Quito, Ecuador, to Colombia

The bus from Otavalo stopped at the north terminal at about 9pm and I took a local bus to the Quitumbes terminal in the south. The bus ride took about an hour and cost just 50c when a cab the same distance would have cost $18. It was so cold overnight in the terminal despite my trusty fleece and I was only able to have snatches of sleep.

At 0430, I was still waiting for the international ticket office to open. At 5, I started to wonder if the woman the previous day had told me that the bus departs at 0530, but in any case, the office was distinctly closed. A few minutes later, I learned from a jalador that buses north leave from downstairs. But I saw none to Tulcan, on the border. I started to fear that the 5am one had come and gone, and that I had spent an uncomfortable night in the terminal for nothing, but a jaladora told me that there were more buses to the border yet. 45 minutes later, I was on my way to Colombia and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe my run of bad luck really was over!

In Tulcan, I took a cab to the border about 10 minutes away, had a very uneventful border crossing, then took another cab on the Colombian side to the Ipiales bus terminal.