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Published: October 9th 2007
Our stay in Ecuador ended in Loja (a busy, not very attractive transport town). We arranged transportation with a bus company to leave Loja, go thru Ecuadorian and Peruvian border checkpoints and arrive in Piura, Peru. The trip isnt that far but when the driver stops for breafast, drinks and snacks, lunch, and more snacks it makes for a long, tiring, boring ride. The trip took about 8 hours but we reckon 3 could have been shaved if the driver didnt have such an affinty for taffy.
After spending an uneventful night in Piura (also, a busy, dirty transport hub) we boarded another long distance bus to Trujillo. We spent two days in Trujillo because the only buses to Huarez were night buses...information that we didnt know until we went to the bus company.
Three days of travelling and a few more days of wandering around not very interesting cities finally brought us to Huaraz at 7.30am. We were welcomed by a mob of taxi drivers, hostal workers, and general miscreants who all wanted our attention simutaneously. It´s the exact opposite thing you want to walk into at 7.30am after not sleeping on an overnight bus and without a
cup of coffee. We found a hostal, checked in, and slept until noon.
Huaraz is a big, rather unattractive city. This is do to the fact that it was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake in 1970...leveling all of the Spanish colonial architecture. But what the city of Huaraz lacks in beauty the surrounding 5000 meter peaks and deep valleys more than make up for. We spent two days wandering around Huaraz taking advantage of the fact that we could order good french press coffee and giant breakfast burritos.
On day 3 we headed up to a lodge in the Cordillera Blanca. It was beautiful and we met some interesting people (including a kid that had lived in Boulder). The best part, however, was the lack of noise. In every town and city there is constant car horn honking...mostly by taxi's, either impatient that there is a cow or herd of sheep in the middle of the road or they are trying to get your attention for a lift. We spent a relaxed day at the lodge reading and enjoying the views.
We then went back to Huaraz to await another night bus departure. Our next stop
TRUJILLO
A Cathedral in Trujillo, where we spent 2 days waiting for a bus.was going to be Cuzco, but we decided that instead of a 20+ hour bus ride we would fly from Lima. We figured that we could skip Lima, as its a giant, bustling city and neither of us were really in the mood for more honking and breathing of bus exhaust. So at 10pm we boarded a Lima-bound bus so we could catch a 9am flight to Cuzco.
Tune in next week to see if our plane made it safely to Cuzco or did we have to eat our fellow passengers on a high, snow covered Andean pass....hint...it does taste like chicken.
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Steve
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Costco?
I'm pretty sure that Cuzco is spanish for Costco and I have to tell you that if you want to avoid crowds you should stay away from this place. However, you should be able to get a ton of batteries cheap. I hope that all is well and please pray to the sun god for me.