Viajamos por Viajar

Last night we arrived in the small, yet beautiful, border town of Ipiales. After paying to use a bathroom with barely any toilet paper and no toilet seats we found a cheap taxi to take us to where we would be staying that night, the Hotel Belmont. After careful deliberation we elected to get two rooms for about 6 US dollars a person, rather than be cheap-skates and have two of us sleep on the floor. Hopefully those extra three dollars dont come back to bite me. The rooms were clean enough but we had to share a bathroom with the other rooms on the floor. Five minutes in a cold shower made me realize how spoiled Ive been my entire life. I even tried, and failed miserabely, to do my laundry while showering. After we got situated we spent some time checking out the main plaza and buying unidentifiable food and un-needed souveniors.

This morning we woke up early to go the local LDS ward. Luckily it was only a few blocks away and we were able to walk there without any problems. The members were incredibly welcoming and I think every single person from the branch came up to shake our hands afterwards. Shortly after church we caught a taxi to a nearby catholic cathedral called el Santuario de Las Lajas. It is difficult for me to remember any other moment in my whole life where I was as captivated by both natural and man-made beauty like I was today. The cathedral rests at the bottom of a deep chasm that a wild river has carved into the earth. Built in 1913 the gothic architecture stands as a "diamond in the rough" in comparison to the surrounding towns. We were lucky enough to stumble on the place on Sunday afternoon, just as mass was being held. It was a spectacle to say the least. I think we all felt like rockstars as maybe a half dozen or so teenage girls came up and asked to take pictures with us. One even asked for our phone numbers and when we told her we didn´t have them with us asked if she could add us on facebook. For being so normal back home we sure attract a lot of attention down here!

Tonight we are heading the Ecuador border and hope to catch an overnight bus to Otovalo. Stay tuned!