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Chiclayo
Plaza de Armas What an amazing first two weeks in Peru!
I arrived in Peru early on Easter Sunday morning and spent the first week slowly making my way down the northern coastline visiting some nice little towns and the many archeaological sites along the way. First up was the city of Chiclayo where the main attraction was "El SeƱor de Sipan" an extremely well preserved skeleton dating from around the 6th century AD. The museum also had a mountain of artifacts (including an amazing collection of gold jewelley) which were all excavated from the site. I then moved on towards the city of Trujillo which lies around halfway between the Ecuadorian border and the Peruvian capital, Lima. I stayed in a little fishing village called Huanchaco, just outside Trujillo. Huanchaco is famous for its uniqiely shaped reed fishing boats which fishermen have been using there for almost 2000 years. Close to Trujillo is the fascinating pre-Inca city of Chan Chan. This was the site of the largest Pre-Columbian city in the whole of South America and until around 50 years ago was completely covered in sand. The excavation process is ongoing though it was still possible to guage the size of what
Chiclayo
Hats off to the buskerman! must have been a pretty imposing city! As far as Trujillo itself, the city is home to one of the most beautiful main squares I have seen in any city, anywhere...a huge open space with beautifully coloured colonial buildings on all four sides.
On my way between Chiclayo and Trujillo I met a delightful young Irish fella by the name of Darragh who was on his way up into the Andes to meet a friend to do some hiking. "Do you fancy it?" he asked..."Why not!" I replied.
So off we went to the town of Huaraz which stands at around 3200m above sea level (or 3 times the height of Ben Nevis) so you can imagine how high the surrounding mountains were. There we met his friend James (a more experienced hiker who was volunteering in the Huascaran National Park) who announced we would be doing the hike Alpine Style (ie no guides, no donkeys to carry our bags, no cooked meals) and, just for good measure, we would be doing the trek backwards (ie 3 days uphill, one day downhill as opposed to the more well trodden tourist hike of one day uphill, 3 days downhill.)
Huanchaco
Sunset over Huanchaco This would be no stroll in the park...
Thankfully the scenery was absolutely out of this world and the craic with my new found Irish friends made it all worthwhile. The highlight was on our 3rd day when we reached the highest point of the trek at Punto Union (see video!) where we had a view of the valley we had scaled, as well as the Alpamayo mountain which has been voted "Most Beautiful Mountain in the World". And who am I to argue! Watching the sun go down over the mountains from our camp was spectacular and, with the mountain sky being so clear, the stars at night were incredible! A fantastic 4 days was had though it was nice to get back to town and eat something other than dried museli or spaghetti! Not that the journey back to town was uneventful...we hitched a ride on a bus within minutes of finishing the trail. How lucky we felt...until the bus started moving that is. Suspension: non existent. Floor: In some parts (namely below my seat!) detached from the bus walls. Road surface: questionable. The 4 hour ride down some 40+ hairpin bends on the mountainside was, in
Cabellitos de Huanchaco
The famous reed fishing boats in Huanchaco a word, bumpy!
And so from Huaraz to the capital Lima...
I hadn't high hopes for Lima as, after the hustle and bustle and the smog in Quito, I had been warned Lima was more of the same but on a larger scale. Not so! Great city, some lovely squares, architecture and a really good vibe. I only spent 2 days there but I will be volunteering fairly close to Lima in June so I'm sure I'll be back.
Lima is also the birthplace of St Martin de Porres, a saint who was a particular favourite of my Granda Reilly. I never knew my mum's dad as he died two months after I was born, though I felt pretty close to him in Lima as I laid his Rosary beads on St Martin's tomb. A special moment!
And so from Lima to Cusco and the gateway to Macchu Picchu...tune in next week!
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Ma and Pa
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on your hike!
What an experience, Gordon, tremendous photographs. Fair touched that you got to St Martin's tomb as well.