As we will not have internet for at least 4 days, the next update will be on Saturday February the 2nd at the earliest.
Caro and Dave
Monday, 28 January 2008
Day 24-25 Trujillo
Trujillo is a place to have a break, well deserved after 16 hours on the bus....
We stayed at the nearby beach village of Huanchaco, as we arrived at 6 in the morning, everything was closed so we went straight to the beach.
We relaxed by enjoying the local "ceviche" (marinated fish), and looking at surfers and fishermen on straw canoes.
And as usual, we took some time to plan the trip and catch up on our diaries.
In the hotel where we stayed we met Shota (Japan) and Tim (Australia), going down the continent on their motorbikes.
We spent the day with them at the temple of the sun and the moon, newly discovered since they were burried under the sand. Excavation are still taking place. All colours and sculptures of the temples are original, they were not restaured, and are extremly well kept, knowing that they are over 1000 years old. They belonged to the Moche culture which was prior to that of the Incas. We had amazing views over the desert, the irriguated valley and Trujillo.
We stayed at the nearby beach village of Huanchaco, as we arrived at 6 in the morning, everything was closed so we went straight to the beach.
We relaxed by enjoying the local "ceviche" (marinated fish), and looking at surfers and fishermen on straw canoes.
And as usual, we took some time to plan the trip and catch up on our diaries.
In the hotel where we stayed we met Shota (Japan) and Tim (Australia), going down the continent on their motorbikes.
We spent the day with them at the temple of the sun and the moon, newly discovered since they were burried under the sand. Excavation are still taking place. All colours and sculptures of the temples are original, they were not restaured, and are extremly well kept, knowing that they are over 1000 years old. They belonged to the Moche culture which was prior to that of the Incas. We had amazing views over the desert, the irriguated valley and Trujillo.
Caro & Dave
Saturday, 26 January 2008
Day 23 PERU: Tumbes
We left Cuenca at 1pm to reach the border before sunset. The drive down the mountain (Cuenca is 2500m high), is amazing, in less than 1 hour we go from green high plaines to desert and then to tropical vegetation. These 2 pictures were taken with only 15 min between them!
Around 6pm we reached the border after more than 100km of Banana plantation. The official immigration is really easy, and we needed about 5 min in each country.
The actual border looks like one single town and it´s extremely busy, with hundreds of people going in both directions.
We had no problem, except that we changed money, and instead of the official change of 2,9 soles, they tricked us very easily by changing to 2,09 soles! We were so busy checking that the notes were real that we didn't notice....
We took a private taxi to the first town Tumbes, and from there waited for our night bus to Trujillo, about 10 hours away. Humid climate with no air conditionning.... In this picture waiting for the 8pm bus.
Around 6pm we reached the border after more than 100km of Banana plantation. The official immigration is really easy, and we needed about 5 min in each country.
The actual border looks like one single town and it´s extremely busy, with hundreds of people going in both directions.
We had no problem, except that we changed money, and instead of the official change of 2,9 soles, they tricked us very easily by changing to 2,09 soles! We were so busy checking that the notes were real that we didn't notice....
We took a private taxi to the first town Tumbes, and from there waited for our night bus to Trujillo, about 10 hours away. Humid climate with no air conditionning.... In this picture waiting for the 8pm bus.
David
Friday, 25 January 2008
Day 23 - Cuenca
At 4:30 a.m we arrived at the bus station of Cuenca after a six hour tiring bus drive...
Everything was closed and we had to wait until seven to leave our backpacks in a storage room, in order to visit the city without carrying them.
Finally we got out of the station and took a bus to the city center, which is in a well preserved colonial and republican style.
In the main square of Cuenca there is a huge romanic brick cathedral. Very impressive from the outside and also well restaured.
After our small city center tour, we went down to the river that crosses the city. The water is transparent, with big stones and green grass around...very impressive for a latinamerican city!
On the river side there are small cafeterias, where you can find local and international products like "empanadas chilenas", which we had for breakfast.
Our time was going out, since we just had 5 hours to visit the city, so we decided to go up to the city "mirador", where you have a great view of whole Cuenca and especially of the cupples of the main cathedral.
We came down walking from the mirador, so at the end we were really exhausted. A big hamburger (the best ever!) gave us energy to continue our trip at 1:00 p.m. to "Huaquillas" (on the ecuadorian border), since we wanted to cross the border during the day, and as you will see it was a good idea...
Everything was closed and we had to wait until seven to leave our backpacks in a storage room, in order to visit the city without carrying them.
Finally we got out of the station and took a bus to the city center, which is in a well preserved colonial and republican style.
In the main square of Cuenca there is a huge romanic brick cathedral. Very impressive from the outside and also well restaured.
We discovered a very good and clean local market, where you can find tropical fruits and products. Very colorful with nice vendors. You can also buy fresh pork as you can see on the photo!
After our small city center tour, we went down to the river that crosses the city. The water is transparent, with big stones and green grass around...very impressive for a latinamerican city!
On the river side there are small cafeterias, where you can find local and international products like "empanadas chilenas", which we had for breakfast.
Our time was going out, since we just had 5 hours to visit the city, so we decided to go up to the city "mirador", where you have a great view of whole Cuenca and especially of the cupples of the main cathedral.
We came down walking from the mirador, so at the end we were really exhausted. A big hamburger (the best ever!) gave us energy to continue our trip at 1:00 p.m. to "Huaquillas" (on the ecuadorian border), since we wanted to cross the border during the day, and as you will see it was a good idea...
Caro
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Day 21-22 Baños
After about 4 hours bus drive, we arrived in Baños de Agua Santa, at 1800m on the Eastern side of the Andes, a gateway to the jungle, and at the foot of an active volcano. Here at the bus station with vendors of sugar cane.
We had planned to stay here only for the afternoon, but seeing all the tourist offers that were available here we decided to stay 1 night and signed up for 2 activities: Canyoning and Rafting!
We even had time to do Canyoning our first afternoon! 5 waterfalls with the highest of 25m! Here with our guide Franklin.
We came back frozen from this extreme sport, so we went to the thermal swimming pool... One of the pools was so hot, one couldn´t get in. These thermal waters have given the name to the pueblo "bath of holly water".
In the evening we took a fake "Chiva" (in fact just a truck!) to go up to a mirador to see the village, and if the sky is free of cloud, we could also see the lava of the volcano... But it was cloudy...
In the morning, we had breakfast on the roof terrace of the hostel before going for our rafting day. We went all the way down to the jungle where the Andes finish!
Spectacular!!
Fortunately, on the way to Riobamba (next stop after Baños), we had great views over the volcano!
We have just arrived in Riobamba and we are waiting for the bus to Cuenca. This is the first time that we update our blog in "real time"
Caro and Dave
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