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Other entries in Tulcán

No entry to Jersey!

We got up at the unforgiving hour of 4am on the basis that if we did this we would arrive in our chosen destination in Colombia..a sensible choice as it is best to avoid nightbuses in Colombia (certain ones anyway).  So we arrived at the border in plenty of time..11 am....by 11.10 we were stamped and out of Ecuador but in hte Colombian boder section we hit a wall.  The jobsworth behind the counter didn't know Jersey (no surprises there) and the system refused to recognise Jersey! On this basis, although we held British passports, he decided that we could not come in until he had authorisation from someone who knew. So we sat on our backpacks, cold and generally a little miffed and waited and waited and watched the 100s behind us come through with no problems.

After about two hours he decided that perhaps he could recruit me to assist him in helping locating someone. So, I was beckoned behind the counter, passed a mobile and told  to keep trying until I managed to speak to someone. When I finally get through to someone he takes the phone and this is the conversation that they have (clearly I am imaging what the other person said because I can't hear and if I could of I probably wouldn't have understood anyway):

Jobsworth: "I have two girls here from the British Islands Bailiwick of Jersey" (he is reading this from the passport and saying it in completely the wrong way but I decided against corrected him),

Man on phone who knows best: "so they are British then?"

Jobsworth: "yes"

Man on phone that knows best: "well let the poor cold gringas in then you idiot, Colombia loves the British , they have lots of money!"

So finally after three hours we get through and we leave deciding that if coming from Jersey makes you special and special means waiting for three hours..then sod it, from now on I'm English!

Heading off to the bus station we are greeted by a lovely bus man who says we can get to the place we want in 6 and a half hours...bargain..two hours quicker than we thought..one drawback is that the bus is small but hey, its worth it to shave off two hours when you have been up since 4 and have had a three hour wait in the cold...ermm, nearly 9 hours later we finally arrive in the smallest bus in the world..I am only 5 ft 4 and my legs were feeling the strain..poor Kerry.

Well despite the above we are feeling good about Colombia. The people seem really friendly and there is a lot of beautiful scenery so far.  I am going to write today off as a bad day..the first and last in Colombia.