Cue the Indiana Jones music!

As a tourist I can only stay for three months in Ecuador, so last Monday I decided to finally get my work visa papers started.

Loja unfortunately doesn’t have a foreign-ministry office and the nearest office is in Machala., a mere five-and-a-half-hour bus ride from Loja.

Equipped with the tips my fellow native teachers had provided me (“dress shabbily”, “look down. Don’t show your blue eyes”, “whatever you do, don’t go out at night”) I set off – terrified.

When I got on the bus in Loja, and it started rolling out of the station, my heart rate must have been over 120 per minute, so I did what any normal person would do, I put on my headphones and cued the Indiana Jones theme song. This helped me think of the trip more as an adventure and not so much as a scary place I must go to.

The scenery during the trip was mesmerizing. Hills covered with weeds, tall ficuses and palm trees decorating the side of the roads, and in the distance, the tops of mountains fading into the dark clouds…

I arrived in Machala at 5pm, and headed straight for the foreign ministry. It was closed. 
So, there I was, in a city I didn’t know, and my friends’ helpful tips ringing in my ears. I had to get out of the streets!

I checked into a hotel and stayed the night, so I could get on top of things the next morning.

The following morning  I arrived at the foreign ministry at 8 am to discover that only one person spoke English in the entire office. But I wasn’t about to complain because at least there was one.

To make the long story short, I spent the entire day at the foreign ministry, during which I met Ben, a wonderful ex-pat painter, and Kevin, an ex-pat electrician. I had a wonderful time talking to them about the adventures we have had and our future plans.

At  6 pm I finally walked out of the building, satisfied, for all my paperwork was done, and I could finally return to Loja. The city I know and love.

A.D.