A quick note because we have to get ready to leave in the morning...
We had a lovely week in Valparaíso and Viña del Mar (photos and details to come, but highlights include spending the holidays with our friends Steph and Carrie and our host families). Tomorrow we leave at 6 in the morning for our flight from Santiago to Patagonia and a week of hiking in Torres del Paine.
Much love to you all and Happy Holidays!!
-JJ
25 December 2008
18 December 2008
A Moment in Arequipa, Peru and on to Tacna and Arica, Chile
We saw our first good film on a regular bus during the trip from Lima to Arequipa - the only other decent film was during the more expensive VIP-service bus, which was the only option from Piura to Lima and most of the other films had been B-rate movies from the 80s. With lots of crashes and bangs. None of that this time, we saw "The curse of the ring", which turned out to be a story formed from the various tales related to the German stories of Sigfried and Brunhilde (the most famous one perhaps being the Nibelungenleid). It was really good, although rather confusing to see a story that we'd studied in German being performed in English with Spanish voiceovers.
Additionally, we were surrounded by adorable children. When the bus was delayed for a few hours in the middle of the desert (there had been an accident on the road ahead that resulted in enormous lines of waiting cars for miles in each direction), did the kids cry or complain? No, they played imaginative games with each other the whole time. One was named Jade and another (ridiculously adorable) girl was named Jessica. I wanted to adopt Jessica, but I suppose her family wants to keep her... Oh well.
It turned out that the 15-hour trip turned into an 18-hour one, but even so, upon arriving in Arequipa we were ready to push on forward towards Chile. We had 2 hours between buses, leaving us plenty of time for lunch before returning to Tacna, where we were rushed to find a car leaving for the boarder before it closed at midnight. We made it (by about 3 minutes), went through customs, and spent the rest of the night in Arica on Chilean soil. The next day, on to Valparaíso!
Additionally, we were surrounded by adorable children. When the bus was delayed for a few hours in the middle of the desert (there had been an accident on the road ahead that resulted in enormous lines of waiting cars for miles in each direction), did the kids cry or complain? No, they played imaginative games with each other the whole time. One was named Jade and another (ridiculously adorable) girl was named Jessica. I wanted to adopt Jessica, but I suppose her family wants to keep her... Oh well.
It turned out that the 15-hour trip turned into an 18-hour one, but even so, upon arriving in Arequipa we were ready to push on forward towards Chile. We had 2 hours between buses, leaving us plenty of time for lunch before returning to Tacna, where we were rushed to find a car leaving for the boarder before it closed at midnight. We made it (by about 3 minutes), went through customs, and spent the rest of the night in Arica on Chilean soil. The next day, on to Valparaíso!
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| Southern Peru and Northern Chile |
17 December 2008
Guayaquil, Ecuador straight to Chile
We got to Guayaquil very early (at around 5:30 AM) in the morning and tried to find lodging. All the open hostels (although we still had to wake up the attendants on duty) were horrible - dirty, uncomfortable, small, and of them had blood on the pillow and no blanket... and all of them were over-priced.
Since it was already hot at 6 and the people that we met were not friendly (though that MAY have had something to do with the time), we decided to return to the bus station and take a bus back to Loja, Ecuador.
Once we arrived there, we kept going on an overnight bus to Piura. Feeling inspired to get to Chile (and not for lack of loving Ecuador and Peru, but for our anxiety to meet up with STeph and Carrie), we booked the first night bus out of Piura (to Lima) and spent about 8 hours there between the arrival of our bus from Piura and the departure of our bus to Arequipa. Since we were dirty and covered in sweat from the past 3 days (and especially thanks to the buses to and from Guayaquil), we elected to find a hostel for the day to shower and leave our things in while we went for a run (obviously not in that order). Just across the street from where we'd need to leave that evening, we saw a hotel that advertised double rooms for S/. 22 - about $7 in total. With TV and a private bathroom? Yes please! We thought that it was a bit strange that the offer was actually only for 6 hours, but whatever. That's about the time we wanted to rent it for anyway, we were tired, and there was a park nearby to jog in.
We got the key and went to the room. First we checked for hot water and a functioning toilet (yes and yes!), plugged in our phones to charge, and dropped our stuff and got ready to run. When ready, we took another look around: Soap and towels provided (excellent!). Jay tested out the TV, and was immediately greeted with a close-up image of some over-made-up woman's breast, quickly panning out to a rather more graphic program. Interesting... THAT hadn't happened before in our trip... And then we noticed the sign on the wall: "Por favor no ensuciar las paredes" (Please don't dirty the walls). It was laminated. And the walls weren't terribly nice either.
Hah. At that moment, we finally realized that we were in a love hotel. Classy. And rather nostalgic (the only other time we found ourselves in a love hotel was when we first arrived in Korea and that was the temporary arrangement our boss had made for us while we waited for the teacher's apartment to be available). Other than the (now noticeable) noises from some other room down the hall, it worked well enough. We were tired, and the room was cheap (plus, it DID have hot water and towels).
We left our things and went for a run (noting as we passed it an additional stairway for discrete exits). After running and showering, we got our stuff and went to a restaurant to eat. While we were there, a rather dirty man came in from the street. He tried to talk with Jay, but it was very difficult to understand him and the restaurant owner shooed him away for us. He left for a while, but then came back and wouldn't listen to the owner's request. He kept talking to Jay and asking him random questions while patting him on the shoulder, making him very uncomfortable. I asked him to leave, and he responded that he wasn't bothering us.
"Yes, you are bothering us. He (Jay) doesn't speak much spanish and so it will be a bit difficult to communicate with him and you are bothring us both, so please leave."
"I'm asking a question."
"Sir, this is not a question. I am telling you to leave."
He got angry, and pointed his finger in my face (about 2 inches from my eyes) and yelled at us (I didn't understand what he was saying at this point). During all of this, Jay and the restaurant owner are trying to get him to leave. I looked at him with my firmest angry teacher look and he finally left. Whew, scary.
We waited for a few minutes, paid, and left. After crossing the first half of the street to a mini-sidewalk in the middle, Jay noticed that he was in the same group as us, though he didn't seem to have seen us. We turned around quickly and walked over to a sidewalk Kiosk. What did we want? Oh, I don't know...
"How much is a water?"
"Just one sol."
I turned to Jay to ask if he had a coin available, and the man was already next to us. I asked him to leave again and the sweet attendant at the kiosk immediately did the same. When he didn't leave, she asked me if I wanted her to get the policeman (there was one nearby, directing traffic).
"Yes please, he followed us into a restaurant and won't leave us alone."
"You just wait here."
She got out of the kiosk and started across the street to the policeman. The man decided it was time to leave us alone and he left. She watched him leave, with a very mother-hen attitude, and looking as imposing as she could (she was maybe barely 5 feet tall). Once she was sure he'd left us alone, she got back into the kiosk and got our water.
"Thank you very much."
"He followed you into a restaurant?"
"Yes, and the owner asked him to leave."
"And he didn't listen?"
"No, he did once and then he came back and wouldn't listen to any of us."
"Do you know what he wanted?"
"I think he just wanted to talk, but he was very hard to understand and he was making us very uncomfortable."
"Yes, I think he's a little bit crazy. You two just wait here with me for a bit. Where do you have to go?"
"To the bus station," I pointed across the street.
She scanned the street for him, deemed it okay for us to make a break for it, and cautioned us to watch out and to talk to the bus station's security guards if he followed us again. We thanked her, paid for our water, and headed to the station.
We made it the rest of the day without seeing that man again, but we did have a lovely conversation about the merits of taking a self defense class or two when we get the chance. A couple hours in the bus station, and then on to Southern Peru.
Since it was already hot at 6 and the people that we met were not friendly (though that MAY have had something to do with the time), we decided to return to the bus station and take a bus back to Loja, Ecuador.
Once we arrived there, we kept going on an overnight bus to Piura. Feeling inspired to get to Chile (and not for lack of loving Ecuador and Peru, but for our anxiety to meet up with STeph and Carrie), we booked the first night bus out of Piura (to Lima) and spent about 8 hours there between the arrival of our bus from Piura and the departure of our bus to Arequipa. Since we were dirty and covered in sweat from the past 3 days (and especially thanks to the buses to and from Guayaquil), we elected to find a hostel for the day to shower and leave our things in while we went for a run (obviously not in that order). Just across the street from where we'd need to leave that evening, we saw a hotel that advertised double rooms for S/. 22 - about $7 in total. With TV and a private bathroom? Yes please! We thought that it was a bit strange that the offer was actually only for 6 hours, but whatever. That's about the time we wanted to rent it for anyway, we were tired, and there was a park nearby to jog in.
We got the key and went to the room. First we checked for hot water and a functioning toilet (yes and yes!), plugged in our phones to charge, and dropped our stuff and got ready to run. When ready, we took another look around: Soap and towels provided (excellent!). Jay tested out the TV, and was immediately greeted with a close-up image of some over-made-up woman's breast, quickly panning out to a rather more graphic program. Interesting... THAT hadn't happened before in our trip... And then we noticed the sign on the wall: "Por favor no ensuciar las paredes" (Please don't dirty the walls). It was laminated. And the walls weren't terribly nice either.
Hah. At that moment, we finally realized that we were in a love hotel. Classy. And rather nostalgic (the only other time we found ourselves in a love hotel was when we first arrived in Korea and that was the temporary arrangement our boss had made for us while we waited for the teacher's apartment to be available). Other than the (now noticeable) noises from some other room down the hall, it worked well enough. We were tired, and the room was cheap (plus, it DID have hot water and towels).
We left our things and went for a run (noting as we passed it an additional stairway for discrete exits). After running and showering, we got our stuff and went to a restaurant to eat. While we were there, a rather dirty man came in from the street. He tried to talk with Jay, but it was very difficult to understand him and the restaurant owner shooed him away for us. He left for a while, but then came back and wouldn't listen to the owner's request. He kept talking to Jay and asking him random questions while patting him on the shoulder, making him very uncomfortable. I asked him to leave, and he responded that he wasn't bothering us.
"Yes, you are bothering us. He (Jay) doesn't speak much spanish and so it will be a bit difficult to communicate with him and you are bothring us both, so please leave."
"I'm asking a question."
"Sir, this is not a question. I am telling you to leave."
He got angry, and pointed his finger in my face (about 2 inches from my eyes) and yelled at us (I didn't understand what he was saying at this point). During all of this, Jay and the restaurant owner are trying to get him to leave. I looked at him with my firmest angry teacher look and he finally left. Whew, scary.
We waited for a few minutes, paid, and left. After crossing the first half of the street to a mini-sidewalk in the middle, Jay noticed that he was in the same group as us, though he didn't seem to have seen us. We turned around quickly and walked over to a sidewalk Kiosk. What did we want? Oh, I don't know...
"How much is a water?"
"Just one sol."
I turned to Jay to ask if he had a coin available, and the man was already next to us. I asked him to leave again and the sweet attendant at the kiosk immediately did the same. When he didn't leave, she asked me if I wanted her to get the policeman (there was one nearby, directing traffic).
"Yes please, he followed us into a restaurant and won't leave us alone."
"You just wait here."
She got out of the kiosk and started across the street to the policeman. The man decided it was time to leave us alone and he left. She watched him leave, with a very mother-hen attitude, and looking as imposing as she could (she was maybe barely 5 feet tall). Once she was sure he'd left us alone, she got back into the kiosk and got our water.
"Thank you very much."
"He followed you into a restaurant?"
"Yes, and the owner asked him to leave."
"And he didn't listen?"
"No, he did once and then he came back and wouldn't listen to any of us."
"Do you know what he wanted?"
"I think he just wanted to talk, but he was very hard to understand and he was making us very uncomfortable."
"Yes, I think he's a little bit crazy. You two just wait here with me for a bit. Where do you have to go?"
"To the bus station," I pointed across the street.
She scanned the street for him, deemed it okay for us to make a break for it, and cautioned us to watch out and to talk to the bus station's security guards if he followed us again. We thanked her, paid for our water, and headed to the station.
We made it the rest of the day without seeing that man again, but we did have a lovely conversation about the merits of taking a self defense class or two when we get the chance. A couple hours in the bus station, and then on to Southern Peru.
15 December 2008
Quito, Ecuador
Just as with Cuenca, Quito is not a city that you imagine to find near the ecuator. Chilly and slightly foggy early mornings, lovely and sunny late mornings, and the occasional downpour/wrath of the gods in the afternoon.
Upon arriving (in the foggy bit of the morning), we used the city's streetcar (trole) to get to the historic district and find a hotel. We found one, settled into our room, prepared to go for a jog, and then I opened the window. As it turned out, the room we'd been given had a direct view of the huge statue on Panecillo Hill. Fantastic! We headed off in that direction for our jog (which turned into a panting walk because WOW, that's a steep hill, and we are in the Andes), but turned around when the surroundings started looking questionable (sadly, there is a lot of theft and violence on that hill, most certainly aggravated by the steady stream of tourists that the statue attracts). When we came back, we wandered around the historic downtown and got to the cathedral, which offered tickets to climb up in. We didn't think it would be all that interesting (maybe the 2nd or 3rd level?), but we bought the tickets and headed up...to the tops of the spires and the clock tower.
As latino-style romantic gestures, there were many things written on the walls in the clock tower - sayings, names, mini love poems... Two stood out to me as the best. One read "Aunque a veces estoy difícil, te quiero con toda mi corazón" (Although I am sometimes difficult, I love you with all my heart) and the other, with not a small amount of irony, read "Al fin, una pared limpio" (Finally, a clean wall).
We had enough time to return to the hostel before the rain started, and then for dinner we enjoyed a fabulous meal of vegetarian pizza and (finally) a salad in a restaurant very close to our hostel.
The next day, we went jogging in Elijo park and bought our bus tickets for the evening. We tried to go by taxi up Panecillo Hill, but all of the streets were blocked (we still aren't sure if it was for a special event or simply because it was Sunday and lots of people were on the road). Instead, we went to another large park, bought groceries for lunch (bread, cheese and pepper sauce) and ate it below a tree in the park while watching what looked like a giant group cardio class (maybe 100 or so people led by a DJ-style dancer on a platform in the center of the park's plaza).
Soon after, predictably, it began to rain and we took cover in the nearby mall by watching "Retazos de Vida", an Ecuadorian film set in Guayaquil. It was very interesting, good Spanish practice for Jay, and a glimpse of our next destination. That night, off to Guayaquil.
Upon arriving (in the foggy bit of the morning), we used the city's streetcar (trole) to get to the historic district and find a hotel. We found one, settled into our room, prepared to go for a jog, and then I opened the window. As it turned out, the room we'd been given had a direct view of the huge statue on Panecillo Hill. Fantastic! We headed off in that direction for our jog (which turned into a panting walk because WOW, that's a steep hill, and we are in the Andes), but turned around when the surroundings started looking questionable (sadly, there is a lot of theft and violence on that hill, most certainly aggravated by the steady stream of tourists that the statue attracts). When we came back, we wandered around the historic downtown and got to the cathedral, which offered tickets to climb up in. We didn't think it would be all that interesting (maybe the 2nd or 3rd level?), but we bought the tickets and headed up...to the tops of the spires and the clock tower.
As latino-style romantic gestures, there were many things written on the walls in the clock tower - sayings, names, mini love poems... Two stood out to me as the best. One read "Aunque a veces estoy difícil, te quiero con toda mi corazón" (Although I am sometimes difficult, I love you with all my heart) and the other, with not a small amount of irony, read "Al fin, una pared limpio" (Finally, a clean wall).
We had enough time to return to the hostel before the rain started, and then for dinner we enjoyed a fabulous meal of vegetarian pizza and (finally) a salad in a restaurant very close to our hostel.
The next day, we went jogging in Elijo park and bought our bus tickets for the evening. We tried to go by taxi up Panecillo Hill, but all of the streets were blocked (we still aren't sure if it was for a special event or simply because it was Sunday and lots of people were on the road). Instead, we went to another large park, bought groceries for lunch (bread, cheese and pepper sauce) and ate it below a tree in the park while watching what looked like a giant group cardio class (maybe 100 or so people led by a DJ-style dancer on a platform in the center of the park's plaza).
Soon after, predictably, it began to rain and we took cover in the nearby mall by watching "Retazos de Vida", an Ecuadorian film set in Guayaquil. It was very interesting, good Spanish practice for Jay, and a glimpse of our next destination. That night, off to Guayaquil.
 |
| Quito, Ecuador |
12 December 2008
Loja and Cuenca, Ecuador
Because we'd read that the border crossing near Tumbes, Peru is difficult and dangerous, we decided to cross at the inland alternative, between Piura and Loja, at night. It was ridiculously easy. Our bus stopped at the border and waited for all of the passengers to get their exit and entry visas and stamps in order (this took all of 20 minutes, as we were the only bus there), and then brought us to Loja, arriving early in the morning. No problems whatsoever. When we arrived in Loja, we decided to just continue immediately on to Cuenca (Jay took photos on the bus, I slept).
Due to the longer bus time, we ended up with three days in Cuenca instead of the original 2. The first day, we went to the center, wandered around, and drank chocolate and fresh juice at a cafe downtown while studying.
The next day, we went to the park in the south of the city to run - it was so beautiful that we decided to return with our cameras that afternoon. We bought fruit and veggies at a market, dreaming of a lovely afternoon picnic... and then the rain started. Apparently the weather in the Andes near the equator is extremely predictable: Beautiful sunny (not humid) mornings and early afternoons followed by thunderstorms. Daily. We hoped to sit it out in a restaurant drinking jugo de mora (fresh blackberry juice) and batidos de fresa (blended drinks made from fresh strawberries and milk), but after a few hours we knew the storm was going to win. It only cleared up half an hour before the sunset, so we returned to the hostel to plan for the next day and play card games.
Today, on our last day, we finally managed to get photos of the elusive sunlight in the park and we're preparing to head on towards Quito. (Photos will be posted later; this computer does not have any available USB ports.)
Cuenca is a surprising city in many ways - unlike the chaos of taxis in Trujillo, or the beggars in Cajamarca, the city is shockingly reminiscent of some of the cities we saw in Italy. It's clean, welcoming, and full of electronic stores (one of which had the guitar-headphone adaptor that Jay has been searching for for a couple weeks). Maybe it was the notable difference from the last few cities in Peru. Maybe it was the park. Maybe it was the fact that the weather was tolerable and enjoyable (for at least half the day) so close to the equator... and maybe it was the endless supply of fresh fruit juice and batidos, but we kind of loved Cuenca.
Even after just a few hours we found ourselves looking around for English schools (we found them), thinking "We could live here. Happily. And cheaply. How do we do that?" We'll have to return, of course (we say this about everyone, so we are going to have to find an impressively steady stream of jobs abroad or charter a private jet pretty soon), and maybe then we'll actually get some pictures of the city itself. Until then, we dream, and we research, and we move on towards Quito, the capital only 45 minutes from the center of the world.
Stay tuned!
Due to the longer bus time, we ended up with three days in Cuenca instead of the original 2. The first day, we went to the center, wandered around, and drank chocolate and fresh juice at a cafe downtown while studying.
The next day, we went to the park in the south of the city to run - it was so beautiful that we decided to return with our cameras that afternoon. We bought fruit and veggies at a market, dreaming of a lovely afternoon picnic... and then the rain started. Apparently the weather in the Andes near the equator is extremely predictable: Beautiful sunny (not humid) mornings and early afternoons followed by thunderstorms. Daily. We hoped to sit it out in a restaurant drinking jugo de mora (fresh blackberry juice) and batidos de fresa (blended drinks made from fresh strawberries and milk), but after a few hours we knew the storm was going to win. It only cleared up half an hour before the sunset, so we returned to the hostel to plan for the next day and play card games.
Today, on our last day, we finally managed to get photos of the elusive sunlight in the park and we're preparing to head on towards Quito. (Photos will be posted later; this computer does not have any available USB ports.)
Cuenca is a surprising city in many ways - unlike the chaos of taxis in Trujillo, or the beggars in Cajamarca, the city is shockingly reminiscent of some of the cities we saw in Italy. It's clean, welcoming, and full of electronic stores (one of which had the guitar-headphone adaptor that Jay has been searching for for a couple weeks). Maybe it was the notable difference from the last few cities in Peru. Maybe it was the park. Maybe it was the fact that the weather was tolerable and enjoyable (for at least half the day) so close to the equator... and maybe it was the endless supply of fresh fruit juice and batidos, but we kind of loved Cuenca.
Even after just a few hours we found ourselves looking around for English schools (we found them), thinking "We could live here. Happily. And cheaply. How do we do that?" We'll have to return, of course (we say this about everyone, so we are going to have to find an impressively steady stream of jobs abroad or charter a private jet pretty soon), and maybe then we'll actually get some pictures of the city itself. Until then, we dream, and we research, and we move on towards Quito, the capital only 45 minutes from the center of the world.
Stay tuned!
09 December 2008
Our first last day in Peru
After Chiclayo, we went to Piura, Peru for a day before taking a bus to Ecuador. We had heard that Piura is a boring and rather dirty city and, upon arriving at our bus station, we were ready to agree. In order to get to the (quite near) station of Transportes Loja, we had to cross a disproportionately large amount of hectic intersections filled with merchants, beggars, taxis, and a strange motercycle-taxi hybrid on three wheels (the drivers of these seemed to deem themselves not quite cars and therefore not responsible for folloing any traffic rules whatsoever).
We finally got to the bus station, checked that all limbs were accouted for, bought our tickets to Loja, Ecuador, and left our backpacks at the station to escape the area as quickly as possible.
As soon as we found an internet cafe, we looked up a map of the area and chose a destination: To the river, along it a bit, then to the city's central plaza. What a difference! Resting along the river (if you can call the trickle of water in the summer a river), we watched birds, dogs, cows, and a couple of people wander around the streams below. The main plaza was beatiful and we sat there and watched the people around us for a while before it was time to go. A note: The people here, for the most part, are ridiculously attractive. Especially the women. After a week of people watching in Peru, we can attest to the fact that not only are they gorgeous, they know it. Petty-white-woman-syndrom confuses me and I'm not sure if I should admire them or biterly envy them. Meh. I'm too lazy to figure that out, so we continue people watching. Poor, poor Jay having to suffer through such afternoons.
When it was time to go, we found Chinese food for dinner and then hopped on our bus to Loja. Ecuador, here we come!
We finally got to the bus station, checked that all limbs were accouted for, bought our tickets to Loja, Ecuador, and left our backpacks at the station to escape the area as quickly as possible.
As soon as we found an internet cafe, we looked up a map of the area and chose a destination: To the river, along it a bit, then to the city's central plaza. What a difference! Resting along the river (if you can call the trickle of water in the summer a river), we watched birds, dogs, cows, and a couple of people wander around the streams below. The main plaza was beatiful and we sat there and watched the people around us for a while before it was time to go. A note: The people here, for the most part, are ridiculously attractive. Especially the women. After a week of people watching in Peru, we can attest to the fact that not only are they gorgeous, they know it. Petty-white-woman-syndrom confuses me and I'm not sure if I should admire them or biterly envy them. Meh. I'm too lazy to figure that out, so we continue people watching. Poor, poor Jay having to suffer through such afternoons.
When it was time to go, we found Chinese food for dinner and then hopped on our bus to Loja. Ecuador, here we come!
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| Piura, Peru |
Chiclayo, Peru
Our bus from Cajamarca arrived at 6:45 in the morning. We stumbled out, dazed and a bit confused, batted away the swarms of taxi drivers and headed towards the main square to look for a hostel. We walked by a 4-star hotel that doubled as a casino (don't think so) and a decent-looking hostel that had tinted windows and man (who we could only barely see) waving us away. Hmm. A bit early, perhaps? We passed many more closed hostels before reaching the Plaza de Armas, at which point we saw Hostal Jade, right next to the plaza, with open doors. We walked up the stairs to find a sweet woman who owned it. She showed us the room that had a view out onto the plaza and cathedral, with a private bathroom and hot water, and a little mini-terrace. 45 soles ($15) a night, for both of us. I love South America.
After dropping off our stuff, buying tickets for the next day, and having breakfast (can you see the pattern?), we wandered around the plaza for a bit before deciding to join a tour in order to visit a forest (Bosque de Pomac) and archeological site about an hour or so out of the city. The only tour available was leaving in in a few minutes, so we joined and hopped in the mini-van. First we went to Museo Brüning, which showcased the history and culture of the Chimú, Mochi and Inca civilazations (Jay took photos, see links below). Then we all had lunch together, which gave us an opportunity to talk with the other people. The group had a total of 6 people - a couple from Trujillo, a woman from Lima, a woman from Berlin, and us. Everyone was extremely nice and friendly, which was a welcome change from the other tour we went on (where everyone basically kept to themselves).
After lunch, we continued on to Bosque de Pomac to see el Árbol Milenario, an extremely old tree that twists and turns in intricate patterns and is worshiped for its association with mysticism in the region.
We walked through the Bosque, with a guide who told us about the excavation sites we passed and explained some more of the ancient local culture and what had been discovered about the native population that once lived here.
After the tour, we returned to Chiclayo, walked around a bit, and enjoyed views of the sunset over the plaza from our window. That night, a procession (apparently in celebration of the Virgin Mary) walked, sang and chanted right past our window, ending up in the plaza where they had speeches, more chants, and fireworks. We have no idea why this happened (a special event, a holiday?), but it was interesting to see and we were very thankful for the lucky placement of our window.
The next morning, we hopped on a 3-hour bus to Piura, where we are sitting right now. We're here for the day, and then taking an 8-hour overnight bus to Loja, Ecuador. So far we've had a great time in Peru, but are also excited to see Ecuador. Fortunately, we will be coming back through Peru (Piura, Lima, Arequipa and Tacna) before heading south to meet up with Carrie and Stephanie for our flight to Patagonia. Yay travel.
Here are photos. Enjoy!
Click to go to the album for
I'll just add a few of the photos here, since I don't want the post to be too big. For the rest, just click on the album link.
After dropping off our stuff, buying tickets for the next day, and having breakfast (can you see the pattern?), we wandered around the plaza for a bit before deciding to join a tour in order to visit a forest (Bosque de Pomac) and archeological site about an hour or so out of the city. The only tour available was leaving in in a few minutes, so we joined and hopped in the mini-van. First we went to Museo Brüning, which showcased the history and culture of the Chimú, Mochi and Inca civilazations (Jay took photos, see links below). Then we all had lunch together, which gave us an opportunity to talk with the other people. The group had a total of 6 people - a couple from Trujillo, a woman from Lima, a woman from Berlin, and us. Everyone was extremely nice and friendly, which was a welcome change from the other tour we went on (where everyone basically kept to themselves).
After lunch, we continued on to Bosque de Pomac to see el Árbol Milenario, an extremely old tree that twists and turns in intricate patterns and is worshiped for its association with mysticism in the region.
We walked through the Bosque, with a guide who told us about the excavation sites we passed and explained some more of the ancient local culture and what had been discovered about the native population that once lived here.
After the tour, we returned to Chiclayo, walked around a bit, and enjoyed views of the sunset over the plaza from our window. That night, a procession (apparently in celebration of the Virgin Mary) walked, sang and chanted right past our window, ending up in the plaza where they had speeches, more chants, and fireworks. We have no idea why this happened (a special event, a holiday?), but it was interesting to see and we were very thankful for the lucky placement of our window.
The next morning, we hopped on a 3-hour bus to Piura, where we are sitting right now. We're here for the day, and then taking an 8-hour overnight bus to Loja, Ecuador. So far we've had a great time in Peru, but are also excited to see Ecuador. Fortunately, we will be coming back through Peru (Piura, Lima, Arequipa and Tacna) before heading south to meet up with Carrie and Stephanie for our flight to Patagonia. Yay travel.
Here are photos. Enjoy!
Click to go to the album for
 |
| Chiclayo, Peru |
I'll just add a few of the photos here, since I don't want the post to be too big. For the rest, just click on the album link.
07 December 2008
Waegukin sind hier!
Today we were walking along the sidewalk behind a group of people, one of which was a little girl. She was holding her dad's (or older brother's) hand in the back of the group and kept looking behind us to wave and smile. Whenever we smiled or waved back, she got excited and jumped a bit before turning and (presumably) relating the story to her dad. It was adorably cute and she reminded me strongly of the Korean kids that would recognize us in the streets as "waeguking" (foreigners) and yell "Hello!", "Who are you!" (not a question), and (once, from an older man in a park in late Spring), "Merry Christmas!". There's globalization for ya, eh?
On the other hand, there's much more disturbing results from the seemingly ever-shrinking size of world... I'm currently sitting at a posessed computer that won't let me do what I want. In fact, the 2 windows of Internet Explorer I just opened have decided that they must procreate to save their race... Now there are 31 windows, none of which actually function. (I'm writing this in my journal from a cautious 2-foot distance). Let's see. "cerrar grupo?" Maybe? No, clearly that just threatens the lot of them and they're ganging up with MSN Messenger (which I didn't open).
I would really appreciate a Firefox browser right about now. Why do the crappiest products achieve worldwide monopolies? Coca Cola, McDonalds, Internet explorer... It's stronger proof for a higher (and corresponding evil) power at work in the world than anything else I've seen.
(...Except perhaps for certain political careers, but I'm not going to get into that right now.) Okay, giving up on the computer. I shall internet (now in verb flavor!) another day.
On the other hand, there's much more disturbing results from the seemingly ever-shrinking size of world... I'm currently sitting at a posessed computer that won't let me do what I want. In fact, the 2 windows of Internet Explorer I just opened have decided that they must procreate to save their race... Now there are 31 windows, none of which actually function. (I'm writing this in my journal from a cautious 2-foot distance). Let's see. "cerrar grupo?" Maybe? No, clearly that just threatens the lot of them and they're ganging up with MSN Messenger (which I didn't open).
I would really appreciate a Firefox browser right about now. Why do the crappiest products achieve worldwide monopolies? Coca Cola, McDonalds, Internet explorer... It's stronger proof for a higher (and corresponding evil) power at work in the world than anything else I've seen.
(...Except perhaps for certain political careers, but I'm not going to get into that right now.) Okay, giving up on the computer. I shall internet (now in verb flavor!) another day.
Tunnels, photos, and which bus not to take
Cajamarca, Peru
Our bus (the Emtrafesa one that was the only one of the four companies we approached that had service to Cajamarca) broke down somewhere along the road. It was dark and abandoned and we would have slept quietly through it except for the long line of passengers filing out to switch to the other bus and the constant thudding of luggage being moved from one bus to the other (none too carefully, I might add). We filed out to oversee the movement of our bags (which were probably small enough to have fit above our seats in this bus but since the last one had had absolutely NO storage space, we had assumed this bus would be the same). Expecting to see luggage - backpacks, suitcases and the like - we were a bit surprised to see that they were moving boxes instead. Hundreds of them. Although it was a passenger line (rather than cargo), someone had decided to bring over 200 boxes of shoes (or at least shoe boxes) with them. It wouldn't have really been a problem if we didn't have to wait for all of them to be moved to the new bus before we were reassured with the *scrape, thud* of our own small backpacks being transferred.
Secure in the knowledge that our bags were still with us (and mentally checking that we did not in fact have anything breakable inside), we hopped on the new bus and went back to sleep. I was sitting next to the window, and every time I woke up, I was treated to the lovely view of the hills and views below us. Far below us. And the cliff that ended just about a foot from the bus' tires. Generally, I tried not to wake up.
We finally arrived, only a couple hours late from the breakdown, and set off to find a hostel for the night before buying our bus tickets to Trujillo... This time with a different company.
We spent the day exploring around the town center, which was an easy walk from our hostel. Our breakfast was queso mantecoso (Cajamarca is known for it's cheeses) and bread, and then we headed off to see the lovely plaza and churches around it. The sun was so incredibly bright that, although we had put on tons of sunscreen, we were clearly turning red within seconds of stepping into the sunlight (Jay too!), so we escaped into an internet cafe for a couple hours to upload photos and posts from the past week. When the clouds gave us a bit of cover, we walked around a bit more, had lunch, and headed back to the hostel for a few very close games of "Glory to Rome" and Jay worked on his Spanish and guitar.
This morning we got up early, checked out, and left our backpacks in the hostel office. We then headed up Santa Apolonia hill to the Silla del Inca (Incan chair) and some beautiful views of the city. There was a small tunnel cut into some of the rocks on the hill, so we had a nice place to escape to when the rain started coming down. And now here we are, back in the same lovely internet cafe, putting up our photos. Yay World Wide Web. For reference, the photos that look darker or have Jay in them are probably mine (I figured out how to get my camera to take mini-JPG copies with the NEF files!), and the others are Jay's. Enjoy! And for those of you who are sending us e-mails, we're sorry that we don't respond very quickly - we've only come into internet cafes a couple times. But we do read them and appreciate them very much! Keep 'em comin'! :-)
Photos of Cajamarca:
Our bus (the Emtrafesa one that was the only one of the four companies we approached that had service to Cajamarca) broke down somewhere along the road. It was dark and abandoned and we would have slept quietly through it except for the long line of passengers filing out to switch to the other bus and the constant thudding of luggage being moved from one bus to the other (none too carefully, I might add). We filed out to oversee the movement of our bags (which were probably small enough to have fit above our seats in this bus but since the last one had had absolutely NO storage space, we had assumed this bus would be the same). Expecting to see luggage - backpacks, suitcases and the like - we were a bit surprised to see that they were moving boxes instead. Hundreds of them. Although it was a passenger line (rather than cargo), someone had decided to bring over 200 boxes of shoes (or at least shoe boxes) with them. It wouldn't have really been a problem if we didn't have to wait for all of them to be moved to the new bus before we were reassured with the *scrape, thud* of our own small backpacks being transferred.
Secure in the knowledge that our bags were still with us (and mentally checking that we did not in fact have anything breakable inside), we hopped on the new bus and went back to sleep. I was sitting next to the window, and every time I woke up, I was treated to the lovely view of the hills and views below us. Far below us. And the cliff that ended just about a foot from the bus' tires. Generally, I tried not to wake up.
We finally arrived, only a couple hours late from the breakdown, and set off to find a hostel for the night before buying our bus tickets to Trujillo... This time with a different company.
We spent the day exploring around the town center, which was an easy walk from our hostel. Our breakfast was queso mantecoso (Cajamarca is known for it's cheeses) and bread, and then we headed off to see the lovely plaza and churches around it. The sun was so incredibly bright that, although we had put on tons of sunscreen, we were clearly turning red within seconds of stepping into the sunlight (Jay too!), so we escaped into an internet cafe for a couple hours to upload photos and posts from the past week. When the clouds gave us a bit of cover, we walked around a bit more, had lunch, and headed back to the hostel for a few very close games of "Glory to Rome" and Jay worked on his Spanish and guitar.
This morning we got up early, checked out, and left our backpacks in the hostel office. We then headed up Santa Apolonia hill to the Silla del Inca (Incan chair) and some beautiful views of the city. There was a small tunnel cut into some of the rocks on the hill, so we had a nice place to escape to when the rain started coming down. And now here we are, back in the same lovely internet cafe, putting up our photos. Yay World Wide Web. For reference, the photos that look darker or have Jay in them are probably mine (I figured out how to get my camera to take mini-JPG copies with the NEF files!), and the others are Jay's. Enjoy! And for those of you who are sending us e-mails, we're sorry that we don't respond very quickly - we've only come into internet cafes a couple times. But we do read them and appreciate them very much! Keep 'em comin'! :-)
Photos of Cajamarca:
05 December 2008
Trujillo and the band of raucus taxis
Terrapuerto de Emtrafesa, Trujillo, Peru:
Yesterday we arrived in Trujillo in the morning and found ourselves a hostel (Chan Chan Inn). After dropping off our stuff, we headed out to find bus tickets for the next night (to Cajamarca). We tried with Cruz del Sur, Flores, and finally found the route with Emtrafesa, whose office was near our hostel. Secure in our plans, we had breakfast (Tamales for me, bistec for Jay) and set off to explore the city. There was a spontaneous tiny play (two actors and an assistant) that started in the Plaza Mayor soon after we arrived. We watched a bit of it, then explored around the plaza before heading off down a side street where we signed up for a tour bus leaving for Chan Chan. Chan Chan is a site of the Chimú, a pre-Incan civilization. We saw remains of their palaces and complexes, plus an interesting museum that explained more about their culture.
At the end of the tour, we went to Huanchaco, a small city by the ocean. We loved it and decided that we'd return the next day. (When given the option between the Huacas de la Luna y del Sol - another ancient site - or lazing about on the beach, we are, as it turns out, Californian).
We awoke to the noise of the street. We'd read (on WikiTravel) that the taxis in Trujillo honk their horns for any reason - because they have space, because they're full, because they're angry at other drivers, to show that they're happy, or to announce that it's Tuesday... I think there may be more taxis than there are people here. It's visible. Oh, and it's very, very audible.
We packed up, left our bags in the office of our hostel (Chan Chan Inn), and set out for Huanchaco. We hopped on a microbus (almost the only bus among all the taxis) - the assistant to the driver stands at the door and leans out, yelling the destination of the bus and ocasionally lifting small children into the bus (as far as we could tell, the parents with the kids also wanted to board and so they were not worried by this). He also collected the bus fare of the passengers as they got off of the bus. It took a bit over half an hour to get to Huanchaco, but when we got there, it was as lovely as we'd remembered. Miles and miles of warm sand along a beautiful ocean, and plenty of space to sit.
I went for a run along the coast while Jay studied his Spanish (while galliantly guarding our things, he adds). When I got back, we relaxed in the sun and enjoyed the sound of the waves. When we'd finished our exhausting day (Zoe style), we got some ice cream (Passionfruit, lemon, and strawberry), and had lunch. (Arroz con mariscos with un batido de plátano for me, and Bistec a lo pobre and jugo de naranja for Jay. Bistec a lo pobre "Poor man's steak", basically, is rubbery, flattened and very cooked beef served with french fries, a fried egg, and some rice. Jay seems enthralled, and I have no explanations for you.) I then succeeded in buying a lovely sarang and we hung out near the coast, watching soccer games and observing the sunset from our perch upon some rocks. Before leaving, we had pisco sours and French fries (Jay's idea again) and then headed back to Trujillo to get our stuff and wait for the bus to Cajamarca.
For now, enjoy some photos. These are all Jay's because my photo format can't upload from here... So, I will take photos of him as well with his camera so it won't be so frighteningly Jessie-centric. Ah, and Jay also chose which ones to upload, so don't mind the dogs in Huanchaco. He felt pity for the little one.
Trujillo:
Huanchaco:
Yesterday we arrived in Trujillo in the morning and found ourselves a hostel (Chan Chan Inn). After dropping off our stuff, we headed out to find bus tickets for the next night (to Cajamarca). We tried with Cruz del Sur, Flores, and finally found the route with Emtrafesa, whose office was near our hostel. Secure in our plans, we had breakfast (Tamales for me, bistec for Jay) and set off to explore the city. There was a spontaneous tiny play (two actors and an assistant) that started in the Plaza Mayor soon after we arrived. We watched a bit of it, then explored around the plaza before heading off down a side street where we signed up for a tour bus leaving for Chan Chan. Chan Chan is a site of the Chimú, a pre-Incan civilization. We saw remains of their palaces and complexes, plus an interesting museum that explained more about their culture.
At the end of the tour, we went to Huanchaco, a small city by the ocean. We loved it and decided that we'd return the next day. (When given the option between the Huacas de la Luna y del Sol - another ancient site - or lazing about on the beach, we are, as it turns out, Californian).
We awoke to the noise of the street. We'd read (on WikiTravel) that the taxis in Trujillo honk their horns for any reason - because they have space, because they're full, because they're angry at other drivers, to show that they're happy, or to announce that it's Tuesday... I think there may be more taxis than there are people here. It's visible. Oh, and it's very, very audible.
We packed up, left our bags in the office of our hostel (Chan Chan Inn), and set out for Huanchaco. We hopped on a microbus (almost the only bus among all the taxis) - the assistant to the driver stands at the door and leans out, yelling the destination of the bus and ocasionally lifting small children into the bus (as far as we could tell, the parents with the kids also wanted to board and so they were not worried by this). He also collected the bus fare of the passengers as they got off of the bus. It took a bit over half an hour to get to Huanchaco, but when we got there, it was as lovely as we'd remembered. Miles and miles of warm sand along a beautiful ocean, and plenty of space to sit.
I went for a run along the coast while Jay studied his Spanish (while galliantly guarding our things, he adds). When I got back, we relaxed in the sun and enjoyed the sound of the waves. When we'd finished our exhausting day (Zoe style), we got some ice cream (Passionfruit, lemon, and strawberry), and had lunch. (Arroz con mariscos with un batido de plátano for me, and Bistec a lo pobre and jugo de naranja for Jay. Bistec a lo pobre "Poor man's steak", basically, is rubbery, flattened and very cooked beef served with french fries, a fried egg, and some rice. Jay seems enthralled, and I have no explanations for you.) I then succeeded in buying a lovely sarang and we hung out near the coast, watching soccer games and observing the sunset from our perch upon some rocks. Before leaving, we had pisco sours and French fries (Jay's idea again) and then headed back to Trujillo to get our stuff and wait for the bus to Cajamarca.
For now, enjoy some photos. These are all Jay's because my photo format can't upload from here... So, I will take photos of him as well with his camera so it won't be so frighteningly Jessie-centric. Ah, and Jay also chose which ones to upload, so don't mind the dogs in Huanchaco. He felt pity for the little one.
Trujillo:
Huanchaco:
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