Because Visa, Part 2

In Which, We Actually Receive Our Visas

So technically, I probably could've put this all in one post, but the last one was getting kind of long and I know visas are pretty boring for those not super interested in travelling for long periods of time. 

Either way, here's the ending.

So a week after we put in our applications, John received an email basically saying our visas had been approved. All we had to do now was get to Quito within 72 hours of receiving that email, pay the second portion of the visa fees and then actually receive our visas.

Quito...again

Of course, the worst part about all of this was thinking about how to get to Quito. It was either bus or private car again, or so we thought. We happened to be eating dinner that night (Tuesday) with our downstairs neighbors and friends, Juan and Andrea, when John actually got the email. Of course, we were pretty excited and told them what it was all about. 

Given the timing of the email and the fact that we needed time to put some plans together, we decided to go on Thursday. 

At this point, Juan piped up and said he had some training for work that he had to go to Quito for...ON THURSDAY. He said that he would be riding with his friend, but it wouldn't be any problem if we wanted to come along. 

HOLY COW. We were so excited. It's the same length of trip, but there's just something nice about going with friends. And a car ride is waaaaay better than a bus ride, that goes without saying. So we eagerly said yes, and our trip to Quito was taken care of. We'd have to take a bus back, but that was no problem.

This is what 4:30am looks like, folks

 So we have yet another early morning wake-up call on Thursday and hop in the car to Quito. We weren't in quite a rush this time around, so breakfast absolutely happened at a reasonable hour, and we arrived at our location at a reasonable time and reasonably full. 

We knew what to do this time. We walked up to the check-in desk and told them we needed to pay for and receive our visa. They gave us a number and we settled in to wait. About 30 minutes later, our number was called, and we went up with our numbers and passports. They checked our applications in the system, asked a few questions, then gave us receipts to use to pay for the visas, two windows down. 

We scooched down 10 feet, paid $150 for a student visa and a dependent (amparo) visa, then scooched back to hand them the payment receipt to be attached to our application paperwork. 

At that point, we were basically done. We left our passports with them to have the visa pasted in, and that was definitely the scariest part, at least for me. When a passport is one of the only things truly identifying you, it's a little panic-inducing to leave it anywhere out of your possession. But I managed to walk away. 

We were told to return between 3:30 and 4:30 that afternoon to receive our passports with the visas. Since we had arrived around 9:30 and the whole process took roughly an hour, it left us with a significant chunk of time to kill. 

So we headed to Parque Carolina again. It's REALLY huge, but apparently there's an even bigger one just a few blocks away that we totally missed. Anyway, Carolina is a pretty sweet park. Basketball courts, soccer fields, a huge track, some pond areas with paddle-boats on them, and just plenty of space. It was really nice to just walk through. Also, people watching is off the chain there. I saw more diversity there in 30 minutes than I have in the past 2.5 months!

a (very small) portion of Pargue Carolina

So then we hit up the mall to find some food, and we ate at a place called Vaco y Vaca. Burgers and sandwiches as well as really big plates of food. All in all, a really great lunch. There's rumors that a Vaco y Vaca will be opening in the new mall expansion here in Ambato and I'm REALLY hoping that's the case.

Anyway, we finally killed enough time and made it back to the ministry around 3:15. We went up to the same room we had initially waited in to put I. Our application, and there were a LOT of people there. We weren't sure what the breakdown was though, because it seemed like there were several different things going on.

After almost an hour of being slightly nervous and wondering if we were in the right place or if they had forgotten about us entirely, they finally started calling for our visa type, the 12-5. Everything moved really quickly at that point. We walked up to the same guy who had taken our application, he had us sign some paperwork that cancelled the balance of our T3 visitors visa, he handed us our passports (THANKYOUJESUS) with the visas pasted in them, and said, "Congratulations!" 

Well, hello there!

And that was pretty much it. We thanked him and walked out with our passports and visas and the ability to come and go in, out and around this country as we please for the next 6 months. At which point we'll have to do it all again, but in the words of the famous philosopher, Scarlett O'Hara, "I'll think about that tomorrow."

The final piece to our day was making it back home. Before they dropped us off, Juan and Eduardo told us that they would pick us up at the end of the day and take us home as well. HAPPY DAY. I was getting antsy in the visa office because it was getting a bit late and we didn't want to hold the guys up. Thankfully though, we got out of there just before 4:30 and they called us about five minutes later to say they were on the way. 

And that is how we got our visas. Relatively straightforward, really, especially in hindsight. Next time though, we'll be sure to make plans to stay in Quito overnight so we don't have to make the trip twice in one week.

Also...FYI. We're so high up that we're essentially above the clouds. Occasionally during the drive we'll drive past valleys that are shrouded in clouds, and it's really cool. It really is the land of the clouds.