The "Unbelievably Unforgettable" Journey

Wow… where to even begin?? This past month has been hilariously, outrageously and sometimes freakishly out of control. Honest. I wouldn’t lie to you on the blog …. Even though at times (as you read this post) you will think that I am ...are you ready? Here goes!!!! 

First Adam, Sophia and I arrived in Lima to get Sophia’s Peruvian passport so that we could travel to Ecuador…. All went well with that - YAY. We tried to get her US passport but we weren’t able to get an appointment until May 17^th. However, we did go to the Embassy to pick up the paperwork …WOW. I have never been to the Embassy before (its scary) fortunately all we had with us was Sophia ,the stroller and a diaper bag (I had left all my sharp objects and weaponry in the hotel, whew) Going through several metal detectors, being patted down and whatnot – we were just a tad worn out when we were through. Can’t wait until the real deal :)

We left for Ecuador on … actually I don’t even remember the date but we left by bus. YAY again. It was to be a 28 hour bus ride from Lima to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Then we would switch buses and go another 8 hours from Guayaquil to Puyo, Ecuador. So we arrive at the bus station anxiously and excitedly awaiting our bus … so shouldn’t have done that. (ok maybe twice as much anxiety and no excitement). We go to board the bus and it looks like it was run over and driven through a muddy ditch before arriving at the bus terminal, yay. We get on --- so much nastier inside .. double yay. We try not to get upset thinking its only 28 hours how bad can it be … we will just use a lot of wipes :) Yeah, when the a/c quit working 30 minutes into the trip and we were encased in our own private room with un-openable windows and diesel fumes blowing in on us …. blackening our bodies and clothes like we were coal mine workers …. we decided that maybe 28 hours was a long time after all. (side note: did I mention that the bathroom was right in front of us with a beautiful smell coming from it and the “water” leaking out of it around our feet wasn’t really water…) So we arrived in Guayaquil with the black lung and feeling a bit sweaty and unhappy.

We went straight to a hotel to rest and shower … we walked into the room and about choked to death on the cigarette smoke (the cigarettes were still on the bedside table) Adam felt that – that probably wasn’t gonna cut it so we switched hotels and decided to leave for Puyo in the morning.

So bright and early the next day Adam left to go to the bus station (Sophia and I stayed at the hotel). So a couple of hours later …. Still no Adam… hmmm. So I think to myself, “I hope he hasn’t been in an accident or got robbed or something because if he did I have no idea how to find him or even figure out if he is ok, etc.” But I only pondered on it briefly, knew it was crazy, and went about my business. A few minutes later Adam shows up breathless with a crazy look in his eye. I said, ‘Hey honey, how did it go – do we have tickets?’ He says, “I almost got mugged!!!’

WHAT!? He said, yeah … I went to the bus station and found out the times for the bus, and when I was ready to go I went and got a taxi from the service there at the bus station (which usually is safest). The lady told the guy my destination and I got in the cab. The guy looked a bit sketch and as soon as I got in the cab he calls someone on his cell phone and is telling them to meet him because he has an American. (he didn’t know at the time that I spoke Spanish). I just figured that I didn’t understand what he said, until we are driving in the wrong direction … I said, “I think the hotel is the other way?” He assures me that this way will get us there …. Uh huh. So a few minutes later we are most definitely in the wrong part of town and heading to a bad residential area … I realized something wasn’t good so I asked him to pull over and told him I would just get out - he had taken me far enough. He didn’t stop! I thought maybe he didn’t hear me so I told him again … he sped up and ran a red light. I decided probably I should be worried at this point – so while I was contemplating how to bash his head into the steering wheel like in the movies, he started to slow down to turn a corner, so I just opened the door and jumped out!!!! (by the way, that hurts more than you would expect it too) Then I ran 3 blocks while he was trying to turn around and went into a bread store. This little old lady owned it and she was behind all of these bars … she asked what in the world I was doing in that area and I explained. She let me in (behind the bars) and called her own personal cab driver to take me home, because she said no one could be trusted in that area. WOW. So yeah … almost mugged … or killed or beaten. Scary.

We made it to Puyo and had an amazing time. It is upper jungle, which means no bugs and pleasant spring weather, it was beautiful!!! We hiked to a waterfall, Adam went rafting in the clear cold river water, next to the house, and he taught the guys there about culture shock, different spiritual disciplines and the great commission. The guys in the training were amazing and we really enjoyed spending time with them. Sophia did wonderfully. She just smiled, ate and slept. She has started to gurgle and coo it is super cute!!!

Sadly, it came time to leave beautiful Puyo. We found a really nice bus line to take us to Guayaquil and it was an uneventful and pleasant trip, thank goodness. We had decided that we would take another bus from Guayaquil to Tumbes, Peru which is right on the border and then take a Peruvian bus the rest of the way (because Peru busses are nicer). We were feeling pretty confident about our plan - We arrived at the bus station at 9pm even though the bus didn’t leave until 11:30pm because the hotel kicked us out. But when we went up to the counter the guy told us that a bus was actually leaving right then that we could get on!! YAY. So we hurried through the station and went out to the bus ….


 Oh good grief… I can’t even explain how much worse this bus looked compared to our first one… I wish we had a picture but we were so rushed we didn’t have time. We got our luggage put under the bus and went to get on … they patted Adam down twice and went through our carry-on bags …weird, but whatever. Then we get on the packed bus (which had no a/c but the windows did open) and this lady with the bus line has a video camera and she is videoing everyone on the bus!?! Huh. The bus leaves and we are about an hour out of town when I hear an awful noise… I said Adam, I think we have a flat tire … he said, no I think it sounds worse … Yeah, he was right. What had actually happened was that all of the lug nuts had broken off and the tire had bent sideways and was stuck under the bus … YAY (who even knew THAT could happen!?) Then of course we were stranded. 


All the men got off the bus to check it out and we proceeded to wait for 2 hours or so for a new bus to arrive … unfortunately, the mosquitoes were super bad and then as luck would have it – it started to pour down rain right before the new bus arrived. YAY. We ran to board the other bus… somehow we kept Sophia dry - Adam and I were not that lucky… nor was our luggage (which we hoped had made it to the other bus) … for the next 5 hours we were wet - especially Adam because every time we went over a bump water leaked on him from ....wait for it.... the TOP of the bus - figure that out.

When we arrived at the border we all piled out so that we could stand in line and be eaten by mosquitoes while the border patrol did nothing for 2 hours!! We still aren’t sure why we were waiting -- it definitely wasn’t because it was busy at 3 am. O extra plus: Sophia screamed the entire time…..

We did eventually arrive in Tumbes. Adam asked if there was an airport there and when they said yes - he immediately went and bought us tickets for the next flight to Lima. Good times were definitely had by all – at least now that we are safe and sound and are clean, rested and enjoying good food and hot showers!!

I am just glad we had all of you praying for us … and as surprising as this may sound – 
I don’t think we are EVER getting on another bus again :)

Here are some pictures from our adventures. We love and miss you all!!!

Cooing & Gurgling - having a swell time

She can push herself up now!!!

Sophia gettin gangsta on us :)

foothills of the Andes ... view from our place in Ecuador

Adam's Taz raft :) the only one he could find to 'ride the rapids'

chillin in the hammock

beautiful waterfalls

don't be jealous of the boots :) the mud was crazy!!!

Sophia's first hike :0

the house we stayed at in Ecuador

view from the house

Jess and Sophia

Adam and Sophia

On the bus .... before all the trauma's