Advertisement
Published: April 19th 2012
Edit Blog Post
Tuesday 27th March - Chiclayo to Trujillo to Huaraz
After a late start we got the 4 hour bus to Trujillo where we had intended to stay the night, before moving on but on arriving there we found there was only 1 bus a day leaving for Huaraz at 9pm. Rather than stay in yet another grotty city we decided to wait it out in the bus station for 5 hours, along with a short trip to a shopping mall we'd seen advertised before getting the night bus. We took a taxi through the city, looking at endless crap in the streets and half finished so called houses and arrived at the Plaza Aventura mall. which appears as almost an oasis out of the desert. If there weren't any people there you could easily be fooled into thinking you're walking through Bicester Village. This is Latin America and Peru in a heart beat, the haves and the have nots. The Tottus supermarket was almost bigger and better stocked than Tesco in Slough. After a spot of China wok we headed back for what would be a joyous 10 hour bus journey. In Peru it looks like they take the threat
of hijacking even more seriously than in Colombia so it was just swell to be finger printed before boarding and being sat at the back of the bus next to the toilet.
Wednesday 28th March - Huaraz
After our worst and most uncomfortable bus journey yet we arrived in Huaraz, 10,000 feet above the sea. Our prize was to stay in the best hostel yet we'd been to in Latin America, Olaza's B & B, a bargain at $25 a night and catch up on some much needed sleep. Huaraz is marginally nicer than the rest of the dirt hole, to put it politely, which is known as Peru. Having had a long nap, we ambled our way around town and stocked up on supplies for our dinner which consisted of ham and cheese rolls. Mmmmmm.
Thursday 29th March - Huaraz
Having recovered from our BaƱos flu, we were now feeling sick again with what was probably altitude sickness. A bite of mate de coca kocks the edge off a bit but it looks like we'll be taking it easy for a little while. We spent most of the day booking our onward trips, a bus
to Lima and a flight to Cusco which meant we'd avoid a dodgy 24 hour bus trip through the mountains. Our flight was at the bargain basement price of $100 a piece, albeit with Peruvian Airlines who got shut down for most of last year for failing the Peru safety regulations if you can believe that's possible.
Friday 30th March - Huaraz
It had been suggested to us by local indiginous to jump in a taxi and head for the mountains by ourselves for a bit of a walk but not being mental and sensibly knowing our own limits as confirmed surburbanites we decided to book an organised tour for tomorrow. Having had a great meal the night before at a local restaurant we decided on a return visit which turned out to be a bit of a mistake. After again ordering natural lemonade which was great the day before, we had to send it back 3 times before giving up on the 4th try as it continuied to taste like something a donkey would produce after drinking from a cess pit. We headed back to the hostel a little disappointed so I got Stacie to watch Napoleon
Dynamite which is a classic and must see for anyone who claims to have a sense of humour. We also found out today that both our bank cards had been cloned and we'd both had about 1000 pounds withdrawn from our accounts in Bogota. The fraudsters managed to make 11 withdrawals on each of our accounts over 3 days until I spotted it on my statement, which I think confirms that Nationwide's fraud detection system is none existent and probably more likely consists of a fat old man sat scratching his arse all day whilst reading the Beano instead of bothering to monitor anyones account.
Saturday 31st March - Huaraz
An 8.30am pick up and we were off on a guided tour into the Cordillera Blanco's, the 2nd highest mountain range in the world after the Himalayas, for a breathless walk to see some glaciers. 3 hours later and we were in the Parque Nacional Huascaran containing the highest peak in South America and walking up the trail towards Navado Pastorui peak at a little over 5000 metres. The views were breathtaking and like nothing I'd ever seen before. From watching films like Lord of the Rings, I'd
imagine that the landscapes in New Zealand might look something like this. We met an Italian / Ecuadorian couple on the trip who were really cool and we'll hopefully bump into them again in Bolivia in a few weeks. We didn't tempt fate with a 3rd visit to the restaurant and instead opted for some cheap Chifa.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.154s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 11; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0552s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb