Justin McCandless

I did get to Peru this past weekend, and I actually succeeded in getting all 4 stamps that I needed, but after I thought I had succeeded the Ecuadorian dude at the border showed me my account and I still had only 16 days left. Not good.

I took a bus out to Huaquillas Friday night, trying to finally get this Peru thing over with. My plan was to go to Tumbes, Peru, spend the night, and then come back the next day and hope that there was some way to take care of my passport thing along the way. However, upon arrival to Huaquillas at like 4:30 in the morning, I explained my circumstances to a cab driver guy who wanted to take me to Tumbes. He was surprisingly very familiar with my exact plans, and said that lots of people come to Huaquillas to hop of the border and get their passport stamped and come right back in to get an additional 90 days. So I decided to go with that plan and finish the whole thing in an hour or so instead of hanging around Peru by myself.

The guy had like a team of people to take me around on both sides of the border, too. Using his help, I went to Ecuadorian immigration to get stamped out of Ecuador, then across the border to Peruvian immigration to get stamped in and then back out of Peru, and then back to Ecuadorian immigration. And then, yeah, after that stamp I still had only 16 days. The cab guy who was helping me seemed surprised, so maybe it's a new thing that they keep track of how long you've been in Ecuador the whole year on computers.

After that I caught the 6am bus straight back to Loja and made it home in time for lunch. At least the trip didn't waste too much time.

So note to anyone out there in the internets who's Googling random things while thinking about trying this: don't, unless you're willing to bribe you're way through. And while I've got your attention, don't listen to the Chicago consulate when he tells you you don't need a visa.

Ok I'm done whining now. I'm asking around to see if there is anything else I can do to get more time, but I'm pretty sure I'll be heading home at the beginning of August instead of the end now. Which actually isn't that bad of a deal. I will finish everything I'm currently working on at Arcoiris by then, and I can still continue any left over stuff in the US if needed. For my other job, I will actually be much, much more productive working in the US where I have real internet and no second job. And I'll be home in Vegas with my family, and my pets, and I'll get to see my sister off to her first year of college. And all the other interns are leaving right around now. And just to seal the deal in convincing myself that this is a much better alternative: steak, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, pasta, burritos, salad, chicken wings, bbq. Ok I can't wait to be home.