Since crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru on 2nd January, we have progressed to Lima, the capital of Peru where we arrived on Monday night after a 9 hour coach journey from Huaraz in the Peruvian Andes. We stayed in Chiclayo for 2 nights and enjoyed wandering around this pleasant town on the coast, the highlight being the "Mercado Modelo", a huge market with everything under the sun from herbal cures to clothes, all kinds of food, etc. Really noisy and chaotic and reminiscent of the souks in Calcutta on a hot and dusty day!! Constant honking of car horns to add to the atmosphere. All in all it was fun though.
We took another bus on the 4th and headed south, arriving at Trujillo 4 hours later. We spent a further 2 days there and the highlight was the all day tour we joined to visit the Chimu temple ruins at Huacas Sol and Luna plus the Chan Chan ruins. Excavated history that goes back to the 8th century, pre-Inca invasion days. Fascinating. What really impressed us was the beautiful and multi-colured walls that had been uncovered and so well preserved. A great day out. The following day we visited the Zoological Museum but were rather disappointed as it had not been well-maintained, but there were some interesting birds, mammals, etc to be seen.
On the 6th we headed off overnight from Trujillo to Huaraz -(10 hour comfortable coach trip with sleeper chairs) - and arrived at 7 a.m. on the 7th. Checked into a hostel for 3 nights and really enjoyed hanging out in this beautiful place which is in the heart of the Andes and surrounded by snow-capped peaks of 6,000 metres plus above sea level. The town is over 3,000 metres up and very rustic and interesting. We did alot of sight-seeing locally and really enjoyed our 3 days there. We really have got engrossed in the history of the Incas and visited another archeological museum in Huaraz to find out more about the local tribes, etc, and we read up in depth the Inca facts and figures in the California Cafe where we went for our morning breakfasts. Fellow backpackers hang out there and the cafe has a good selection of reference books aswell as book exchange. The local indigenous people in Huaraz were also very interesting to watch, particularly at the markets.
The weather wasn`t too bad in Huaraz and on the 3rd day the low cloud lifted and we were able to get a cracking view of the mountain peaks around us and we walked up a nearby hill to get a good vantage point for photos. I`ll put some on the blog later this week.
On Monday, 10th we left Huaraz and after another 9 hour coach trip, arrived here in Lima late in the evening. We have found a beautiful old colonial style , late 1950's, building which is now a hostel. "Home Peru" and we have 3 nights here, tonight being the last, and then move on to another hostel 2 kms down the road for 4 nights, and nearer the beach. Lima is a huge city and there is so much to do and see, thus we have decided to remain here until Monday, 17th, when we fly to Cuzco and join a 4 day tour on the 2oth/23rd to see Machu Picchu, and other Inca ruins, plus the Sacred Valley. It is about one hour's flight as opposed to a long and winding road coach journey that would take 3 days with stopovers. Today was a slightly wasted day from a sight-seeing point of view, as we had to seek out the Qantas and Iberia offices nearby to re-confirm our flights from Santiago next month, me to UK of course, and Marilyn to Auckland, NZ. Usual long queues at the offices but we managed to secure confirmations and after a late lunch, arrived back here in the mid-afternoon. Spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out in the garden with our books.
Anyway, that`s the update, folks, and I will be back next week to report on Machu Picchu, etc. That will undoubtedly be the highlight of our 8 week S/American tour if all you hear is to be believed! We are also looking forward to Lake Titicaca and the Atacama Desert in Chile. Time for bed now, said Zebberdee!! Bye, followers all. J
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