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Published: November 9th 2009
The night bus from Cuenca, Ecuador left a little late and we changed bus at Machala to CIFA bus company. The bus was full and from what I gathered it actually came from Guayaquil. There was someone sat on my seat assignment so i sat where its empty, I am so tired to argue, most Ecuadorians I noticed dont really follow the seat assignment, they go wherever they want to. A lady with a crying child was sat next to me, this will be a long 6 or so hours to Peru. At the border some people got off the bus to get the exit stamp, the locals stayed sleeping. Then the bus drove to Huaquillas where the town changed to Aguas Verde which is now Peru just across the street. Went thru Peruvian immigration, the guy handing out the tourist card is drunk at past 12mn, I think all the officers were, but they never hasssled us and it was very straight forward, luggages not checked.
Arrived in Piura after numerous stops around 5am, a bit disoriented and hassled by taxi drivers, I asked where is the main terminal, there isnt one! So I have to walk around in
the dark around the area to find bus companies that will take me to Huaraz. All leaves around 12noon and I dont want to keep waiting in this town, A taxi driver was trying to help me, saying a Flores bus leaves at 8am but the terminal is far and I need to get a ride in a taxi, after consulting LP which wasnt much help I got in the taxi and 1st we have to change money I have no soles in me, this guy in the street we stopped for, was a money changer the exchange rate was correct but he tried to dupe me, he used the calculator but the rate was wrong so i borrowed it and showed him what it should be, he agreed to the rate then as I gave him a crisp new $20 bill he quickly pulled a switcharoo and showed me the bill with a tear, he accused me of giving him a torn paper money, i stared at him and told him to F...k off! He blurted bueno vaya!!
Now its the taxi driver{s turn to dupe me, he claimed no ATM in bus terminals, and he dropped me
off at a different bus company, not Flores, now he said, ow Flores goes to Lima and its not 5 soles its 8 soles for the fare! Did a switcharoo as well I gave him 5 soles coins he claimed i gave him 2 and showed me the coin , The idiot thought i wasnt watching as he pulled the trick, I just want to get out of the situation so I told him, in English, you M.F. youre trying to con me, for all your trouble here is an extra 5 soles and f...k off! He actually dropped me off just one block from where he picked me up, asshole, that is why I never trust any taxi drivers, ok I lost 5 soles, barely $3 but its the principle. Crap its almost 6am and I have been walking around in circles asking around for timetables, Finally, Ittsa bus company people told me to take a bus to Chiclayo they said Linea leaves at 6am, then at Chiclayo frequent buses leave for Trujillo. So got on it quickly, after purchasing my ticket I bought breakfast of believe it or not ceviche with papas! I am starved so i had
it, actually pretty fresh and delicious!
Bus took 3 hours to Chiclayo, barren desert was the landscape and in Chiclayo, same thing each bus, own terminal. Took money from ATM then booked a bus to Trujillo. The bus leaves in an hour, sweet. In the bus maybe 3 other gringos, we have to sit through Bruce and Evan Almighty movies! Arriving in Trujillo I cannot decide whether to still go to Huaraz or Lima, I am so tired my judgment is cloudy, i just want a bed to sleep on, as i sat next to the counter debating in my head where to go, Sam, an American dude from Seattle who was on the bus and sat across from me asked me where I was going, he turned out to be undecisive as well, we chatted and decided to go together to Chimbato to catch the morning bus there to Huaraz. We had lunch and got on the bus. Very friendly young dude, we decided to do the Canyon El Pato route from Chimbato. Arriving in Chimbato you notice a pervading smell, something of a fishy-pissy odor. Fishing port is nearby from a well organized central bus terminal a
surprise!
We took a taxi to Cesar Hostel, 12 soles a night not bad , we each got our own room as no double available, indoor toilet but no hot shower that we found out later! After freshening up in that freezing water we went for dinner, looking for chifas we found it and had a good meal, the streets are crowded and busy, quite a surprise this town is, we wanted ceviche but was told only in the mornings. Bought beers and brought it back to the hostel and drank and told stories in the rooftop, nice view of the city and surrounds, there is a mountain behind us quite impressive with sand dunes. Off to sleep.
Early start 830 am Yungay bus departs for Huaraz, we picked up passengers along the way 5 other gringos in the bus we all got seated on the left side. 1st part was boring, then it got interested, passing thru fields of corn, potatoes etc, cotton even i think then we got up slowly, before you know it this enormous peaks are all over, and the canyon started to get deeper and deeper, a river runs thru it,. Lunch time
at a smelly outpost then continued on we went thru many tunnels the scenery spectacular, then much much later past the hydro electric dam they are building arose the tall snow clad mountains, one of which turn out to be Huascaran, amazing view, we stopped at a few towns more, Caraz and Yungay then 2 hours later we are in Huaraz.
Caroline's lodging is the hostel we have in mind to stay, people are scrambling at the yungay bus station, i mean hostel touts,trying to make us stay at their place, we went straight to a locuturio(phone booth) to make a call at Caroline's they pick up backpackers at bus stations, but this time they cant as they are under staffed, we were given instructions how to get there, 1st we have to shop for food we are cooking tonight, i left Sam at the door of the supermercado keeping an eye on our stuff, then we proceeded to the local market to buy veggies and minced meat for bolognaise sauce. We wanted to take a taxi but no one knew where the place is! one guy did know but is charging us double, normally 3 soles i think
he wanted 10 soles, more than double in fact! We decided to walk it, we eventually found it!
It is tucked in on a nook below a set of stairs from the main drag but they have signs we luckily saw as we walk down the stairs. The doors were open so we went in some people are leaving so they let us in, we waited for 10 minutes no one at the front desk then Sam decided to find someone, he found Rex and asked us how did we get in, uhh thru the front door duh! He checked us in, showed us the place then when i mentioned we want to cook he said sure you can use the kitchen for 2.5 soles! thought he was kidding but no, internet 1 soles per hour,play ping pong 1 soles, watch a DVD in the living room 1 soles,etc. man we have to pay for every single thing here! granted it is only 13 soles a night, roughly $5, for the room but all amenities are not free, well except for the hot showers.
After cooking a gigantic meal which both of us cant finish we went to
bed early, i signed up for next day's Laguna 69 hike, a day trip for 35 soles, we had a briefing in the evening, was given a map and was told pick up time is 6:15am. next day we all got up pretty early, Sam my roomie and I got ready and sat at reception then the rest came and and hour later our ride came, very very late, so annoying, no apologies, just normal here in Peru to be late, grrr. We drove to Yungay where we were dropped off at the market to shop for lunch, so hard to shop this early, had to settle with a few biscuits, bananas, mandarins and some yoghurt drinks, nothing substantial can be found in the market. then we drove to the entrance of the PN Huascaran, about an hour away on zigzaggy roads, tremendous views,I mean serious scenery, wow! this place is magical.
After paying 10 soles entrance fee at the gate we proceeded some more and about 30 minutes later, passing through 2 great lakes we got dropped off at the starting point of the hike, the place is called Cebollapampa. it was actually a turn on the road,
if you continue on you got to Yanama, anyway we have till 4pm to get back, no rush set your own pace, its high altitude take your time, we are at 3,900m here.
We all started well going as a group then after crossing the bridge we all settle on our own paces, I was in front with the lads, 2 Brits and Sam the Kiwi, we lost the rest behind, a Canadian dude, a Dutch couple and 2 cute French girls. the hike scenery is gorgeous, valleys, hills, streams, cows, meadows, name it all here.
The hard part came, the switchbacks which was quite difficult at high altitude, i tried to keep up with the lads so i did not stop and kept up with their pace which was good i did not feel too tired at all, they say dont stop even if your body wants you to, go slow but keep moving. At the top of the ridge there is a small lake, we rested here a bit and had a snack, chit chattted then on again, a bit flat, with some hills then we saw the big wall of rock which we were told to
go left, so we did and found the other switchback, up and up again, this time i lagged behind opting to take my time and take fotos instead of going at a fast pace like the lads. When i arrived at the top the trail is flat and as it turns you can see a hint of blue, it's the lake! Laguna 69, turquoise blue, so majestic, i ran to see the whole thing! fantastic scenery, unbelievable. I saw the boys were sat below near the beach having their lunch so i joined them, we all had our lunch then we saw a guy to our left jump in for a swim in his underwear, man must be freezing! none of us dared to swim in the 3C lake. The guy was with his girlfriend, we watched him swim then came back up and suddenly took of his underpants to change, we all turned away but too late!
The dude came up to us and chatted, nice fella, they have been trekking for 6 days now following the Santa Cruz trail and he said this was the best view so far, so we all said then one day trek
is enough, weve seen the highlight already! We all thought he is from Israel, he sounds it says the boys. When he left we had a nap while waiting for the rest to catch up, we all fell asleep for about 30 minutes, when we awoke the french girls were at the top of the rock sat and admiring the view. Then they disappeared, Sam thought they went back down already so we got ready to get going, the Canadian dude and the Dutch couple never made it up, the Canadian got lost and decided to head back, this we gathered from a couple we met at the trail as they themselves got lost and decided not to go up the lake. arriving at the meeting point, the Frecnhies are not there yet, turns out they went down near the beach to have lunch, we did not see them, they left 30 minutes after us. a guy from Boston was at the top of the trail waiting for his ride, we had a chat, he attempted to climb Pisco peak but failed, his buddy is still at base camp trying to have a go again the next day.
On
the way back we stopped at the lake LLanganuco for 5 minutes for some fotos, they have paddle boats here, this is for tourists, not as exciting as hiking to see Laguna 69. We stopped one more time to take fotos of the immense Huascaran peaks. We were all tired so most fell asleep on the way back, the driver is driving like mad, trying to avoid potholes while speeding is not fun, come on man slow down! we all thought! Made it around 6pm at the hostel in one piece,caught up with American Sam and we went out to the El Fogon restaurant in town for some goood dinner! I had the cunejo grilled, wow delicious! Sam wasnt so hungry he just inhaled the leftover pasta from 1st night! he went to bike some canyon, He was telling his story with such animation, i feel like i was with him on his adventure. This dude loves the mountains,an extreme hiker, thin as a rail like me. He got attacked by dogs in the villages chasing his bike, he said he stopped and stared back at them then the dogs turned away! risky, as they can just bite you, well
in that case then that is the time when you kick them, he said matter of factly.
Got back to the hostel, had a very hot shower then chilled in the room a chatted more with Sam he leaves for a small town tomorrow to do the other side of the park, i heading south to Arequipa. We were supposed to go out with the Brits but we both were tired we fell asleep quickly. I woke up decided to leave on the morning bus, luckily, Theo the owner confirmed there is a 9:30am bus so after breakfast i rushed and i got dropped off at the Z bus station. The bus is preparing to leave, i got my ticket and settled in, this will be a long 8 hour ride. Wow the scenery is spectacular once again, i am running out of superlatives here, the scenery is out of this world, you can see the mountains behind us snow peaks and all, then i fell asleep, thats the end of sightseeing there. we got caught in traffic in Lima, arriving at the bus station Flores, i bought my ticket to Arequipa which leaves at 8pm, i have 3
hours to kill, so headed to the other bus station where the bus leaved from had a big lunch/dinner at the 2nd floor cafeteria then used the internet a block away to look for accomodations in Arequipa. i listed down 2 potentials from Hostelworld, La Posada El Cacique and Sol de Oro, at the bus station I called the El Cacique to book, but I struggled to understand the guy, he speaks very softly and my Spanish when i am tired is almost nonexistent! He passed the phone to someone who can speak a tiny bit of English, he wasnt helpful as well, I asked if they can pick me up at the bus station like their ad in the Hostelworld says, he said they never pick up people, I have to get a taxi, i got ticked off, and accused them of false advertising and hang up on him!
17 hour bus ride, luckily I was comfy on the semi cama 66 soles fare. they fed us dinner not bad and a slew of movies. I slept thru most of it, woke up and saw the stunning scenery, deserts, the ocean, colorful cliffs, one though is a bit
wet and have some rocks and mud sliding down the road so we got delayed a bit while they fixed it, then the scenery continued on, winding roads occasionally opening up to a green verdant valley below, these are the small towns scattered about. We arrived in Arequipa around 1pm, quite relieved to be here, my last destination in Peru.
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