Tariy, Day 9: Ceviche in Callao

Tuesday March 18th

I woke up to the sound of our bus speeding it's way through the dusty desert coast of Peru. About half our bus was awake and watching a movie, in a little while the bus steward would be passing a small snack for breakfast. We soon entered the city of Lima, the city however is huge and it would take another forty five minutes until we reached the bus terminals in the heart of the city. I didn't mind the wait, I was glad that I would be in the company of my family once again and that tomorrow we'd all be together celebrating my birthday.

My uncle Freddy was at the station when we arrived, being a taxi driver he's the one that usually drives me around when I go home and it is him and his friends that provide the transportation for Karikuy. So as we made our way back to my neighborhood in Central Lima I had very little on my mind as to what I would be doing for the day, what I knew for certain though was that I'd be in Callao eating some of the best ceviche in Peru.

My neighborhood of Planeta, the smoke is of a train that just rolled on through.

I had a couple of hours to take a nap and get in a good breakfast before we set off again at noon. Before leaving for Peru I had failed to pack much clothing for myself due to all the gifts and donations I had received. So first on my list of things to do was to head to one of the large super centers found throughout Lima and pick up some shorts and a shirt for tomorrows party.

After picking up some clothes and sipping on a delicious fruit smoothie we headed to the port city of Callao. Callao has remained the biggest port in Peru since it was founded in 1537, the city was largely destroyed and vast areas flooded when a tsunami hit after a strong earthquake in 1746. I commonly hear that 1/4 of the original Callao lies underwater, however that number fluctuates with each story and it's hard to tell, I will do more research on that when I return later in the year. Here are some pictures:

And a short video of the ride up to La Punta, notice the fortress at the end of the video, it is the largest and strongest Spanish fortress built in Latin America.

There is a little restaurant at La Punta (The Point) of Callao and I recommend it for anyone who is in the area, it is called the Neptune. I bring tourists and guests there and frequently include it in my trip itineraries. It has to be my favorite place in Peru to eat ceviche, because not only do they make one amazing dish but they also provide the best setting and scenery to wolf down a plate of this signature Peruvian dish.

Everyone dig in!

Second course of fried calamari...mmmm.

All gone :(

Finishing up a meal at Neptune's is always followed by a stroll over at the oceanfront which is about a hundred feet from the restaurant itself. Currently a lot of La Punta is under construction which is slated to be finished by next year but there are still plenty of spots where you can go and watch the waves splashing against the barrier wall. The feeling of being under the warm sun after a filling meal of ceviche can be enough impetus for anyone to return to Peru and is always one of the highlights of my trip back home, I recommend it to everyone I meet.

There is not much to tell about the rest of my day, I spent most of it back home catching up with family that would drop by to say hello as well as doing some laundry and double checking my budget for the rest of the trip.


Knowing that I would get very little sleep the following day I made a point of heading to bed early. My birthday party would not disappoint.

Tariy, Day 8: The Road Back to Lima

Monday March 17th

Maycol and I woke up to a chilly Monday morning in Cajamarca. It was around six in the morning, the plaza lay eerily silent with the sound of a few roosters in the distance. Up to this point I had a beef with roosters going back to our days in Casma, there a rooster had started crowing at three in the morning just as we were about to go to bed. The rooster had only been about 20 feet away from us and it's loud calls were head splitting. This morning the crowing seemed to only add to the beauty of a sleepy Cajamarca at dawn.

We made our way to the bus station and hopped on a bus headed for Chiclayo. The bus trip to Chiclayo would turn out to be one of the more memorable bus rides of the trip. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the scenery throughout the ride was equally jaw dropping, it made the six hour ride go by in a flash. First we passed we had to climb in elevation to reach the pass that dips down into Cajamarca as well as westward towards the coast.

There are some roads in Peru that will really give you a good scare, one of them is the road from Huaraz to Huari and as I would find out later from Ayacucho to Andahuaylas. The road to Chiclayo was paved and even though it was still very steep and windy I felt relaxed and paid little attention to the absurd heights. About two hours in we had already dropped in elevation dramatically and were snaking our way through a picture perfect valley with majestic peaks all around us.

Here's a short clip of me goofing off on the bus ride. I do not recommend sticking your head out the bus windows. On one occasion I was filming outside the window for the Karikuy video when I heard a distant noise coming from my left, intuitively I put my head back in the window just as bridge supports passed less then a foot away from the windows. I bet that would've hurt pretty bad if not taken my whole head off!

I took the following video to demonstrate just how dramatically the micro climates in Peru change. The video shows the desert and as I pan to the left you can see the green farmlands and mountains climbing up into the Andes. Peru has 28 different climate types and 84 of the 104 ecological niches that have so far been identified, a fact that classifies Peru as the most ecologically diverse country in the world.

We reached Chiclayo at one in the afternoon. At the bus terminal we bought our tickets for the bus to Lima which would be leaving at six in the evening. We left our backpacks at the bus stations luggage storage and headed out for some lunch. I had some papa a la huancaina, one of my favorite Peruvian dishes while my cousin had caldo de gallina or chicken soup as we would call it. We were more then happy to come across our favorite beer Cristal as it had eluded us since Casma, provecho!

After the light lunch we headed out for the museum that houses the Lord of Sipan, Peru's version of Tutankhamen. It is said that the treasure found at the tomb of the Lord of Sipan rivals that of the tomb of King Tut, that's why Sipan is often referred to as the Tutankhamen of the Americas.As we walked towards the museum we could tell that there was something amiss, the road leading up to the site was quiet and there was no one around. We soon found out that the museum is closed on Mondays for cleaning. Disappointed we took a couple snapshots of the exterior and then headed for Chiclayo's Plaza de Armas. I took note of that fact for future reference but at the same time kicked myself for not having looked into it beforehand; experience points gained.

Webon, I think they're closed...

Although we didn't spend too much time in Chiclayo I was very drawn to it. It has a certain charm about it and the atmosphere is very laid back, perhaps that's why Chiclayo's nickname is La Cuidad de la Amistad; The City of Friendship.

When we reached the Plaza de Armas I was surprised at its size, covered by tall palms the plaza has to be the smallest I'd seen so far out of any town or city in Peru. I even think that Supe being a very small town had a much larger plaza then Chiclayo's. The Plaza de Armas did however have some impressive buildings surrounding it including a beautiful cathedral.

We hung around the Plaza de Armas until it was time to head back to the bus depot to catch our ten hour ride back to Lima, we didn't mind the long ride as it was at night and we'd sleep through most of it. We were glad to be going back home for some rest and a much needed plate of Ceviche.

Tariy, Day 7: Cajamarca

Sunday March 16th

The loud bells of the cathedral next to our hotel made for an excellent alarm clock as we woke up to a cloudy morning in Cajamarca. From our balcony we watched as the townspeople gathered around their cathedral for the Palm Sunday procession.

Our plans for the day was to catch an early bus for the town of Chachapoyas where we could head out the following day to the ruins of Kuelap. First we wanted to visit the famous ransom room of Atahualpa. The ransom room is located less then a block from the Plaza de Armas, if your looking for it ask a local for "El Cuarto del Rescate". Be aware that you have to buy tickets to get in and for some reason the ticket counter is located about two blocks around the corner. This ticket includes entrance to an art museum (Museo de Etnografia) and a convent (El Complejo de Belen), both within walking distance.

Museo de Etnografia

El Complejo de Belen, built entirely from volcanic ash

We finally made our way to the Ransom room. In 1532 the Spanish arrived from Tumbes on the coast. With 160 men Pizarro rode into Cajamarca to meet the Inca Emperor who he had been hearing about since meeting fishermen from Tumbes a year earlier. Atahualpa fresh off his military victory against his brother Huascar was on his way to Cusco and had stopped at Cajamarca with about 60,000 of his men. In one of the most incredible turn of events in history Pizarro was able to ambush and capture the Incan Emperor. Atahualpa had decided to kill Pizarro and his men for their actions on their way to Cajamarca, actions which included poor treatment of the peasants and even murder. However, Atahualpa underestimated the Spanish and paid the ultimate price, the ransom room was where he was held captive until his execution in 1533.

The ransom room is the only Inca building left standing in Cajamarca. It is a very somber place, with large drawings depicting Atahualpa and the fall of the Inca Empire.

From the Ransom room we headed to the plaza to find out bus schedules for Chachapoyas. As we spoke to several agencies we soon found out that we would have to take a six hour bus ride to Chiclayo and then another twelve hour bus ride to Chachapoyas. That was if the weather cooperated which it hardly seemed to want to do, so it would be about a 4 day trip there and back, time we just didn't have. We decided to take a tour around Cajamarca and leave for Chiclayo the next morning, there we would check out the Lord of Sipan and take a overnight bus back to Lima in time for my birthday bash.

This was by far the biggest disappointment of the trip, I know I'll go to Kuelap eventually with Karikuy but it would have been nice to inspect the site and also check out Chachapoyas and the hotels there.

Another learning experience behind us we walked up to the hill called Santa Apolina. At the top is said to be The Throne of the Inca, a large rock that resembles a throne and was used by Atahualpa to review his troops. The view from the top reveals Cajamarca in stunning fashion, on all sides the city is surrounded by the Andes mountains.

A breathtaking journey to the top of Cerro Santa Apolina

After the climb we returned to the plaza for a small lunch before we left for our tour of the area. I was in the mood for some cold cuts and a cold glass of maracuya.

An hour later we were heading to the plantation known as Colpa. Decades ago the Cows of Colpa were famous for the amount of milk they produced. Inside Peru the sweet known as Manjar Blanco is very popular and Colpa makes the best.

Colpa is also famous for its cattle that recognize when they are being called to eat by a wrangler. On top of that they walk into a pen that has several stalls with all the cows names on top, there they obediently seek out their names and begin to feed. We were treated to a demonstration, here is a short clip, you can hear the wrangler calling out names in the background:

From Colpa we headed to some waterfalls located across the valley in Llacanora. It was an easy hike although our group found it hard to keep up with my cousin and I as we explored the area like two five year olds let loose in a zoo. It must have been our love of exploration and the fact that we were going to miss out on Kuelap that we would daringly climb boulders that had fallen into the streams as the river rushed beneath our feet. We could feel the waterfall in the distance as its roar became thunderous with our arrival. We reached the first waterfall 20 minutes into the hike, at 10 meters high we took a couple shots of the falls just as our group started to arrive.

Ten minutes down from the first waterfall we discovered the second, this one being 20 meters high, we were able to get real close and take some footage.

We drove back to Cajamarca as the sun started to set over the cloud hugged Andes. That night we would have a medium sized dinner and hang out in the Plaza de Armas, we were tired and drinking was not on our minds. Tomorrow we would have an early six hour bus ride to Chiclayo. I already missed the waterfalls of Llanacora, I love to hike and explore, I was not looking forward to sitting on a bus for six hours. I would soon have to realize that the bus rides would only get longer and that due to the little time I had left in Peru the pace of our travels would accelerate, as well as our pulses.

Tariy 2008 Continued and Amikuy 2008

My Journal of Tariy 2008 continues Thursday, I will be posting a much more detailed and media laced account then I was able to churn out in Peru due to time restraints. Starting Thursday I will be posting about 2 days worth of content each weekday, I expect that the account of the whole trip to be done within the next 2 weeks. So feel free to subscribe to this blog to get an in depth look at my country of Peru, its traditions, food, and people.

Karikuy is accepting reservations for Amikuy 2008, Amikuy is from May 23rd to May 31st and we will be visiting Lima, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Nazca, Huacachina and more. You can read all about the trip at www.karikuy.org, just click on the hummingbird icon to read the itinerary and reserve your spot on this exciting trip.

Tariy, Days 4 & 5: The Turtle and Trujillo

Hi everyone! I´m currently in Lima in a super hot internet bodega across the street from my house. Today is day 9 of my travels and it´s my birthday!! I hear there is a surprise party planned for me, not much of a surprise anymore I guess, but regardless it should be a ton of fun. I will continue where I left off last, in Casma visiting the ancient ruins of Sechin.

Thursday March 13th (cont´d)

Although Sechin is small compared to most archaeological sites in Peru it still holds a wealth of artifacts to look at. The small museum next to the ruins exhibits a mummy with its mouth gaping wide open and it also contains many drawings and works of art taken from the ruins.

Here are a couple of pictures so you get a better idea of what the exterior of the compound looks like.

Maycol and I have become pretty effective at flagging down vehicles by now. I have to say that our best technique, although I don´t really recommend it, is to just lie in the middle of the road and wait for a car to stop.

From Sechin we headed out to a beach about half an hour away from Casma on the western coast of Peru called La Playa de la Tortugas or Turtle Beach in English. The beach was pretty empty being that it was a weekday and also the evening. We walked around and admired the beautiful setting, the beach being wedged between two large mountains. The beach itself is small and looks like a turtle hence its name. We strolled the peaceful beach and sat down to drink some Brahman at a small restaurant while we waited for some transportation to bring us back to Casma.

That night was our last in Casma and we celebrated it by going out with my cousins to a discoteca. We toasted the night away with 12 jars of beer and danced the night away. I was surprised how many people were out considering it was a weekday. But if Peru is known for one thing it is its love of partying.

In the morning we caught a small collectivo to Chimbote, a town about two hours away from Casma and a transportation hub. From there we took a larger bus to the city of Trujillo, arriving in the afternoon.

I´ll leave it at here for now, I´m leaving for Huacachina, Pisco and Ica tomorrow. I´ll try to post some birthday pictures and continue from Trujillo over the weekend, Chau!

Tariy, Days 3 & 4: The Heat of Casma

Wednesday March 12th

Woke up to another scorcher of a day. Heading over to the shared washroom in the small courtyard of our hostal I realized that my face was burning. I shouldn´t have been surprised looking into the mirror and finding my face the color of a Coca Cola bottle. When I come to Peru I usually don´t use sunblock and just let myself tan into my normal brown, those times hadn´t brought me to Caral though which worked it´s magic on me.

Maycol and I spent about 3 hours waiting for a ride in the Plaza de Armas of Supe where we would then head to Casma. Sitting around in the sun without any sunblock was smart on my part, not that I cared much, when it got uncomftorable we´d head over to a little shop and buy some Inka Cola and some Ice Cream, then we´d head back out in the plaza and hang out under a tree and chat up the locals.

Slowly but surely our skill of flagging down cars by showing some skin worked. We headed off towards Casma that afternoon passing the lively town of Barranca where we should have stayed the night. The town has a great beach where you can camp out, call it an opportunity missed and experience gained.

We reached Casma in the late afternoon and it remains the hottest town we´ve visited. Even though it´s dry out I´m sure it was a good 95 degrees farenheit. We stayed at my cousin Olgas house that night which is under constrution and had the whole place to ourselves even though there was no electricity.

Bathroom by candlelight, how romantic...

Thursday March 13th

The next day we headed out for the ruins of Sechin. New discoveries in the last few months have put Sechin on the map for Archeologists. A new temple at the complex has been carbon dated to be 5,500 years old, thats older then the pyramids of Giza, and although Sechin is not a complex city like Caral it is no less significant. On the way to the ruins which is only about 10 minutes from Casma we passed some huge sand dunes which made me very excited about the thought of the massive dunes we will be sandboarding next week in Huacachina.

Sechin is another one of the many archeological sites throughout Peru that gets very little attention due to the cyclopean Machu Picchu where all the tourists flock. We once again had these ruins to ourselves and had a look around. Unfortunatley the temple that had made the news a couple weeks ago remains closed to the public and is actually being reburied in order to preserve it. They do this to avoid the fate of another work of ancient Peruvian art that was found near Sechin, the heads below are replicas the originals were destroyed by earthquakes and rain.

The main complex itself is huge and its outer walls are covered in art dating back to 3,000 BC.

My time is almost up here at a small internet cafe in Chiclayo, I catch my bus back to Lima in about 2 hours, it´s a 14 hour bus ride in, so I´m going to get some Arroz Chaufa and head out. I leave you with this video of the climb up yet another mountain to get a better view of Casma. I´ll try to finish up days 3 and 4 before Friday, oh and Happy belated St. Patricks Day!!

Tariy, Day 2: Caral

Tuesday March 11th (cont´d)

So to begin where I left off, heading up the trail to the ruins of Caral my cousin Maycol and I came across a pair of mean dogs, we threw some rocks at them and that settled things pretty quickly. Yes I know that some of you may take offense to our actions but some advice for anyone traveling in the country is that a rock is your best friend against dogs who are far from tamed and are territorial. The "smell my hand" trick just does not cut it when it comes to such circumstances. If you travel in large groups then it´s a non issue but if your going at it alone, take my advice.

After slaying the beasts (c´mon lighten up!) we continued on the trail that eventually led us to a small river with a very dainty bridge. Looking downstream I couldn't help but scratch my head as I could see more sturdy looking bridge in the distance. We took the dainty bridge over, because you know.... that´s just a heck of a lot more fun.

It took us another fifteen minutes from the bridge to reach the archaeological site of Caral. As a student of history and archeology it was a sight to behold. There in front of me lay 6 ancient pyramids dating back to 3000 BC. These megaliths have yet to be completely unearthed, and according to one of the archaeologists it will take another 15 years before the site is fully excavated. After we had a look around the place we hiked up the side of a mountain for a better look.

When backpacking to place to place there is never really any reliable transportation. There are no schedules, no worries and unfortunately very little to do while waiting for that elusive collectivo.

We eventually flagged down a super crowded collectivo with about 10 people inside. Being that I was hitchhiking I didn't have a problem with it. Getting to know Caral was great I will definitely make it a stop for future programs. With Karikuy however you won´t have to wait on the side of the road, all transportation is planned out of course.

The night was spent in Supe, a nearby town and although it was a pleasant place, it was very quiet. The town was dead by 11 and there was no nightlife, it didn't help that it was Tuesday either. What do you do in such circumstances? Well you break out the radio, drink some beer and talk about life and all of it´s surprises. Including the nasty surprise that I was very badly sunburnt.

Tariy, Days 1 & 2: Home from Home

Hey everyone I´m writing to you from Trujillo, I arrived on Monday night to a great reception of family and friends, so far me and my cousin have been having a blast trekking the country, here´s as short a recap I can write for the last five days, theres just too much to tell and well we´re gonna go hit the clubs after I finish typing this up.

Monday March 10th

I was able to get a great fare of 480$ for round trip tickets to Peru using Taca Air. I have no complaints, the stopover in El Salvador was fun and short although I was absolutely surrounded by 3 and 4 year olds on the first leg of the trip, who needs sleep anyways? I had a row to myself on the second leg to Lima and was able to stretch out and got to sleep on a much quieter ride, however it is hard to sleep when your flying over such a beautiful continent as South America.

Customs at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima took about 20 minutes, why so short? well it´s all about who gets to the line first. The airport is small compared to most and everyone goes through the same customs line. I suggest that when you first arrive you make a mad sprint to customs to avoid long lines that could take over an hour and could be rather uncomftorable due to the heat. Wool hats and winter jackets should be removed on the plane.

My rather large but normal Peruvian sized family greeted me at the Airport exit with loud kisses and hugs, it´s hard to describe a Peruvian style welcome at the airport, you just have to go there and see for yourself I suppose.

Wow this is taking forever to write! ok speeding it up a little, I gave out all I had collected in donations and things I had bought to my family and the poor neighborhood I´m originally from.

I saved as much of the smaller toys and candies so I can hand them out for the rest of the trip. The rest of that night consisted of nothing other then amazing food and heavy drinking. I bought about 2 cases (24 bottles) of Cristal for the family and they provided the wine as well as the biggest bucket of Chicha de Jora that I´ve ever seen. Good Times!!

Tuesday March 11th

The neighbors woke me up to loud reggaeton at about 7 am in the morning, about the time Lima wakes up to go to work during the week. Being hungover never feels so good, especially after 3 hours of sleep and stepping inside a frigid shower. I packed the last of my things that morning and opened the big windows in my living room. I had found some baby pictures of me in the house my parents built and I sat down and thought about my expectations, not just on the trip but about my own projects and what I would be building with Karikuy.

Time to hit the road! My uncle Freddy takes my cousin Michael and I to the local bus station to take a Collectivo to Supe, a town near the ruins of Caral. On Route the bus fails to make an inspection before heading on the Pasomayo route of the Pan-american Highway. Pasamayo is a very steep desert coast overlooking the ocean, I left my camera in my bag, however Maycol took some great pics that I will post later. A three hour bus ride in the end took us 6 hours and we arrived in Supe at night unable to get a ride to Caral and set up Camp. Thats what happens when you backpack though, we could of taken a tourist class bus and had comfy seats and a movie, but whats the fun in that? We stayed in a hostal in Supe had some Cristal and chaufa for dinner and explored the small and uneventful town.

Early the next day we made our way to Caral, The ride out from Supe was about an hour and the taxi cab dropped us off on the side of the road, we had to hike to get to the ruin in the distance, the scenery was absolutely beautiful, the ancient citizens of Caral, one of the oldest cities on earth dating back to 3000 BC, could not have chosen a better place to build their warless society.

So my internet time is up and I´m starving and ready to hit the nightlife I´ll finish up my day at Caral later, bye for now!