Just South of the Equator

Another long day on buses, I know you want to hear about it...
We left Lobitos at 10am. The combi gods were shining on us as we departed after only a 15 minute wait. We bounced our way to Talara for the last time, passing the fishing boats, the fish processing plants and finally the new boats being built. In Talara we walked the 2 blocks to the bus station, and got ourselves onto the 11.30am bus - how's that for a connection, only a 30 minute wait!
It was a 2 hour ride North to Mancora (touristy beach town) where we grabbed lunch and then hopped into another combi for the 2 hour trip to Tumbes. In Tumbes the nice combi driver dropped us off at the CIFA office, avoiding the 4 long blocks we were going to walk. At CIFA we were able to get seats on the 4.15pm departure to Guayaquil in Ecuador. We crossed the border and arrived in Guayaquil at 10pm, where we ate dinner and got seats on the 11.20pm bus to Quito. We arrived in Quito at 8.30am, 2 combis, 3 buses and 22 and a half hours later.