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, Days 5 & 6: Cesar Vallejo, Chan Chan and Chaufa

Friday March 14th

Trujillo is the third most populous city in Peru, of course at the time my cousin and I were not aware of this. The bus ride into the city seemed to take forever as we approached the bus depot near the heart of the provincial capital. Fortunately there is never a shortage of entertainment for Peruvians and we were relieved of the long bus ride by entertainers who would hop on board for a small tip. One of the more memorable entertainers was a comedian who would go around the bus ripping on everyone, he seemed to focus on love and relationships, his delivery was spot on!

After hopping off the bus we walked a couple of blocks with our backpacks at which at this point felt as if they were getting heavier as the trip went on. Dripping with sweat we we entered the Plaza de Armas. We were quickly impressed by the fountain sculpture at the center of the square which represents work, art and liberty.

Trujillos colonial charm can be seen throughout the city, and its brightly colored buildings create eye candy for the passing visitor. We walked four blocks down Avenida Pizzaro to Plazuela el Recreo where we found a hostel with the same name on the eastern corner of the plaza. I immediately set to work on bargaining prices and introducing Karikuy to the hostel owner. After exchanging contact information we were led up to our room which was a double with a balcony overlooking the plazuela.

The room included a TV and private bathroom with hot showers which I quickly took advantage of. I gotta say no matter how long I stay in Peru for I still can't get used to cold showers, as strange as it is though I do feel great and more refreshed after one. I guess its the shock of cold water hitting your skin that I can't get used too, even in scorching hot weather...oh well. We freshened up a bit, I added some more sun tan lotion to my cherry red nose and then headed out for an evening snack as well as some internet time.

When we returned to our hostel we were surprised to see that a crowd had gathered outside in the plazuela and a stage erected. We asked around and found out that there would be a poetry reading and concert in honor of the birthday of Cesar Vallejo, one of the great poets to come out of Peru and also considered one of the great poetic innovators of the 20th century. We watched the concert from our balconies while we prepared to head out to the night clubs and I took the opportunity to shoot the following:

Luna Rota was the name of the club we headed to that night, perhaps we arrived a little early but we got a sense that the people of Trujillo were a bit conservative in that a really good live salsa band was playing and no one was dancing. We arrived at about 10:30pm and the party didn't really start until midnight, and this is on a Friday night! no sir not in Lima, no way. Regardless we danced and toasted the night to our time in Trujillo, the rest of the nights details remain in this city, a city known for it's revolutionary spirit.

Saturday March 15th

In the morning we woke up a bit groggy and hungover, I took a much cooler shower then I'm normally used to in order to get the blood flowing. Stopping at a little diner we grabbed a quick breakfast that to most would look like dinner, Lomo Saltado on a bun.

We then headed out to the ruins of Chan Chan. The ruins are about a 15 minute taxi ride from Trujillo's center. We were dropped off at an entrance where there were other taxis waiting to drive you even closer to the ruins. This being our first time at the site we decided to just walk, it took us about 25 minutes to get to the ruins and it was a nice walk since cities on the coast enjoy very comfortable temperatures in the morning.

My cousin also had a radio built into his cellphone allowing us to hear the latest news and music. It was here that I found out about the scandal regarding NY Governor Spitzer, the early morning show was ripping on his so bad I almost wet myself but hey thats politics..

Getting back to Chan Chan, the city is the largest adobe city in the world. The layout of the complex is huge and only a small portion of it is accessible to tourists. There were several scaffolds and signs of reconstructions being made to the complex, it seems that the changing climate and the effects of La Niña are really taking a toll on this ancient city. Here are a bunch of photos of the site:

So is Chan Chan worth visting? Yes of course but having a guide with you is key. There are many facts about this complex that would elude the traveler who decides to walk through the site by himself. For example there are rooms with pillars that project your voice through acoustic wedges, there are also halls with optical illusions to make them seem bigger on the other end.

We spent the whole morning at Chan Chan returning to Trujillo in the early afternoon. The next city on our trek was Cajamarca, about a six hour bus ride through the Andes. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side as we climbed into the Andes and as the sun started to dim so did our hopes of a panoramic drive into the legendary Peruvian city.

We arrived in Cajamarca at about nine at night, once again we set off to the main plaza commonly referred to as the Plaza de Armas in South American cities. We had made friends with a lovely German backpacker who was led us to a hotel off the Plaza de Armas, once there I introduced myself and Karikuy to the owner so we could exchange information. He quickly escorted us to a room with a balcony overlooking the Plaza. This room had three beds and was rather large, it might just take the prize as the best room we've stayed in during our whole trip.

We got dressed and cleaned up a bit, it being a Saturday night it was obvious that we would check out the local nightlife, however at this point we were starving. Theres something about high altitude towns that make me very hungry, perhaps it's all the calories I'm burning, after all your heart pumps faster as your body tries to consume more oxygen from the thin atmosphere. We really gorged ourselves, after having some Chaufa for dinner we headed to a restaurant for some Pisco Sours and an omelet.

You might be thinking how it could be possible to even think about dancing after a meal like that, well they don't call Peru the gastronomical capital of the world for nothing. It seems as if each meal complements the next and with the food being so delicious it's hard to really feel full. And so rejuvenated and ready to explore the city we headed out for another intense night of dancing, drinking and meeting new people. The next day would be a little disappointing but in the end would work out to be a lot of fun.

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 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!