Peru travel blog by Mark Berman -
June 2009
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Exiting Macara in Ecuador for Peru is straightforward, you can get your exit stamp at the border, walk across the bridge and get your entry stamp
for Peru on the other side. Once this is done there are co-op taxis waiting here to take you to Sullana which is about 130kms away. There is also
hot food (chicken and rice etc) available while you wait for the taxi to fill up. Squeeze 'Em In
By the time there were 2 in the front plus the driver plus 3 of us in the back
and 2 more in the boot with the luggage and produce we set off for Sullana which took 1hr 45mins driving fast. At one point the driver stopped and tried to squeeze a
mother and daughter and their produce into the boot, but they didn't fit. During the ride there were animals walking
all over the road including pigs, donkeys and cows. We passed a couple traveling on a tandem bicycle, people in mototaxis, and chicken and vegetables for sale as we
travelled through small villages called El Guineo, El Progreso, Partidor and Pedregal. I took a photo of an outside kitchen cookup under a tree complete
with a bicycle shelter and stray dogs.
Sullana
Sullana is a hectic and chaotic little place with mototaxis everywhere. It's a
good place to catch a bus to somewhere else which is what I did after getting to the crowded bus station. I headed for
Piura on a local bus which cost $2 Soles and took about
30 minutes.
Piura
Piura, again is a hectic and chaotic town with bus companies, co-op taxis and mototaxis lining both sides
of the main street. It is an easy place to get north or south from. The more flashier bus companies seem to do their long hauls only in the morning or at night so I settled for a less fancy bus to get me south to Chiclayo during daylight.