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Oct. 13, 2008 You would never suppose that a city like Guayaquil, Ecuador would have such an awesome bus terminal, La Terminal Terrestre de Guayaquil! This seems to be twice the size of the Port Authority Terminal in New York City, which bills itself as the world's largest. The building is over 1000 feet long, on three levels, with over 100 bus lanes. It contains a complete mall, with perhaps 200 shops. Unfortunately, the terminal exists primarily for domestic travelers. When all is said and done, there is a single bus company, Ecuatoriano Pullman, that carries passengers to Perú, and then only to Piura, a city of 400,000 in far north Perú. On Thursday, October 10, at 11PM. I boarded one of their buses, which made Piura at 9 AM on Friday. I had to wait in Piura till 3:30 PM for the Roggero bus to Lima. Piura is warm and sunny, but not very fashionable or attractive culturally, strictly down-scale and utilitarian, but clean. The Ruggero bus made Lima at 6:30 AM on Saturday, and there I booked a seat on a Cial bus that would depart for Arequipa at 4:30 PM. So I hung around Lima all day, mostly at a nearby Cyber Café. On winter days, June to September, Lima is cold, cloudy and foggy, almost without exception, very depressing and uncomfortable. But I was speculating that being 3 weeks into Spring, Lima's weather would be clearing up already. No way! You couldn't ask for a more dismal day than Saturday, October 12, especially in the grim slum where the terminals stand. They're in separate buildings in Lima, but all within a block or two of each other. Finally, I was on the Cial bus, and we arrived in Arequipa, in far south Perú at 8 AM, Sunday, October 13. A cab driver took me to a hotel 3 blocks off the main plaza of twon, which is surrounded by vaulted arcades and a cathedral, Spanish Colonial style. Arequipa is warm and sunny, surrounded by the lofty peaks of the Peruvian Andes. My room costs $12 a day, but would cost $35 to $40 in the US, and that makes Arequipa a very fine place as far as I am concerned. I'll be here a month or less, and then I'll continue to Santiago, Chile and finally to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Looking at my passport, I realize that I had misremembered my visa expiration date for Ecuador. I could have stayed two more weeks. So I was a little miffed, as Guayaquil is much more consumer-friendly than Arequipa. if less quaint and romantic. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Visit my website here. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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