17.10.2009 Kaum zu glauben, dass ich nun schon seit fast einer Woche unterwegs bin. Es hat etwas gedauert, bis ich angekommen bin, und damit meine ich nicht nur den zweitaegigen Flug, der von einer Nacht in Newark/New Jersey unterbrochen wurde. Seit zwei Jahren habe ich diese Reise geplant, und trotzdem fuehlte ich mich ueberrumpelt, als ich in Limas naechtlichem Chaos landete: als sei ich ploetzlich von einem grossen Vogel verschlungen und eine Viertelumdrehung der Erde weiter in einer fremden Umgebung ausgespuckt worden. Von Lima habe ich nicht viel gesehen, zum einen, weil es ei [View Full Entry]

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14.10.2009 Frisch in Trujillo angekommen sitze ich nun in dem Hostel und blicke schon wieder nicht durch, wie dieser unuebersichtliche Blog funktioniert: Ich kann mir selbst eine private Nachricht schreiben, mich selbst kommentieren - aber einen neuen Eintrag hinzufuegen?? Mal sehen, ob es funktioniert... Allen Lesern ein "sorry" fuer das Chaos und herzliche Gruesse aus der Wueste - spaeter mehr, wenn ich schlauer bin. Das kommt davon, wenn man nicht wie ueblich einfach nur emails schreibt... [View Full Entry]

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We stayed at a fairly austere hotel while we’ve been in Trujillo. In fact, the hotel isn’t in Trujillo at all, but instead at a “sea-side” town call Huanchaco, a handful of miles outside of the city. One of the hotel’s “features” has been a shrill, comic, duck sound that occured two or three times a day. This sound always seemed to originate from the bathroom which was strange enough. But stranger still, you’d be there in the bathroom, going about your business at it were, and then get blasted by this duck honk sound that just came out of nowhere [View Full Entry]

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We went to the Haucas del Sol and de la Luna this morning, ancient Moche sites here in Trujillo. I’m not going to talk about that though, as you need to be here to appreciate them properly. But I will say that if you are here, certainly pay them a visit. Instead, a little about South American culture. I read before I came here that buses regularly stop on their journey to allow street traders to service you with anything you might possibly buy from them. I imagined that this would entail you having to get off the bus to go [View Full Entry]

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I spent my 20th birthday in a beachside town named Huanchaco, just 20 minutes outside of Trujillo. It was a strange feeling having a birthday with no friends or family around you. It didn't really feel like a birthday at all. I wonder how Christmas will feel? Huanchaco was pleasant enough there, but the sun just didn't want to show itself. The beach was more like a grey british seaside town! Nonetheless we saw some great sights in the area. We visited the ancient ruins of Chan Chan which are dated back around 2000 years to the Chimu people. The ruins [View Full Entry]

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Today is Jessica’s 20th birthday. An odd birthday by normal standards; being on the other side of the world, no friends and family around, little in the way of gifts and that sort of thing. Clare outdid herself on that front though, ensuring that I’d got a couple of things to give to Jess from her before I’d even left the UK, and I’m so glad she did. Today is also the first day that I’ve felt pretty homesick. Sometimes it’s hard always being around people that neither knows nor loves you. Sometimes it’s hard being around people that don’t even [View Full Entry]

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We caught an overnight bus to Piura in Peru, it all went very conveiniently and being the only two gringos on the bus meant we didn´t have to wait long once we were able to wake the Peruvian immigration official from his slumber. We got a bit of a surprise in Peru as we realise that unlike the other countries we have visited, not many of the towns have a bus terminal. Meaning you go to the companies station. So once in the station we had to get a taxi to get some Soles (Peruvian currency) and find another bus companies [View Full Entry]

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Peru: 4th - 11th September 2009 Peru has been our first plunge into South America, and our pace has been much more frenetic than any stop so far. Anyone keeping up with our travels would agree that our trip to date would not necessarily be described as typical of the “backpacker scene.” It's true - we've turned away from the ways of the backpacker. It's just that when you get older, you start questioning things: is there wifi? What about a washing machine? Can I get Plummet Air Points for this purchase? While we carry guidebooks with us, we rarely referenced [View Full Entry]

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We left Mancora on a night bus and arrived in Trujillo the next morning. The bus had ´cama´ seats and so, for once, we slept quite well. However, after the glorious weather in Mancora it was quite a shock arriving in cold and cloudy Huanchaco, which is a small seaside town on the outskirts of Trujillo and makes for a more relaxing place to stay. Apparently, in the summer months, the town really fills up with holidaymakers as the sun beats down and the temperature rises. This really gave the place a feel of an English seaside town in winter with [View Full Entry]

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This is the part of the trip I knew was coming. YThe lasty leg. We have about 5 days left. We have survived heinous bus rides, roads that shouldn't exist, horrible venezuelan diets, long bus rides, longer kombi rides, super high altitudes, snakes, pirañas, alligators, painful sicknesses, torrential rains, long hikes, crazy bush women, wacky farmers, and the worst driving in the world and each other's company. A few more days of surfing/ getting slammed by waves, a couple more ceviche meals, and we will be bound to declare our lies to us customs. We have become very comfortable in the [View Full Entry]

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