Our first Peruvian town and country number 23! It was somewhat comforting to know that the customs and cultures aren't that different when crossing borders in Latin America.
NOTES FOR THE TRAVELLER:
- Transport: (Ecuador to Peru Crossing) Bus from Loja (Ecuador) to Piura (Peru) on Transportes International Loja (8 hours, $8 USD). This bus stops at the border of Machala (at the 5 hour mark) for all the border formalities, and includes a couple of meal breaks as well. The journey through this stretch of the Andes is quite breathtaking. The border crossing is straight forward and safe. Make sure you kindly remind the Peruvian immigration official that you are entitled to 90 days on your Visa...our guy enjoyed shorting people on their time. - Hotels: Hotel Costabella in Piura (50 soles, incl. cable TV). - Restaurant: Cappuccinos is nice, but pricey for some western comforts. - Cinema in town has huge screens, and shows North American flicks if you need to fulfill that buttery movie popcorn temptation. This is where we watched Spiderman 3, and were quite disappointed with this latest installment. Brutal acting and cheesy dialog. Would have been better to buy the bootleg DVD for a buck from the guy selling it immediately outside the theatre.
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