Attempting to cross Ecuador's northern border into Colombia has been complicated lately .. what with covid rules, public demonstrations and the check-mig (public health) document requirement.
So what happened to me this week can happen to other travelers -- having to pause for a layover on the Ecuador side of the border until the situation gets sorted out.
There were manisfestaciones -- mass public demonstrations -- at the Rumichaca Bridge crossing throughout the past week .. and the Colombian authorities clamped down by not permitting motorists to cross into their república with their cars. Pedestrians apparently were permitted to enter sin coche during daylight hours and until 8 p.m.
Although I didn't expect to be blocked for five days, some delay at the border seemed likely before I started out from Quito. So I had a backup plan. That plan, in a word, was Tulcán.
Tulcán is a high-elevation city of more than 100,000 on the Ecuador side of the border. (tool-KAHN)
When in Tulcán, I stay at the Hotel Flor de los Andes on Sucre in the heart of the shopping district. For $20 a night, you can get a comfortable room that is steps away from plentiful restaurants, pharmacies, fruit stores and general shopping.
Central Tulcán is not the quietest area. Nighttime sounds will include unattended dogs and weekend music. Bring earplugs if you think you may need them.
Also pack a small space heater. It is common in the Ecuadorian highlands hotels not to supply heating, although an extra blanket may be available upon request.
The Pack Choy Chinese restaurant, also on Sucre, is a good bet. The priciest item on the menu is a mixed seafood dish served on a steaming special plate, for $7.95. The restaurant is in the Hotel Palacio Imperial, which may be the priciest lodgings in town, on offer at $89 per night for a large room. If you splurge, ask for a room away from the bell tower unless you like to hear hourly bells announcing the top of the hour.
Tulcán's an easier walking town than, say, my home district -- hillier Centro Histórico in Quito. However, Tulcán's street names are often unmarked at the intersections, potentially making it necessary to ask for directions on the way back from shopping to one's hotel.
I stocked up on fruit on my first day here. Customers were not permitted inside the large frutería. You basically request your selections, which may include tasty peaches from Chile, and the 'frutera' puts your order together.
Most travelers will be able to find pretty much anything they need for a layover in Tulcán while waiting for the border to fully open. (Tip: the land crossing is closed to virtually everyone for days in election periods.) And it's a friendly-enough town. Not a bad city to be stranded in for five days, if you don't mind hearing from the dogs at night.
cccmedia in Tulcán, Ecuador, near the Northern border with Colombia
Stranded at the Northern Border -- the Joys of Tulcán
Check-Mig: Don't enter Colombia without it.
During The Situation, Colombia is requiring all visitors to provide a form called Check-Mig at the border land-crossings.
This is a one-page 'health certification' document whose usefulness seems to be that it may reduce time spent by border agents interacting face-to-face with non-Colombians.
The document is good for the date indicated only.
I purchased such for 28 Singapore dollars (don't ask), which is about $20 US .. from a company called iVisas. They send the document online.
The border agent at first seemed disposed to make an exception to let me enter Colombia with my car on Wednesday just after midnight. However, he strictly enforced the document-expiration rule; with it being 20 minutes past midnight, he said my Check-Mig dated October 6 was no longer valid at 12:20 a.m. on the 7th. Then, with the manifestactiones and weekend restrictions, ipso facto, I'm in Tulcán, Ecuador, until Monday.
cccmedia, cooling my heels near the Ecuador-Colombia border/Rumichaca
Tulcán, Ecuador, October 9, 2021 -- Taxi drivers here say a taxista can drive an Expat into Colombia via Urbina, Ecuador, which has a turnoff just a couple of miles before the official Rumichaca border crossing, apparently leading into Ipiales, Colombia.
I am not advocating an illegal crossing. Just saying .. the authorities may be tolerating informal crossings at Urbina and perhaps elsewhere.
Due to violence in both Ipiales and Tulcán, recounted in a press report I just saw today, caution is advised.
cccmedia in Tulcán, Ecuador
cccmedia wrote:Tulcán, Ecuador, October 9, 2021 -- Taxi drivers here say a taxista can drive an Expat into Colombia via Urbina, Ecuador, which has a turnoff just a couple of miles before the official Rumichaca border crossing, and then into Ipiales, Colombia.
I am not advocating an illegal crossing. Just saying .. the authorities may be tolerating informal crossings at Urbina and perhaps elsewhere.
Due to violence in both Ipiales an Tulcan, in a press report I just saw today, caution is advised.
cccmedia
Your comments may well explain why airfare between the short hop from Quito to Medellin are north of $400 one way.
cccmedia wrote:Tulcán, Ecuador, October 9, 2021 -- Taxi drivers here say a taxista can drive an Expat into Colombia via Urbina, Ecuador, which has a turnoff just a couple of miles before the official Rumichaca border crossing, and then into Ipiales, Colombia.
I am not advocating an illegal crossing. Just saying .. the authorities may be tolerating informal crossings at Urbina and perhaps elsewhere.
Due to violence in both Ipiales an Tulcan, in a press report I just saw today, caution is advised.
cccmedia
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Urbina+(Taya)/@0.802896,-77.6738946,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x8e296f027af6cf45:0x5812f078e9879488!8m2!3d0.7824906!4d-77.7108686
HeyMrPaul wrote:cccmedia wrote:Tulcán, Ecuador, October 9, 2021 -- Taxi drivers here say a taxista can drive an Expat into Colombia via Urbina, Ecuador, which has a turnoff just a couple of miles before the official Rumichaca border crossing, and then into Ipiales, Colombia.
I am not advocating an illegal crossing. Just saying .. the authorities may be tolerating informal crossings at Urbina and perhaps elsewhere.
Due to violence in both Ipiales an Tulcan, in a press report I just saw today, caution is advised.
cccmedia
Your comments may well explain why airfare between the short hop from Quito to Medellin are north of $400 one way.
Air miles from Quito to MDE total 476 one way.
Flights on October 24th are listed at Expedia.com starting at $319 one way for this route, including taxes but not necessarily all luggage.
Seniors in Ecuador may qualify for up to 50 percent discounted fares for this route on some airline(s), cédula required.
cccmedia
I'm not yet a senior, and I don't have a Cedula (working on it). Of course they (The Airlines) don't include the cost of baggage in the low price search engines designed to sucker the inexperienced. That's why I use Kayak. They allow me on the search page to show how many carry on and checked bags I'll be taking with me. I've seen promo fairs of $56 go to $100 or more when 1 carry on and 1 checked bag is added. This is a stupid game they play with naive travelers who show up only to get charged more for the bag than the seat. I first ran into this with Reno Air (1993) and United flying from Orange County to Reno Nevada. We were planning on taking my sons dog. I called Reno Air (4) times asking for requirements to take the dog. I got the same answer (4) times. "The cage must be big enough for the animal to get up and turn around in". When I showed up with a retriever and its cage, I was told the luggage door on the MD80 was too small for the dogs cage. The only other airline flying to Reno was United. United wanted more to carry the dog as luggage than it would have cost me to buy the dog a seat next to me.
The cheapest flight I could find yesterday with (1) carry on and (1) checked bag from Quito to Medellin was $411. The ride to the Quito airport from Ibarra is $40 - $50 one way. My Medellin expert claims Colombia opened the border last July then Ecuador responded by saying it was still closed. Let's take all the import and border crossing guards and send them to new jobs guarding convicts in Guayaquil. I know the inventor of Kayak. It's the best travel search engine. Too bad he sold it to Booking.com. Expedia was excellent 12-13 years ago. Now I (personally) consider expedia useless. PS - Going into Colombia without getting the passport stamped will only get you detained upon attempting to leave via an approved route. It's NOT worth the trouble..... or the fine. The airlines are taking advantage of the border closure to gouge the customer on price. It's likely less expensive to fly to Panama via Copa, then to Medellin than direct. It makes me wonder which official the airlines have paid off to justify this injustice.
Backed off at the border -- again.
Last Wednesday night, an Ecuadorian border agent told me I would be able to enter Colombia via the Rumichaca crossing today, Monday, October 11. (Earlier on this thread I misidentified the agent as Colombian; his Ministerio jacket did not identify the country he represented.) He said the border would be open until 8 p.m. today, Monday.
At 6 p.m. today, after checking out of my Tulcán hotel room, I arrived in my car at Rumichaca again. Again I was denied entry to Colombia. A Ecuadorian border agent had no problem with my documentos. He seemed to be saying that I could cross into Colombia but that I could not make a separate trip tomorrow back to the Ecuador side to bring my car into Colombia, at an earlier hour. Then he modified his position .. definitively telling me I would not be entering Colombia this evening.
I have returned to Tulcán for two more nights at a hotel. The border agent said that I could enter Colombia with my car on my next attempt, and that the border would be open to documented travelers with vehicles, until 4 p.m. daily. Whether I believe that .. is a different matter.
cccmedia in Tulcán, Ecuador
cccmedia wrote:Backed off at the border -- again.
Last Wednesday night, an Ecuadorian border agent told me I would be able to enter Colombia via the Rumichaca crossing today, Monday, October 11. (Earlier on this thread I misidentified the agent as Colombian; his Ministerio jacket did not identify the country he represented.) He said the border would be open until 8 p.m. today, Monday.
At 6 p.m. today, after checking out of my Tulcán hotel room, I arrived in my car at Rumichaca again. Again I was denied entry to Colombia. A Ecuadorian border agent had no problem with my documentos. He seemed to be saying that I could cross into Colombia but that I could not make a separate trip tomorrow back to the Ecuador side to bring my car into Colombia, at an earlier hour. Then he modified his position .. definitively telling me I would not be entering Colombia this evening.
I have returned to Tulcán for two more nights at a hotel. The border agent said that I could enter Colombia with my car on my next attempt, and that the border would be open to documented travelers with vehicles, until 4 p.m. daily. Whether I believe that .. is a different matter.
cccmedia in Tulcán, Ecuador
This has all the hallmarks of the agent looking for a bribe. The story changes by the minute, and now he's talking about your car. I'm going to guess you've not offered to bribe him (yet). Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I think he wants you to buy him something. Or give him a cash gift. There has to be a law on this, and it's not written by the border guard.
HeyMrPaul wrote:This has all the hallmarks of the agent looking for a bribe. The story changes by the minute, and now he's talking about your car. I'm going to guess you've not offered to bribe him (yet). Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I think he wants you to buy him something. Or give him a cash gift. There has to be a law on this, and it's not written by the border guard.
No, I didn't consider bribing anyone at Migración. There was no overt or subtle indication that a bribe was being asked. There are plenty of people with their hands out, however.
I finally made it across the border last night with the assistance of a savvy off-duty hotel manager who accompanied me on his moto to the Colombia side of the frontera.
My impression is that the border guards have discretion about who or what (autos) they let in, so in effect one could say they are writing the laws by the way they enforce them.
cccmedia in Ipiales, Colombia
cccmedia wrote:HeyMrPaul wrote:This has all the hallmarks of the agent looking for a bribe. The story changes by the minute, and now he's talking about your car. I'm going to guess you've not offered to bribe him (yet). Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I think he wants you to buy him something. Or give him a cash gift. There has to be a law on this, and it's not written by the border guard.
No, I didn't consider bribing anyone at Migración. There was no overt or subtle indication that a bribe was being asked. There are plenty of people with their hands out, however.
I finally made it across the border last night with the assistance of a savvy off-duty hotel manager who accompanied me on his moto to the Colombia side of the frontera.
My impression is that the border guards have discretion about who or what (autos) they let it, so in effect one could say they are writing the laws by the way they enforce them.
cccmedia in Ipiales, Colombia
I'm glad they were finished in tormenting you (Finally) Of course, you DID have to stay in that Hotel for more nights than you bargained for. Who's to say the border guard doesn't get a tip from said off-duty hotel manager? I'm still as cynical and suspicious as before. The way to be successful at collecting graft is to stay under the radar. As far as we know, this could be the way they keep it on the down low. First time I was approached by Brasilians they offered me 5% of all the business my US factory threw their way. Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours seems to be ingrained in Latin America, not that the USA is better, in fact, we just do it on a bigger scale. Your experience has made me re-evaluate land border crossings. I've read about buses getting 5-8 hour delays before, but this one is new to me.
The presidents of Ecuador and Colombia have just announced that the land border between their countries at Rumichaca will re-open on December 1 (2021) after 21 months of closure.
Persons and vehicles with proper papers will be permitted to cross.
Source... www.cuencahighlife.com
That is great news. I'm thinking of trying the land crossing after my stay in Manizales Colombia is over. Wet, cold,, cloudy and rainy. What a vacation spot I picked!
cccmedia wrote:The presidents of Ecuador and Colombia have just announced that the land border between their countries at Rumichaca will re-open on December 1 (2021) after 21 months of closure.
Persons and vehicles with proper papers will be permitted to cross.
Source... www.cuencahighlife.com
Unfortunately us pedestrians and non commercial traffic will need to wait another month. I think you missed some of the details re: opening that border crossing. This link will fill in the blanks for you!
https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/ecu … ases-nota/
HeyMrPaul wrote:Unfortunately us pedestrians and non commercial traffic will need to wait another month. I think you missed some of the details re: opening that border crossing. This link will fill in the blanks for you!
https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/ecu … ases-nota/
Kudos to HeyMrPaul for posting the Spanish-language article indicating that the border is not exactly wide open yet.
It's re-opening in phases, with large trucks carrying imports and exports being the first vehicles to cross at Rumichaca throughout this month of December.
Another phase will begin at New Year's, although my reading of the article indicates that the authorities have some wiggle room as to whether pedestrians and non-commercial vehicles will be allowed to cross at that time.
I have been closely following Internet postings of all kinds relating to Rumichaca since September .. as I have made two trips from Ecuador to Colombia since October 6. My conclusion is that the situation on any given day is potentially fluid .. and Expat.com members may need a backup plan in Tulcán, Ecuador, in case they or their vehicle is denied permission to enter Colombia. My backup plan (used twice since October) involved the Flor de los Andes hotel in Tulcán.
cccmedia in Bucaramanga, Colombia
I'm not sure why the article being in Spanish is an issue for you. (If not, why mention it?) I use an extension that is available from the chrome webstore. It's what I use on my computer and phone also. It's simply Google Translate. Load a page in Spanish, and it will turn the text to English. It's the only way I can understand Spanish Language pages personally. I made the assumption because you resided in Quito you have already learned the language. If not, my apology.
As for making the claim the border was opened on Dec 1st, when you failed to qualify it as being only open to commercial traffic; I'm sure you can see how someone planning to cross the border as part of a non-commercial enterprise (like myself) may have taken away the wrong meaning. You seem offended by the clarification. Oh well.
I finally got a reply from the Ecuador foreign ministry in the USA today. Here is the text regarding the reopening of this border crossing. Just one more bit of info (conflicting or otherwise) to toss into the mix....
"Buenas tardes señor Paúl Apollonio.
Con respecto a su consulta, conforme a la información que nos ha suministrado la Dirección de Relaciones Vecinales y Soberanías del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana, el ingreso por el Puente Internacional de Rumichaca (cruce entre Tulcán e Ipiales) estará abierto únicamente para transporte internacional de carga a partir del 15 de diciembre de 2021. El cruce para turismo individual aún no se encuentra abierto y no se cuenta con una fecha de reapertura.
Esperamos haber contestado sus inquietudes.
Cordialmente,
Ana Gabriela Macas D.
Embajada del Ecuador en los Estados Unidos. "
{English Translation} >> Good afternoon Mr. Paúl Apollonio.
Regarding your query, according to the information provided to us by the Directorate of Neighborhood Relations and Sovereignty of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, the entrance through the Rumichaca International Bridge (crossing between Tulcán and Ipiales) will be open only for transport international cargo as of December 15, 2021. The crossing for individual tourism is not yet open and there is no reopening date.
We hope we have answered your concerns.
Cordially,
Ana Gabriela Macas D.
Embassy of Ecuador in the United States.}
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