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Cuenca
Leaving the cityThursday 3
rd April (Odyssey Day 146)
So today we departed from the lovely city of Cuenca at 0730, heading toward the border with Peru. We were heading for an inland border that is not frequented by tourists, hoping it would not be too busy. It was a slower day today as there was a lot of work being done to the roads along the way, and some rather interesting detours. Sometimes it’s nice to have a truck so we don’t have to worry about silly little things like curbs, or actual roads.
We made a brief stop for lunch in a tiny little place called Puyango. They had a rather large bridge, though apparently there is a petrified forest on the other side which they are trying to turn into a tourist destination to bring in some income to the town. Unfortunately it would take over an hour to get up there to see it and we didn’t have that long to spare. The Mayor of the town came to speak with Emma and tried to convince us to stay the night here, but we were all
Puyango
Lunch stop keen to get back in to Peru. So instead we all took a brief walk across the bridge and then settled to eat our lunch with an audience of curious locals.
We made a last fuel stop at 1430, as it gets more expensive in Peru. By the time we got to the border, changed some money, left Ecuador, and got stamped into Peru it was getting on for 1700. They almost didn’t let the truck through though, not used to such vehicles. We might have gotten through by 1700, but Ithaca herself didn’t make it back into Peru until around 1900. We could see both Emma and Simon gritting their teeth and trying not to let their frustrations show to the immigration officials, whose office was interestingly constructed out of some shipping containers.
By this time, it was well past dark and so we immediately headed off to search out a suitable bush camp for tonight. It took us almost an hour to find something, involving heading off the road down a little track, asking advice from a random guy on a motorbike, inching across
Bush Camp
Packing up camp - Johnny travels light a nail-bitingly narrow bridge of stone, guessing about which patch of blackness would have the least number of holes, and then just saying ‘what the heck’ and pulling up at some random spot to set up tents. We were quick to set up tonight, and with no one being too worried about privacy, the tents ended up all mashed together in a clump. Ellie and I haven’t had our tent out since camping in the rain near Guatapé, so it really needed airing a bit by this point.
Dinner was made in record time tonight, consisting primarily of sausages cooked over an open fire. After dinner we sat on the truck as others went to bed and though I’m not sure who started it, we got to doing word riddles which was fun, though Hannah didn’t think so when she wanted to go to bed but couldn’t possibly sleep until she had the answer… which we wouldn’t give her until she guessed it herself. Unfortunately at the end of the night I dropped my truck key and since I’ve misplaced my head-torch (which I just bought to replace the one I lost weeks
Bush Camp
Breakfast time ago) I couldn’t find it again.
Friday 4
th April (Odyssey Day 147)
We were up at dawn to depart by 0730 this morning after a quick breakfast. Fortunately, Kelly found my key for me in the light of day, so that at least is a relief. It’s hard not to have one when camping, makes things very frustrating.
The difference in the scenery today is astounding. We had forgotten how dry, hot and smelly the plains of Peru can be. It is the smell more than anything that you notice first. We are heading for the beach today along the road we took north from Mancora last time. It looks even more bleak after spending over a month in the mountains of Ecuador and Colombia.
Our lunch stop today was in Lambayeque, the town where a few of us went to the really good museum last time. Today we had 1 ½ hours for lunch while Emma and Simon did a shop. After cleaning out the fridge, I
Travel Day
Back to the plains of coastal Peru went with a few others to help the bar guys do some shopping for the bar. Just as well too as all eight of us that went were loaded down to come back!
We saw the Tucan overland truck here again, we have passed them and been passed by them a few times today and believe we are actually heading for the same place tonight. We are hoping to get there first so we can get our tents set up before all the best spots are taken.
It’s like a desert again outside the windows. Nothing but sand as far as the eye can see, well besides a few piles of rubbish that is. As long as the truck is moving, we get a nice cool breeze coming through but as soon as it stops, we get both the heat and the smell.
It was after dark by the time we arrived in Huanchaco, which was our destination. We are staying at the same campsite as the Tucan group again, and sure enough they pulled up just behind us
Huanchaco Camp
Danielle, Ellie, Emma & Ann enjoy breakfast as we were unpacking our things. It was a bit of a manic free for all as everyone tried to find somewhere to set up our tents in rather limited space.
Saturday 5
th April (Odyssey Day 148)
We piled onto the truck this morning for a day trip to the local ruins. First stop was the Chan Chan ruins, which cover 20km
2 and is reportedly the largest adobe city in the world. Chan Chan was the coastal capital of the Chimu kingdom and was built in the 9
th century before being conquered by the Inca sometime in the 15
th century, after which it fell to ruin.
We were shown around the remains of a large citadel by a guide who was very enthusiastic about his work. It was really interesting, though perhaps he could have used half the number of words to say the same thing. It was extremely hot here and with no shade, it was hard to keep our attention from wandering.
We then headed to
Huanchaco - Chan Chan
The outer walls of the citadel we explored La Huaca de la Luna, the temple of the moon, a Moche ruin from somewhere between 200 and 800 AD, before the Chimu. Also within the area is a great shaped mound where the temple of the sun was built some years later. Now of course, it is largely all covered in sand.
We didn’t arrive back to the camp in Huanchaco until 1530 and by the time we had lunch, it was late and so it was decided to push dinner back an hour so we could all go and look through the town. Everyone was a bit tired and distracted after listening to so much information at the ruins. The heat is a bit much here and since we are camping, there is nowhere to sit for relief from it.
A few of us walked along the beach through the stalls of various goods for sale. Mostly shells and things made from shells, with the occasional starfish. Not really anything I would want to take home. When I left the others to head back to the camp, I had a guy follow me for
a while, inviting me back to his house to ‘practice his English’. Sure, and we all believe that… Needless to say, I decided against that offer!!
I helped out with dinner tonight, first because Danielle, Wayne and Andrew were late, and then because both Andrew and Joanna sat down and pretended they weren’t on duty. Not the best night for cook group tonight with a sub-par chili dish but at least we got to eat in the end. Though the process was made more difficult by the Tucan group using our pots and pans and then claiming they hadn’t done so. In the end we managed to get most of it back though, even if not quite in time to save the meal. We all decided to forget tonight’s failure for cook group – out of 5 months, this is the first meal that hasn’t been up to scratch so that’s pretty good going. I can’t really talk anyway, as my meal was pretty good – apparently better than everyone else’s.
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