, not three months and because October and December both have 31 days she had stayed 92 days, two more than allowed.
To cut a long story short, she was going to get the same fine for being two days over as we were for being two years over!!! Namely the equivalent of around $125 per person. The fine process would take one or two days because each persons details have to be put into the computer and they have to wait for a decision from a different office in Ipiales. The result would be sent by email including the amount of the fine which would then have to be paid at a bank before returning to the border!
However, the officer told us there was a second option .. we could get deported! Oh boy, that sounds really bad. Our first question was "Deported? Where too?" Answer: Ecuador. But that's where we want to go!! Next question - "When can we leave?" Answer: Today! Super! We want to leave today! Final question - "How much will it cost?" Answer: Nothing! Perfect!! Let's get deported! He seemed surprised that we were so happy!!
We still had a long wait though. The French woman went first, then it was Kirsten's turn - 90 minutes and several printed out papers to sign. She asked what she was signing and the officer told her it was just to confirm who she was and that her name was correct ... but her name wasn't spelled correctly!!!!! Instead of Kirsten it was Kristen. So he had to correct it and print it out again!!
It was 4-30pm by the time he started on my paperwork and we knew that the Ecuador border closed at 5pm. We weren't going to make it! Then something totally infuriating happened! A different migration officer who'd been twiddling his thumbs for hours, got up and fetched a large box from the storage room. It contained a printer. He decided he was going to change the only printer in the room, even though it was functioning perfectly! I was silently screaming NOOOOOOO!! NOT NOW!!! Let him finish my paperwork for God's sake!!!!
Well, what should I say. It took 6 male migration officers to try ... and fail ... to connect a different printer!! Jeez, what an absolute farce. Kirsten whispered to me "Do you think it would help if I went and showed them how to get it connected and working????" No, that probably wouldn't help in this macho office!!
Anyway, whilst they were still trying to work it out, one of the older officers came up to us and told us to follow him and bring our PCR tests. We didn't know what was going on but he did us a huge favour by taking us to the bridge between the two countries where there is a station for all the PCR tests. We have to get our tests stamped by 5pm because it closes. The migration and customs offices stay open longer but if our tests don't get stamped we can't enter Ecuador.
So there was still hope for us to get across the border today. We were taken back to the office where the printer saga was still going on!! Of course they couldn't get it working! We were finally taken back downstairs where a different printer was used so I could sign the three pieces of paper! We also got exit stamps in our passports! Then he surprised us. He wanted a photo of him giving us two surgical face masks wrapped in plastic!! Unbelievable but we still smiled for the camera!
He told us we would get an email from a lawyer telling us how long we would have to wait before we could re-enter Colombia maybe 6 or 12 months - probably the latter which is what the current rules are for non pandemic times if you have been in the country for 90 days plus another 90 days extension!! Plus we might have to apply for a visa for Colombia before getting to the border next time but he wasn't sure about that either! Whatever - we were just happy that we'd managed to get out without a hefty fine. So it turned out that we crossed the border exactly 2 years to the day since we entered Colombia.
It was 5-35pm and we quickly changed the rest of our Colombian pesos for dollars which is the currency in Ecuador, and drove over the bridge into Ecuador. It took only 25 minutes to get our passports stamped and our vehicle permit. Welcome to Ecuador!!
It was almost dark but we couldn't stay overnight at the border so we drove off and headed for the first petrol station. But ... they were all closed with barriers across their forecourts!! So I ended up having to drive over 2 hours in the dark, through hills and down 800 metres of descent to get to a large petrol station that was open and had security as it was also a truck park. Fortunately the roads were very good but we were still exhausted by the time we got there. What a day!!
Instead of cooking, we got a well earned takeaway from a restaurant across the road - chicken and chips plus rice, lentils and salad! Yummy! We'd finally made it to a different country after 2 years!
The next day we drove to Ibarra for food shopping and then went to a campground run by Hans from Germany where we stayed for the next 8 nights.
