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A polite mugging
Entry 21 of 36 | show all | print this entry |
Bleery eyed we got off the bus from Lima. We stumbled into a taxi with a very friendly taxi driver. Then a fat guy got in insisting he was a guide and we needed him to get across the border safely and in one piece. Great. We had heard it was a dodgy crossing from a few other travellers so we thought fatso with his 'offical' guide badge was actually there to help - the taxi driver didn't seem to mind either but maybe he had a gun pointing at him. Of course it didn´t help that we weren´t actually awake yet and weren´t sure of the other options so we went for the ride with fatso.
The reason for this taxi drive is because the imigration-migration is nowhere near the border, it is in the middle of nowhere so you have to scoot around in taxis to get your stamps stamped and all that jazz and then get taken up to the border crossing to walk over the bridge......................to the other side! Ahh hahahahaaha!. The taxi ride fare seemed fair but as soon as we were off i got that funny feeling you get when you know something is not quite right. Either they would take us off somewhere shoot us and steel our bags, or maybe, just maybe they might be legit. It was a nice day for a cab ride, so we continued. I always prefer an adrenaline rush instead of coffee to wake me up in the morning anyway - too much coffee makes me cry.
As we approached the border (about 5k away) the very informative guide would point out dangerous towns and particularly dangerous houses which were full off drugs and guns which was very interesting. I think he was just preparing us for the market town on the border. Picture the scene. As we drove into the town of Huaquillas, through rubbish tips with goats, sheep and children living on them, there were literally hundreds of people and market stalls surrounding the car and we were driving at a snails pace! The two front windows were blacked out but ours weren´t making it very easy for eyes to burn into the gringo couple in the back of the taxi as we stared out trying not to look nervous and that we do this journey everyday. It reminded me of being on the tube back in London, hot and sweaty with lots of people, funny smells and probably just as dangerous. I kept thinking of James Bond movies when the car suddenly takes a turn into a garage and the shutter crashes down behind them! It was lucky then that i still had my ankle gun. Ok my imagination gets carried away sometimes!
Our nervous dispositions werent helped when the ´guide´ paid the policeman at the road block to let us down an even busier street. Why had he paid him? Where were we going? And it wasn't long before we were rolling down the seedy back streets. Brilliant.
Then we saw it, the Border bridge straight ahead, hope had been restored, we were going to live! However the taxi driver then turned right and into a disused car park. Out came a policeman, armed of course, and carring a very offical looking clip board. He demanded $60. I politely asked what for and why. Por que y porque Senor? And could I have a receipt please? And who exactly are you? Y donde esta el bano por favor as I think I´m about to shit my pants? Haggling with a guy with a gun in a dissused car park is not my strong point and when we did start to ask questions the `guide` started to shout at us and became fairly unpleasant and the policeman wasnt smiling either. So we paid them and went on our way. Take it to the bridge!
Unlike James Brown i didn't feel good (god it gets worse) about giving money away, but it felt very nice to be mugged in a polite way, obviously the guide, policeman and the taxi guy all made a tidy profit but as promised we got across the border unharmed still with our bags and ready for our next bus. An expensive dayout I feel. Another lesson learnt. I really must get rid of that tattoo i got written accross my forehead!
With regards to photos you are going to have to use your imagination on this one I´m afraid as I wasn't confident enough to take photos and ask people to line up for some action shots!
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