It's amazing the change in a place just by crossing an imaginary line that we call a border. The Peruvians seem quite friendly and welcoming of foreigners. I just realized, however, that I am now in a country so large, it is bigger than ALL 7 countries of Central America combined... and it took me 9 months to get through there! How long I could possibly explore a country this big I'm not sure yet...

Since spraining my ankle in Ecuador, I decided to cross the border into Peru the easy way ... by bus. I just couldn't be bothered limping around the jungle town I would have needed to start in ... buying a hammock to sleep on the boat deck, stocking up on fresh water and food, finding a boat and determining it's real scheduled departure (I've heard delays of hours or days are common), etc. So, after departing Puyo, I retraced familiar ground through Cuenca and Loja and crossed into Peru at a small town called Macara'. I was the only gringo for what seemed like miles around and this town comes with no hassles. Even the money changer guys... notorious for rip-offs, scams, and dishonesty... were straight and accurate with their rate quote the very first time. I changed my American dollars, what Ecuador has been using since 2002, into Peru's currency, the Nuevo Sol.

After the border, I made my way to the beach community of Mancora. I need a place to let my foot rest and recover and this seems like the place to do it. It is low season right now and a little boring... but I can't do much anyway. I ran into some Israeli guys I met in Quito a couple weeks back so I hang out with them as there really isn't anyone here to meet or talk to. I'm not sure how long I can sit around like this but my options are limited. Hopefully recovery is fast...

No pix til later... I need Windows XP and only 98 is available right now.