Blogs from Ancash, Peru, South America - page 14

Hello friends and family, We left Cajamarca during the day and headed to the coast. One thing about these roads in Peru, they all follow a river down the mountain valleys. The coast was overcast and quite dismal, especially after being around some impressive mountain ranges and awesome vistas. We stopped only for a moment in Trujillo, then caught another bus to Chimbote. From Chimbote (where we stayed one night), we would be heading up back into the mountains to Huarez. Chimbote was quite the nondescript town. Spent an uneventful night there with a decent meal, then headed to the bus station again. Robin & I were still traveling with Tammy and Terry of Secret o´Life fame. The ride up into the Cordillera Blanca mountain range was spectacular. It´s somewhat funny now, since we have been ... read more

So we´d decided on the Santa Cruz trek, the most popular and supposedly most beautiful. It takes four days and reaches an altitude of 4800m, which is considerably higher than I´d ever been. In Huaraz, at 3000m, walking upstairs rapidly felt like quite the physical challange, so I was curious to find out what if anything this kind of altitude would do to me. On day one we got off to a bad start by setting our alarm for 6pm not 6am. Schoolboy error. I had one of those moments when you instantly wakeup bolt upright in bed because your inner "oh shit" alarm has informed you that you´re in trouble. We were only 10 minutes late, but it meant we left in a rush and half asleep, which is my excuse for what happened next. ... read more

Ik kreeg van het thuisfront wat geluiden binnen dat ik te weinig update. Ik lig ondertussen al bijna een week op het strand te bakken, dus tja, ik had misschien inderdaad wel even een keertje online kunnen gaan… Maar daarover later meer. Voor zover jullie weten was ik net in Huaraz aangekomen. Huaraz is een niet al te grote, maar flink toeristische plaats, aan de Cordillera Blanco. Een bergketen met een en al besneeuwde toppen. Het perfecte startpunt om te gaan wandelen, klimmen of een gletsjer te besteigen. Het feit dat het zo toeristisch is betekend natuurlijk dat er zat leuke hotels en goede restaurants zijn. Mijn eigen hotel Churrup was niet supergoedkoop, maar had een hangplek op de bovenste verdieping met en spectaculair uitzicht. Ik had wat leuke mensen ontmoet, maar helaas pas nadat ik ... read more

Day 61 Had a well deserved lie in and pottered out for breakfast. Wandered around Cusco abit and then decided we would treat ourselves to a massage (4 pound each for an hour), luxury. Watched some of the football and then went for a late lunch in preparation for our night bus to Ica. Day 62 Arrived in Ica nice and early and got a taxi to Huacachina, a little oasis town out in the desert. Explored the whole town in about 10 minutes. Pretty much just a few hotels and restaurants. We considered climbing up ne of the sand dunes but sacked it off because the legs were still tired. In the afternoon we went on a sand boarding and dune buggying tour which is the main reason we came to Huacachina. Was lots of ... read more

So tomorrow will be the last bus ride that I will be taking in South America...and although I am more than relieved for that fact, it also means that I am near the end of the trip. Lima, the final destination will be reached on Sunday, then it is just a matter of days until the flight back home. The trip has been amazing, and has gone by way to fast, but it will also be nice to be at home, sleeping in a familiar bed. As for the past couple of days, we just returned yesterday from the Santa Cruz Trek which was supposed to be a 4 day trek. We got to the trek, and decided after the first day, to walk about 2 hours more than what our guide book suggested to ... read more