Mancora to Cuzco

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Sorry about the lost blogs... we are hoping this new entry will last for a while!

We left Mancora and got on our first long distance bus in Peru, which fortunately rattled our bones less than those in Ecuador. We were heading for Trujillo, Peru´s northern "capital city". We spent a day there, visiting the Chan Chan complex, a series of ruins from the Chimu empire from around 1100 AD. They were later conquered by the Incas. We also went to another coastal town and saw some fisherman on what looked like surf boards made out of reeds which they have been using for centuries.

We then got on our first overnight bus, and climbed up high into the Andes again, to the Cordillera Blanca and a town called Huaraz. The town itself isn´t stunning, having been hit by several large earthquakes, but the views around were amazing. We´d planned to do some serious trekking here but we both got our first taste of south american antibiotics, and had to rest up for a while as something really didn´t agree with us and it was time to get rid of it! Still, we went up to some beautiful lakes and found a fantastic place to stay, the lazy dog inn, further up in the mountains. If anyone reading this ever comes this way, we´d really recommend it. It is run by a Canadian woman who does lots in the local community - she was also playing host to a World Challenge group from the UK.... about 10 teenagers who Andy and I were quite keen to avoid!

Sadly, we had to leave Huaraz and head to Lima to get our flight to Cuzco. We didn´t hang around for long in Lima - as the guidebook said it would be, it was damp, grey and grizzly. It is enormous and we were quite keen to head on for more fun high in the Andes (and Machu Picchu)....

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Photos

A bald dog at Chan Chan
Andy felt at home with this native Peruvian species

Huanchaco caballitos del mar
They have been using these since 500AD

Llanganuco Lakes
In the Cordillera Blanca

Mt Huascaran
6768m high in the Cordillera Blanca

The cordillera blanca
walking from the lazy dog