One of the simple pleasures lost at the era of flying has been navigating though borders. We had the chance to rediscover this again today, while waiting for our passports to be stamped for Equador. While queuing in order to cross the border I realize that we are about to leave a country whose northern neightboors refuse to link with Panama (the Darien gap separates Panama from Colombia, the only break of the Panamerican highway) and Equador instead of visa or passport requires them to produce their criminal record…

Could Ecuador be the most radical and exciting place on Earth? The guardian article – elections in a few days – Correa popularity ratings are currently the highest of any currently serving president, close to 70 %.
First impressions in Otavalo
A world away from Colombia – the streets are clean and tidy, people somehow look quieter, more introvert, the waitress giggly and mildly embarrassed, no one shouts, a feeling close to Northern Europe or Asia. Feeling safe again – but the restaurants close at 9.. The Quechua are all wearing the traditional (with the action, after the arrival of the Spanish of the hat, mimicking the meta shields) and are very short. Beautiful radiant colors and dark hats – the children on the back. A strange feeing of being again somewhere in Asia …

In Quito, at 2800 meters of altitude, at the central square, a group of people are making an easy sell: they are singing the praises of Correa, the current president and the most dominant candidate. A passer by on a bicycle stops and then starts to shout and interrupt the speaker – ” how much did they pay you to say these lies ” ” what about people who are unemployed ” another one joins in, but overall the crowd is against them. Still, this is democracy in action – no one attacks the two hecklers, no one tries to manhandle them.
Tomorrow, plane for Galapagos.