Nothern Peru

After our week in Cuenca we headed 5 hrs south to Vilcabamba, a tranquil little town sitting on the floor of a beautiful valley. It is known as the valley of longevity because supposedly a higher than average number of inhabitants live to be over 100 years old. Whether or not that´s true I can´t say, but regardless, it´s got a very laid back atmosphere and is an easy place to while away a few days.

Mandango mtn, Vilcabamba

Hilary and I spent a relaxing few days here at a hostal 2km uphill of town. With sweeping views of the town below and surrounding mountains, the hostal was a bit more mid-range priced (10 bucks a night) then we would usually opt for, but, sometimes you just have to treat yourself. We spent a good part of our time here relaxing and reading with an occasional bike ride into town to use the internet or use the book exchange. One day we took off in the morning for a nearby 4 hour hike up to Mandango mtn. This turned out to be a spectacular hike! after an hour or so slog up a 1000 ft in the hot sun, we arrived at the top of the moutain with some stunning 360 degree views of the surrounding moutains and nearby Podocarpus National Park. For about 2 hours we traversed these amazing ridges that sometimes narrowed to less than 2 ft wide and dropped off about 600-1000 ft of 50-60 degree slope on either side, sketchy!

Traversing the knife ridges near Mandango mtn.

At this point in our trip, being just a few days away from expired visas, we had to make a decision on which way to head south into Peru, we had 2 options: One was to head 1 hr north back to Loja and catch a 8 hr bus ride to Piura, Peru, with a easy stop at the border to deal with those formalities, OR, head directly south to Chachapoyas via 2 days of bad-dirt roads with difficult, convoluted transportion schedules, and towns with little in the way of tourist ammenities. We choose the latter, of course.

The information we had on the transportation logistics was a few years old and we were dealing with the rainy season (in the rainy season travel can be made difficult by the landslides that plague most of the Andes, especially when you leave the pan-american hwy). Also we knew that at a few points along the way we would have to wait for collectivo-taxis (imagine a toyota hatchback that will not travel until there are at least 5 people available for the journey) to fill up before we could move on to the next small town, and that it was desirable to make the journey with at least 4 people so at each point you have to catch a collectivo, your group mostly fills it up.

We lucked out. The night before we left, at dinner, we were approached by a couple from Quebec, Sebastion and Barbra, who were also planning on leaving the next day. A meeting time was set and the hostal even provided a lunch.

Theres going to be feast tonight!

The next morning started at 5:30 a.m. We waited on the road just outside of the hostal for our 5 or 6 hr bus to Zumba, luckily when it arrived there were seats available and we wouldnt have to stand for the whole trip, YES! The ride to Zumba parralleld Podocarpus Natioal Park and the Rio Mayo with nice views into the river gorge and some beautiful un-touched country, quite an enjoyable ride actually. In the small, dirty, humid town of Zumba we had a lay-over for about 3 hours untill a ranchero (Delivery stlye truck with a covered area made of wood, seats about 30 people) was to leave for the small border town of La Balsa. Also in Zumba we met an German kid ,Oliver, who was making the trip by himself. Upon informing him of the advantage of traveling in numbers, he decided to join us.

The ranchero was similar to the kind of truck that would take you from to car to the ticket gates at Disneyland, and other than a roof, it is was wide open. This meant we were vulnerable to the onslaught of childern with water ballons and buckets of water anxiously awaiting the few vehicles that drive through their village daily (in preparation for Carnaval, which was just a few days out). I thought I would be smart and so fashioned a water gun out of a water bottle, unfortunately this backfired and I became the main target, it was a good thing is was hot out.

Crossing into Peru.

We were dropped off in La Balsa where we exchanged some dollars in Peruvian Soles, then proceeded to the Ecuadorian immigration office to interrupt the immigration officials game of computer poker and get our exit stamps. A quick walk across and bridge and we were in Peru. One more stop at the Peruvian immigration office to get our passports stamped and in less than a hour we were on our way.

Waiting just outside the immigration office were a few collectivo taxis ( small toyota hatchbacks) waiting to take people to San Ignacio via a 3 hour long rutted out dirt road.

San Ignacio had no real qualities to boast about, a dusty border-type town with a certain air of depression about it. We picked one of the 2 hostals to stay at for the night, ate some lousy food, drank some rum (for a sleeping aid of course), and still proceeded to get a lousy nights rest. Thankful to see the light of day, our group awoke early and ate a lousy breakfast before setting off to find a collectivo to Jaen, nearly 3 hrs away. As we approached the corner where the collectivos collected, we met another traveler by the name of Conner, a very nice guy from Ireland. Conner, who was also looking for a collectivo, was particularly happy to see us since 5 other travelers going in the same direction meant he could save some money sharing rides, however, for us it meant one more person to pack into a already small collectivo. Despite the possibilities of a day full of car rides that would turn out to be even more uncomfortable, we all crammed in and off we went. Having Conner around turned out to be a great pleasure, he was a interesting person to chat with and, he could speak great spanish, which helped out many times throught the next week.

Jaen turned out to be quite a bustling little city full of moto-taxis (rickshaw 3-wheeled motorcyles with seating for 3, or 4, probably even more for that matter), it was quite a sight actually, not one car on the road only these moto-taxis. Our stay here was short, asking around we quickly found the collectivo station and loaded into another small toyota for a 1.5 hr ride to Bagua Grande. The ride to Bagua Grande turned out to be one of the more pleasant of the day, upon leaving town the dirt road turned to pavement and we were doing 60 m.p.h., YES.

Once again we found ourselves getting dropped off in a dirty little town a mile from the collectivo station. So, we get a ride in a moto-taxi to the collectivo station, here the driver tells us he is not allowed to have 6 people in one car, and that we will need to use 2 vehicles, but, he won´t leave until each car is full. Having no other options, and crossing our fingers that there might be some locals that want to go to Pedro Ruiz that day, we sat in the Polleria (chicken focused restaurant) next door for a nice lunch, when we finished, to our surprise, some locals had showed up. We were a happy bunch, knowing that we were a 1.5 hrs to the transportation hub of Pedro Ruiz, and after that we had only one last 1.5 hr leg to final destination: Chachapoyas.

When in another country, I try to keep everything in perspective as best as I am able, but when we arrived at Pedro Ruiz the ¨Transportation hub,¨ I was expecting a some type of bus station, a large gas station perhaps, but when we got dropped off my expectations were smashed. There was no bus station, no gas station, not even a busy corner with busses and taxis zooming by, what we found was a combi (van) parked in a garage with the driver sleeping in it and about a dozen locals waiting around for the ride, needless to say this gave me a real good laugh, it is a 3rd world country after all. We managed to find a taxi company and promptly paid them extra money to get the 6 of us out of the ¨Hub¨ and off to Chachapoyas.

Immediately after leaving Pedro Ruiz I closed my eys for a nice little nap, but before I could fall asleep we come to a stop: A roadblock. We find out the road to Chachapoyas is only open 2 times a day between 4 and 6 A.M. and 7 to 9 p.m, I look at my watch, its only just after 3 o clock, Damn, foiled again. We spend the next few hours reading, playing hacky-sack, and just chillin out. At 7:00 we hop in the taxi and what happens for the next hour is not unlike a unsanctioned, all-out ralley race. The dry dirt and 3 cars ahead of us create a dust that our headlights can only penetrate far enought to allow us to see hairpin turns with about a second of reaction time, this is no reason to slow down though. From what I could tell the one lane road that they are building has basically been dug out of the side of a vertical-walled river canyon, by means of under-cutting the cliff and dropping the earth into the river, creating a road in a semi-cave. Still the drivers hands on the steering wheel are white knuckled as they try and vie for a better position in the line of cars racing to the finish line, or I mean Chachapoyas. Althought I never asked, I assume the drivers needed to make it to Chachapoyas and back before the road closed for the night, seems like a dangerous scenario to me.

After arriving in Chachapoyas and getting some dinner, the six of us sat down with the owner of the hostal we were staying at to discuss some possible tours in the area. Normaly we enjoy figuring out the logistics involved in seeing the ¨Sights,¨ but being as tired as we were, a 3 day, 30 dollar a day tour sounded pretty good, and somehow within 10 minutes the whole group decided to go for it. After a rest day, the 6 of us were to spend 3 days walking and riding mules on pre-Incan trails through the area known as the Gran Vilaya, visiting archeologicals sights that have just recently been found, overnighting in small villages, and finshing up with a day at Kuelap, a 2000 year old pre-Incan ruin, the pride of the Chachapoyan people (´people of the clouds´).

Country living just outside Chachapoyas. This wall is to keep the cows in, imagine the work involved.

A photo of us during a day hike from Chachapoyas.

The first stop on our trek was to Karajia, a typical Chachapoyan funerary site in which several sarcophagi sit about 100 fet up on a sheer cliff face. This is where the most important poeple were buried (chiefs, shamans, warriors), overlooking the village below. From there we made our way to the Valle de Belen where the Rio Huaylla snakes its way along the neon green valley floor.

Sarcophogi. Made of mud and straw. 800 yrs old.

Our guides-in-training.

Valle de Belen, Actually there was 2 more valleys like this downstream.

From the far end of the valley we hiked up into the mountains and back down into another valley to the town of Condon. We saw several ruins along the way which have been pretty well taken over by the jungle and were barely noticeable from the trail. We were also treated to great views of the surrounding area, green rolling hills and mountains that seem to go on forever. The descent into Condon was a long, steep downhill slog and we were happy to get there in time to watch the sunset on the back deck. Condon can only be reached by foot and is miles from the nearest road. The accommodations were about as basic as it gets but it was a really enjoyable place to spend a night. After bathing in the creek we went next door to the house that also serves as the town bar because it´s the one place that sells beer. We had a great time chatting with some locals, playing Sapo (a Peruvian bar game where you try and toss matel discs into a frog´s mouth), and dancing. It´s been really interesting to see how modern technology is working its way into some of these communities. For instance, this house has floors made of dirt, and wooden benches for living room furniture, yet they have a really nice TV and DVD player.

One of many recently discovered ruins.

Enjoying some cheap rum on the deck on our first night in Congon.

A typical Peruvian breakfast: Plantains, eggs, yucca, rock solid bread, juice, and real coffee (not typical). Every part of the meal was grown in the back yard, including the coffee.

Stone mortar the family uses for herbs, coffee, anything really.

The community shower/laundromat.

The next morning, saddling up for a long ride.

The next day we started out on horse/mule back. I´ve done very little horseback riding and the few times I have it´s been a fun, relaxing way to go for a hike without actually having to hike. This was much different. I never would have thought horse back riding could be so terrifying! We went over some really rough terrain, and I found it quite scary to be sitting on a horse as it´s slipping around in the mud trying to run up a steep slope that drops away to a cliff on one side, and just barely making it. There were several times when I really thought my horse was going down, he did end up on his front knees at one point, but he always seemed to pull through. I eventually came to trust him and was able to relax and enjoy myself. It ended up being a really fun day. The mules seemed to be more ideal than the horses for this terrain, less shakey in the legs. After a number of hours we stopped in the village (can you call it that if it only has one house?) of Lunches for a delicious lunch and a short nap in the sun before continuing on. We were continuously climbing throughout the day. We started out in the cloud forest, and ended up in the paramo, and covered a huge variety of landscapes in between.

Barbara and her horse.

Orchid garden at our lunch spot. Not a bad back yard view.

Post-lunch siesta

We eventually reached the highest pass at which point the horses/mules and their accompanying guides turned back and we finished the day on foot. Another long downhill walk and we were at our home for the night, a crappy hotel in Choctomal not nearly as idyllic as the first night, but it worked.

Some locals carpooling.

Hilary loves monkeys, and beer.

This monkey loves cats.

Super-classy display in the hotel´s dining room.

The next day we went to the pre-Incan ruins of Kuelap, a huge walled-in city perched on top of a limestone mountain. It´s said that more stones were used in the construction here than in the Great Pyramid in Egypt. It´s really an impressive site but it receives very few visitors because it takes so much effort to get there. The local people are very proud of Kuelap, and feel ripped off that it doesn´t get the attention that Machu Picchu gets. While I understand their frustration, the lack of visitors made for a really nice experience for us. Other than our group we saw maybe two other people.

Kuelap´s outer wall.

2000 year old circular house foundations and one of the entrances to the city.

Rhomboid friezes in the foundations.

The main entrance into Kuelap. 12 m tall walls for protection. The narrow entrances are believed to have been designed to force attackers to enter single-file, making them more vulnerable.

Bromileads.

After finishing up the trek we had one day to relax in Chachapoyas before parting ways with our new friends (except Oliver) and taking the night bus out to the coast. This was our first bus ride in Peru and we were pretty impressed. Of course we still barely slept, but it was a pretty comfy bus, it even had a stewardess! We arrived in Chiclayo at about 6 am, found a hotel where we could drop off our stuff, found some breakfast, and headed out to cram in as many sights as we could in a day. The area around Chiclayo is packed full of archaeological sites but the town itself doesn´t have much to offer so we only wanted to stay for one day. First we went to a really great museum that displays a lot of the artifacts found in one of the nearby burial sites, then we went to another ruin, called Tucume, where we realized that it is OK to be picky about ruins. There are SO many ruins in Peru and a lot of them are really amazing to see. Some of them, however, are better just to read about. After Tucume we caught a collectivo out to the beach and spent the evening swimming in the ocean and eating our first ceviche, mmmmm.

Sweet double-decker night bus.

I know this just looks like a big pile of dirt, but this was the largest mud structure ever built- Tucume.

This is where the witch doctors and shamans shop in Chiclayo.

From Chiclayo we said goodbye to Oliver and went to Trujillo then straight out to the beach town of Huanchaco to recover from some long travel days. We rented surf boards a couple of days and had a great time teaching ourselves how to surf. We were pretty pleased with how we did, considering it was the first time for both of us. We both managed to stand up and get some good long rides. I´m sure it wasnt´t pretty, but it was fun! One of the nicest changes going out to the coast was the food. Not being big meat eaters, but loving seafood, a ton of options opened up. We knew that soon we´d be heading back into the mountains so we tried our best to get tired of seafood, especially ceviche. Here are a couple favorites...

Ceviche. So good!

Chupe. A tasty seafood chowder

Reed boats in Huanchaco. The fisherman have been using these for 2000 years, with just a few slight modifications, like the use of plastic water bottles for extra flotation.

After a few relaxing days on the beach we headed back for the mountains, and for the last two weeks or so we´ve been hanging out between the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Negra mountain ranges, mostly in the town of Huaraz. We will save that for the next post though. Thanks for checking up on us!