Colombia: The Trampoline of Death, Pasto, and Ecuadorian Boarder Crossing

The Trampoline of Death:

 My next adventure was the need to get to Ecuador.
There are a couple ways to get across the boarder. Although only considering distance, going directly South seemed to get us into Ecuador quicker, we heard of terror stories both with transportation unreliability, as well as muggings and other dangerous endeavors. Our other choice was to take what was called the "trampoline of death," a one lane road lingering among some very very tall mountains.
Saying good-bye to our oasis of a hostel in Mocoa we headed off the the bus station. We were told to get a truck or small van to take us, since the bigger the bus the smaller the space you have on the road. O.K. great.... we booked our tickets plenty of time in advance and sat waiting to board.
The truck is best described as this. A five passenger cabin with a roll cage over the top, three seats loosely bolted in the cap and a tarp over the top. I tried to put myself in the cap but was quickly rejected and told the that gringos sit in the back.
We began our journey, and after the first 10 km of incredibly bumpy roads, hitting our heads on the roll cage, and getting blasted with wind, my friend's chair became unbolted. More comical for me, he now held himself up while we only began our pass.
The views were breathtaking and terrifying at the same time. The caution tape that lined the cliff side gave me false comfort, and I can't say I didn't shut my eyes for some of it. I felt like I was caged up like an animal especially when the people in the cab kept buying food for us and feeding us traditional food through the windows since it was to difficult to escape from the back cap.  But was it worth it? YES. Was it a memory I will never forget? YES.


Pasto:
So we arrive in Pasto just as it was getting dark. WE had intentions of pushing on to the next town but the town didn't seem incredibly safe and we felt we had done enough for the day. We grabbed the first hotel we could find. A big purple building with flashing lights. It was the cheapest room I had had the entire month. ($10 for 2) We ate dinner on the roof overlooking the streets below filled with horses, cars, taxis, and motorbikes, drank some well deserved beers and slept.

Boarder Crossing:
EASIEST BORDER CROSSING EVER. They really have it figured out. We took a bus to the boarder town, a shared taxi to the boarder, walked the boarder, and then repeated on the other side. It was so easy and made us relieved we hadn't chosen the other way since we found out a flood had washed out a bridge and we would have been stuck for days. WIN!