Day 144
It was overcast when I left my hotel in San Juan and headed for the border. I arrived there at about half past eight in the morning and it was busy.
I parked the bike outside the immigration and cusoms building and I was immediately approached by a guy who wanted to change my Colombian pesos for USD which they use in Ecuador. The guy gave me a competetive rate so I changed what I had and then he offered to watch my bike for me whilst I went to immigration.
I waited in the immigration queue to get my exit stamp for about 15 minutes and then I went to the customs to have my TIP cancelled. I gave the guy my paper copy and he then sent me a cancellation email which I showed him on my phone. I was now clear to leave Colombia and the whole process had taken about 30 minutes. I then rode over the bridge and crossed in to Ecuador.
I parked up outside the immigration and customs building and it was very busy.
There were lots of bikes parked in the carpark and there was a very large queue at the immigtation office. I waited in the queue for about 45 minutes and then I got my entry stamp. Then I went to get my TIP and this is where the fun started.
I went to the window and I was asked for the registration document for the bike and then I was told to stand outside another window and wait until my name was called. The other window had lots of people waiting around it. Whilst I waited a guy selling SIM cards approached me and I bought one. It cost 5 USD for 3 days and 3GB. The guy set up the SIM card on my phone but for some reason it would not connect to the internet. I decided to use a back up phone that my friend Eric had given me to get internet and it started working in that phone with no problems,
Eventually my name was called and went to the window that was surrounded by other travellers. I handed over my passport and driving licence and the guy processing the TIP then asked me for my email address so he could send me the TIP by email. Once he sent it I used my phone to let him see it and guess what? Yes a major problem had occurred as my main phone screen was black. The phone was still making noises but as the screen was not working so the phone was totally useless.
I then had to try to access my email online using my other Gmail account as I did not have the Gmail app installed on the backup phone. However, because I was using a different phone I was then flung on to the Google two factor authentication carousel by having them tell me to use my now broken phone to confirm my identity on the backup phone. I tried all of the options that Google give to address this problem but none of them would work without me having to use my unusable phone to confirm my idenity before I could access my main google account to get the TIP email.
As I was obviously unable to do this I had to quickly think of another way to get the TIP email on to my backup phone as I was now holding things up for the other travellers that wanted to get their own TIP. Eventually I was able to access one of my non Google email addresses and I gave this to the customs guy who sent the TIP to that email address. I was then given a paper copy of the TIP and I was eventually able to legally enter Ecuador. It was now just after midday so I had been at the Ecuadorian side of the border for just over three hours.
Now this is where I need to have a rant about Google shit. For me this perfectly illustrates the problem with having no alternative to the Google software installed in all phones because if your phone stops working like mine did when you really need it, you are stuffed. I never asked for two factor authentication on Gmail but like all of the other Google shit and all of the banking apps that I need to use I do not have any option as there are no alternatives. It is either use their shitty software and apps or go without. Just as well I was able to remeber all of my logins and passwords instead of relying on them being stored in the memory of a phone that I could no longer use. Rant over.
As I left the border the sun had just come out through a hole in the clouds and it had warmed up a little. The road from the border descended for about 30 miles or so and passed through a few towns one of which I stopped in to refuel. The price of petrol was 2.60 USD for a US Gallon which works out at about 65 US Cents per litre. I headed in the direction of Quito where I had planned to stay for the night and to be honest the road was one of the most uninspiring that I have yet been on. Maybe it was the cold temperatures and the low cloud or the frequency of the towns but whatever it was I was not enjoying it.
As I got closer to Quito I stopped for something to eat and the roadside place that I stopped at had a pig strung up outside the front door. Apparently the owners just cut bits from the pig when a customer wanted to eat some pork. I had a plate of chicken and potoato soup and a bottle of water for 3.50 USD.
When I was finished eating I tried to use Booking.com to have a look at my options for a place to stay in Quito and guess what? That’s right I was unable to use it because I could still not access my main Google account which my Booking.com account is tied to! Did I mention that I hate Google?
I eventually reached Quito at around four o’clock in the afternoon and it started to rain. As I was riding in to the city centre I saw a hotel on the other side of the road that had secured parking so I did a U turn and I decided to book it for 2 nights as I needed to make some adjustments to the bike. It cost me 23 USD per night but I did not care as I was cold, wet, tired, and thoroughly pissed off.
Once I had enjoyed a long hot shower I got a taxi in to the Historic centre of the city and had a walk about. It was just getting dark and a lot of the older buildings were illuminated giving the place a very pleasant feel although there were not that many people about. As usual I took a few photographs of the area.
I found a place to eat where I had grilled beef, eggs, chips, and three coffees for 9 USD. I then I took a taxi back to my hotel to sort out the Google stuff and install on the phone my banking apps and all of the other ones that I am forced to use before getting my head down for the night.
As I have been riding off road more than usual whilst I was in Colombia I have noticed that my steering bearing were becoming a little noisy. This had happened to me last year when I was riding around central America and the problem was that the main steering nut was loose. When I checked it it had come loose again but as I did not have a suitable spanner I went to find a tool store to buy one. When I went outside the city was covered in low cloud and the visibility was down to about 100 yards. I took a photo of my hotel as I headed out.
I then went for another walk around the city and the low cloud lifted at about ten o’clock in the morning and eventually the sun came out making it quite pleasant. Once I returned to the hotel with my new spanner I adjusted the bearings and then I tightened the main steering nut before adjusting the drive chain and adjusting the tyre pressures. Once done I went for another walk trying to find a laundrette without success and once I got back to the hotel I spent the rest of the day getting both myself and the bike ready to leave the following morning.