Border police and immigration officials on both sides of Ecuador's northern border tonight closed the border to vehicle traffic and pedestrians .. and stopped processing passports on on the Colombian side through Sunday (March 11, 2018).
What was going on?
The reason was "la botación" -- the booting -- or was it "la votación" -- the voting? Both are pronounced the same in these parts.
Either way, it was nothing less than culture shock for me, as someone staying at a hospedaje in the border town of Ipiales, Colombia, and not being able to cross the international border to get back into Colombia.
There were thousands of Venezuelans lined up in a queue outside the immigrations building on the Ecuadorian side of the border around 6 p.m. when the border blockade began. So one might have thought that what officials were saying was "la botación," meaning the kicking out of Venezuelan refugees without visa or other paperwork.
But no, as it turned out -- and was later explained to me by my reception desk back in Ipiales, Colombia -- it was "la votación" -- the voting.
They close the border from Thursday night through Sunday night so the immigration department employees of Colombia can have the weekend off for Sunday's national legislative elections and presidential primaries .. and to preserve order during elections inside Colombia's borders.
It took some smooth talking from yours truly to convince a by-the-book official of Inmigración Colombia and his superior to let me walk across the Rumichaca Bridge back into Colombia half an hour after the two-way border blockade was instituted.
cccmedia, back in Ipiales, Colombia, two miles from the Rumichaca border
Ecuador's Northern Border Closed For "La Votación"
Despite the early booting-voting confusion, I am satisfied the upper post has now been properly corrected.
---
Part of the culture shock for a Gringo -- aside from being temporarily blocked from crossing the border -- is that national legislative elections in Colombia are held in March, two months before the upcoming Presidential election .. and that the border is closed in both directions for three-and-a-half days for an election of lawmakers that takes one day (Sunday).
The border officials kept saying "domingo" or Sunday for the re-openiing of the border. However, a money-changer told my reception desk by phone that the actual re-opening will be Monday, 6 a.m.
cccmedia near the Colombia-Ecuador border
I now see exactly what you mean by driving in Colombia being a nightmare.......Flights from Medellin to Pereira seemed rediculous for a 20 min flight so I decided to endure the pessimo bus trip along razor back ridge roads with never ending curves and road repair delays......God what a pain......But I decided to break it up into 2 days and spent the nite in Rio Sucio....Not a bad little town......two parks, two churches.....gold mining origins.......and then back on the bus in morning for duration of the trip...Once you get to Virginia, the most outlying area of the Pereira metro zone, its all good.......and then onward to Salento and Armenia......All good roads......stress free..........Where will I start havin problems again between Cali and Ipiales CC? Unfortunately there are no flights going that way........And the ELN are active somewhere along that route........I hear the buses are going in caravans........
dumluk wrote:I now see exactly what you mean by driving in Colombia being a nightmare.......
Where will I start havin problems again between Cali and Ipiales CC? Unfortunately there are no flights going that way........ And the ELN are active somewhere along that route........ I hear the buses are going in caravans........
You rang??
My online distance-finder indicates it's 475 kilometers between Cali and Ipiales.
That's two days of bus travel if you avoid nighttime-travel scenarios. Even if I had a crystal ball, I couldn't tell you where you would encounter problems along the way. What you saw before .. you'll see again. Maybe more.
I'd seriously consider air travel, which -- despite what you posted -- is possible for you. The local airport for Ipiales, code IPI, has arriving flights from Bogotá. If you're willing to transfer in the capital, or overnight there .. and might prefer an early, early morning flight to avoid the ground-transportation obstacle course, stay with me for the next post.
cccmedia in Ipiales
Satena airlines has a 5:25 a.m. flight on some days, including March 15th, from Bogotá to IPI.
If you book online, I suggest doing so at user-friendlier www.alternativeairlines.com instead of Satena's own site. Better yet, book at a travel agency, which can help you figure out the 7 kg baggage limitation.
This won't be cheap as bus travel is. It appears the one-way fare is equivalent to $153 US .. and that's just for the Bogotá-Ipiales leg.
Reminds me of a line from an old movie referencing Worth It Medical Insurance:
"It costs an arm and a leg, but it's Worth It."
----
On-line booking terms:
ida y vuelta = round-trip
solo ida = one-way
15/03 = March 15th
-- cccmedia in Ipiales
I appreciate your tips and counsel, but today on the jeep to Cocora Valley, a nice old French lady told me theres a direct bus from Armenia to Popayan.....6 hours.....it avoids Cali.....which suits me fine.......that gets me halfway there.......Im in no big hurry......voy poco a poco.........borders still closed anyway.......La Ley Seca in effect here but I managed to find some clandestine liquor........Dumluk reporting from Salento....intersection del mundo.........
Now Im hearing from the local police here in Armenia that its risky biziss traveling from Popayan thru Pasto to Ipiales right now.....Not easy to get up to date information, especially right now, with it being election day......Any updates will be much appreciated.....Seems that Armenia to Popayan is a no problem deal, but beyond that, its sketchy...........
dumluk wrote:Now I'm hearing from the local police here in Armenia that its risky bizniss traveling from Popayan thru Pasto to Ipiales right now....
That long stretch south of Popayán is the sketchiest.
That's where I was attacked on my first day / night of driviing in southern Colombia.
https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=634337
-- cccmedia
The border re-opened to foot traffic and vehicles in both directions on Monday (March 12, 2018) at the Rumichaca crossing.
The line surrounding the Ecuador-side immigration building was much shorter than last week.
Traffic approaching the border from the Colombian side was heavier than usual for a weekday, according to my driver, but not extreme. We were in stop-and-go traffic for about ten minutes.
Regular processing of documents at Ecuador immigration, such as salidas and entradas, appeared normal, but the wait to get to a processing window appeared lengthy, unless you had an exception such as tercera edad (seniors), women who are pregnant or accompanying a child .. or disabled.
----
Today I made it through the respective salida and entrada lines of Ecuador and Colombia's
immigration buildings without any problems .. and emerged at 6 p.m. with a fresh 90-day tourist stamp for Colombia. 
cccmedia back in Ipiales, Nariño, Colombia
Looks like all is well, at least along the PanAmerican Hwy.......the problem spots according to the folks around here in Popayan are quite a ways away in the interior in Putumayo close to the Ecuadorian border.........So I suppose that with thousands of Venezulanos backed up at the border waiting to be processed, it cant be too serious a bus trip between here and there...........But Im gonna give it another day at least to clear out.........I dont do well with long lines.........Popayan is a very nice old colonial city with a huge traffic problem........
Correspondent Nards Barley PM'd today, apparently after following this thread.
Nards wanted to know if I had crossed the border into Ecuador for the purpose of obtaining a tourist stamp for Colombia on the way back to Ipiales, Colombia.
He asked whether my TP-7 visa had already expired.
He also asked if I can recross the borders in 90 days to obtain another tourist stamp.
--------
My one year TP-7 visa was expiring that day, last Thursday, March 8th (2018), when I got to the Rumichaca border crossing.
I had previously gone over a plan with an officer of Colombia's La DIAN, the purpose being to briefly exit Colombia at visa-expiration time, pick up my car a few miles away outside Tulcán, Ecuador (my visa-related car permit extensions for Colombia expired on December 1st), and re-enter Colombia with a fresh tourist stamp and a fresh car permit, both good for another 90 days.
On March 8th, before the border closed at 6 p.m. and with me unaware of the impending closure, I obtained a salida to exit Colombia .. walked across the Rumichaca bridge into Ecuador .. and obtained an entrada, putting me back in Ecuador (where I have a permanent visa), at least for the moment.
--------
The border closing on March 8th delayed my official return to Colombia, although at 6:30 p.m. with the border already closed, an official of Inmigración Colombia gave me permission to re-enter Colombia on foot for the duration of the border closure. It was a sort of medical excuse that put me back in Ipiales, Colombia, for the weekend .. although without a visa or a tourist permit. The officer warned me that I could theoretically be deported from Colombia if found to be without the proper paperwork.
--------
With the border closed to all Expats for the weekend and me in immigration limbo,
I laid low in Ipiales (meaning staying out of El Centro) and when the border re-opened yesterday, Monday, March 12th, I headed back there.
On Monday afternoon, I took a taxi to the border, walked across the bridge to
unofficially enter Ecuador and obtained a salida at Migración Ecuador.
I then walked across the Rumichaca bridge .. and legally re-entered Colombia, getting a tourist stamp good for 90 days at the Migración Colombia building.
cccmedia in Ipiales, Nariño, Colombia
Which still leaves open the question of getting my car from Tulcán, Ecuador, which is only a few miles from here, into Ipiales, Colombia, where I am staying.
I decided it was too much to mess with yesterday. So later this week, I plan to cross back into Ecuador with no additional paperwork, pick up the car, drive to and park at the border .. and obtain the no-cost car permit at La DIAN. Then I'll buy SOAT -- the Colombian car insurance -- and legally drive the car into this city.
cccmedia in Ipiales, Colombia
Nards' other question was whether I could go back for more border crossings in 90 days to extend my time in Colombia.
Well, that's one option. However, I'm planning something different.
When that time comes -- early June -- and if I decide I want to extend my time in Colombia some more, I will go to la DIAN's office in downtown Ipiales .. and obtain a tourist-permit extension. This might eliminate unpredictable interference such as can evidently occur with multiple international border crossings.
cccmedia in Ipiales, Colombia
Wow, what a nighmare! We should let the Americans handle the voting process. That way we could have a Donald Trump equivalent.
Articles to help you in your expat project in Ecuador
You have made it to Ecuador, now what is there to do in your free time? A lifetime in Ecuador isn't enough time to ...
Las Cajas parque nacional is located about a half hours drive (or hour bus ride) to the west of Cuenca, along the ...
Ecuador is famous as a retirement haven. But you might not want to wait until retirement age to move there and ...
What kind of food will you find in restaurants, cafes, and private homes in Ecuador? Many restaurants in Ecuador ...
Family is everything to an Ecuadorian. The extended family unit is the most important aspect of life in Ecuador ...
Ecuador, as a fast-developing nation, has laws that are constantly evolving, but one thing is certain: the ongoing ...
