stuck in ecuador

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Re: stuck in ecuador

Postby nowonmai » Tue Feb 23, 2016 11:18 pm

Why head back to the States? Reinvent yourself. Stay surfing and fishing.
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Re: stuck in ecuador

Postby friendlyskies » Wed Feb 24, 2016 12:40 pm

All of Ecuador's border crossings are sketchy as fuck. Seems like you could bribe your way across any of them with luck and money. Logically, since that dumb war with Peru is still causing problems, Ipiales or La Punta should be your best bet. But Colombia is so corncob-up-its-ass law and order that I would go for the Vilcabamba crossing with Peru. It's in the middle of East Jesus, nowhere, and there are touts who offer you cocaine and weed within two minutes of crossing either way, any of those guys should know who and how to bribe the border guards for some stamps. Good luck!
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Re: stuck in ecuador

Postby Kurt » Wed Feb 24, 2016 1:00 pm

nowonmai wrote:Why head back to the States? Reinvent yourself. Stay surfing and fishing.


I think this is the result of a failed re-invention to begin with, but you may be on to something. Instead of a new invention do a Thomas Edison and copy something someone has already done but do it better.
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Re: stuck in ecuador

Postby time2go » Wed Feb 24, 2016 8:17 pm

Thx friendlyskies for the beta on the crossings. That was my rough plan, to head north to a border town and generate the paper trail I need so I can leave. I will just need a good resource on the ecuador side, then should be able to cross out to colombia without a prob. It does seem they are very controlled in colombia so hoping that all goes without a hitch. If they dont let me in, I am gonna go back to quito and try from there. Cant really go back to peru...that bridge is burned, but it was very easy to cross at aguas verdes huaquillas without issues. You cannot take a bus to get north, they want paperwork, but finding a willing taxi was easy.

As for the reinvent myself part you are both right. Kurt while it was a failed attempt in Peru, if for some reason my above plan fails and I am stuck here in Ecuador, I will fall back on working as I did before to survive. I had more time in Peru and was well connected in the area I was staying, so it was easy there to get into fishing. It seems the people here are a bit less receptive but I am in a big city and hope the little beach towns would be more welcoming.

The motivation for returning to the states was due to a few factors. Number one and most important was to try and make some efforts to put back together my messed up relationship with my close family. I also have a substantial savings that I wanted to reclaim (stubborn bank, i will close my acct immediately with them and go elsewhere) so I could clear up my case in peru, but not going to go nuts spending if it is not winnable. I do have a career so was also ready to get back to earning instead of spending.

Thanks for all the guidance, very helpful.
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Re: stuck in ecuador

Postby friendlyskies » Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:29 pm

RIGHT. Peru was the source of the problems in the first place. Sorry, long thread.

If you do make it into Colombia, your best bet to get to Central America might be one of those boats that run from Cartagena through the San Blas, because you stamp into Panama at El Porvenir, which is the Comarca Kuna Yala - i.e., an "independent indigenous autonomous region." Ie, a cocaine transshipment region where officials see way worse shit every day than a wayward gringo missing his papers.

From Panama to Costa Rica, DEFINITELY go through Rio Sereno, Panama, to San Vito, Costa Rica. Paso Canoas and Sixaola are super high control, but Rio Sereno is a border town where people cross back and forth all day and night just to go to a friend's house or make a phone call (some phones are on the Panama red, some are Costa Rican). There's like one guard post, no fences, it's easy.

I bet it would be super easy to bribe your way through the main Nicaragua-Costa Rica crossing at Peñas Blancas. Set it up with a taxi driver in Liberia, they'll hook you up. The Los Chiles crossing might look easier, but it's militarized because of the constant saber rattling over the Rio San Juan, so don't bother. From Nicaragua to Honduras is also super easy, go to Waspám and just a canoe across the border to Honduras. The whole area on both sides is controlled by the Miskito Indians, who could give a fuck about whatever is going on in Managua and Tegucigalpa.

From there, IDK, but maybe some of that info is helpful! Keep us posted, I'm rooting for you!
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