Today we finally received the package and managed to catch a bus to Piura. Well we went to the bus company Loja International at 6am to see if the package had arrived (Laurence's mum sent the package by DHL to Guayaquil and Andres' aunt sent it to us to Loja by bus, this is how people send packages in Ecuador, by bus not by post) but we have been told to come back after 8am, not very good when the buses to Piura are at 7am and then 1pm, 10.30pm. After finally picking up our package we decided to catch a bus at 10am to Macara, the last Ecuadorian town before the border, thinking that from there we could catch a bus to Piura as we did not want to wait for the bus at 1pm. But arriving in Macara after a 5h journey ($6) through very dry but beautiful landscapes we found out that we will have to wait for the bus that leaves Loja at 1pm as there is only another bus company going to Piura from Macara and it has only a bus in the evening. Macara is a very small town which seems empty and asleep, shops and restaurants are empty and only a few people and cars can be seen around. Not easy to find a decent restaurant to eat so we ended up eating in a fast food the worst hot dog we ever had. We couldn't wait to catch the 6pm bus that will take us to Piura (6h, $3.5). In this bus we met Wout a very nice Belgian guy who is working in Chiclayo, Peru. He gave us tips about what to visit in Peru. Crossing the border this way was much easier than by Tumbes, the bus stops at the Ecuadorian immigration office and after getting your passport stamped you cross the bridge by foot to do the same with the Peruvian immigration and police, and then you get back in the bus. We arrived at 9.30pm in Piura and straight caught a cab to an hotel, cheap but very not nice. We straight realised we were back in Peru as the town was very different from the Ecuadorian towns. First of all the bus terminated in the enclosed yard of the bus company terminal with armed security guards around. And when you arrive in the street you can feel straight away that Peru is poorer than Ecuador. Here the taxis are very small and the cars are very old, also you have lots of those small moto taxis. We visited only two hotels as it was already late and the standard was definitely lower than in Ecuador.
