chiclayo, peru.

We will get the night bus to the peruvian boarder, this is mean´t to be the easiest crossing and then on to piura, the nearest town. So a pick-up taxi takes us back to the bus station and we say goodbye to vilcabamba, heading again to loja to change to the bus to peru. Our first land boarder crossing in SA, so we´re a little nervous, the combination of night time, police in military uniforms and large mustaches, just gives you the willies(I´m sure I didn´t have that cocaine in my pocket before I boarded the bus!)
A process that took far too long, (presumably the length of time is equal to the perceived importance of those involved) finally ushered us on our way and into to interior of peru.
Piura handed us a hint as to what to expect, in the rest of the journey south. Ecuador is very sedate in comparison, this city had motor rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, taxis, mopeds, private cars and animals all vying for space with each other, but also with the street vendors who seemed to have no idea where the road starts or ends. Therefore, we are left with an explosion of activity that eventually finds it´s equilibrium, and some form of order breaks out. It reminded me very much of india, chaotic, but absolutely fascinating.
We got a taxi into town with a couple of fellow travellers, managed to get some money changed and had a breakfast together. One, was a young female brit travelling on her own(like so many women we´ve met!) and the other, a young canadian lad who was very energetic, naive and a bit of a knob, but endearing enough not to try and get rid of.
Then we split our ways, they headed to the peruvian northwest coast and us to chiclayo, further south and really just to break up the journey to trujillo. Chiclayo was an extension of the madness visited upon us in the previous city. It is totally dominated by small yellow taxis, followed a close second, by collectivos. They are small mini-buses, of dubious condition, that prowl around the streets hunting down prospective punters and then jamming them all into a space that doesn´t exist. However, they are cheap and a great idea.
Chiclayo also has important ruins, tucume, but the journey there was more interesting than the site, collectivo and then motor rickshaw and then a walk through countryside. We did meet a massive school party of 8-10 year old girls who were also visiting the ruins, they crowded around us and assailed us with questions and wanted pictures with us to show their families. Once the last of them had been prized away from our lower limbs, we met a chimu dog for the first time. They are completely bald, except maybe for a Mahican, a black dry skin that is kind of leathery, and very good natured. This could be because they are so ugly, that any affection towards them, must be heaven sent. The site showed evidence of an ancient settlement, had some good views from the top, but was largely uninspiring. In hindsight we should have paid for a guide.
Back in the town, we also visited a massive market, renowned in the area, had fruit shakes, looked at the witch doctors section with thousands of herbal remedies and generally nosed about. We spent a few days here and became quite fond of it. Another bonus was the tv in our hotel room, the luxury of watching football and sherlock holmes, the bbc! On top of this, we found a favourite chicken and chips place (everywhere is chicken, nothing else) and so we pigged out with a big bottle of fanta in front of the tv, fantastic!

cat riding a horse

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Originally uploaded by finbowa

quito - peru, Vilcabamba

We caught a bus to Loja, a pleasurable ride of only 5 hours, but didn´t see anything of it as we imediately boarded another bus to Vilcabamba. Here we met Krishna (not the god) a Trinidadian who´s lived in London for quite a while and Juliet, who is swiss, and lives there now. They were headed for an eco lodge in Vilcabamba to volunteer for a bit, we were going to much more luxurious bungalow´s to chill out before the slumming it, that awaited us for the forseable future.
Vilcabamba is a small, pretty town set in stunning surroundings, mountains, hills, greenery in parts almost tropical.Our hostal was 2k up a hill, overlooking the town with spectacular views. Taxi´s were pick ups, so we chucked our backpacks and ourselves into the back and zoomed up the hill. Peiter greeted us, a German who runs the place with his brother and volunteers who work for keep. They have 3 hounds that patrol everywhere, a mum,dad and puppy who make it feel very homely. It´s beautifully laid out, with a restaurant, bar with pool table, pool and a mixture of rooms and bungalow´s on stilts with incredible views from their decks, all with hammocks to laze on. These cost about 16 quid a night, well over our normal budget for SA, but what you got for the money (breakfast , friut, yogurt, crepes, juice, coffee, included) made it well worth it. Ñow we´re on 5-8 quid a night.
The first day, we took a walk into the hills nearest to us, an undemanding 3 hour walk ending in town. Not that far into it, we came across a small shack selling drinks and snacks, and just outside were to indigina men getting pissed on beer. They were very friendly and we all shook hands and spoke in broken spanish. They managed to teach us quecha (indian language) for hello and wanted us to go with them and listen to one of them play music. We were tempted for the experience with indigina, but with them being a little pissed, we decided to thank them and explain that we had just started on a walk. Lot´s of hand shaking again and we left, feeling quite priviledged to have had such direct contact and communication with some indiginous people. The next incident was strange, suddenly around a corner, heading for us, came two donkeys/mule´s tethered together, saddled but riderless, at break neck speed with a dog sprinting at their heels barking and snapping. The front mule kept on bucking and kicking out at the poor mule at his tail while running. We stood completly still, fearing any movement might leathally put us in their path, they all sailed past and wound down the hill in this fashion, all in our view. They continued for a kilometre or so, until the lead mule managed to veer off the track and into a field. This pissed the dog off even more, so he tried to heard them back out of the field until he got booted by the lead mule and ran off squeeling in pain, there after keeping a healthy distance away. Now the mule´s didn´t know what they were doing, the rear one was dragged all over this field, through rough bush, up and down and a across, until finally some children and then a man appeared to try and retrieve them from their own lunacy. Absorbed as we were, we didn´t wait for the final outcome, we were hungry. As well as the drama´s, the scenery was magnificent and walking through the outskirts of town was fascinating, the small crops, homes with their animals, children watching us with suspicion, adults not so interested and more accustomed to gringos.
The next day we planned to climb mount Mandango, when we got up we thought we´d postpone it to another day, good decision. As we walked to the restaurant, down the path came Neil and Ashley, dirty clothes, no boots, walking in their socks, the soles of their feet obviously painful, heads low. They had got up at 4am and climbed Mandango to see the sun come up, at the top they´d walked along the ridge for about an hour hoping to come down on another path. Suddenly, from nowhere, first one and then four balaclavered men with guns ran towards them. They got them to strip down to their pants, took money, cards and a passport as well as their boots. One was whacked on the head with a gun because he was slow removing his boots, they then were told to run. It took them 2 1/2 hours to get back down in their socks.They were obviously shaken, but took it pretty well, the next day they were on a horse ride into the mountains along with us. The two policemen in town couldn´t really do much other than file a report for insurance. Ashley had to go back to Quito to get a tempory passport that would give him 5 days to get to Lima in Peru, where he could get a 7 month tempory passport.
Another day, we visited the nature reserve and eco-lodge that krishna and juliet were staying at. It is run by two Argentinian biologists and their family, who rely on volunteers to help them manage the site. They are learning about botony and have linked with university of Loja, who will examine and identify species of plant that they find, they have identified over 500 species up to now. They have crafted numerous trails around the reserve and have meticulously attached little signs to interesting plants identifying them, hundreds in total. Amongst so many, we saw the san pedro cactus, which contains a powerful hallucinagenic that attracts soap-dodgers to the area in numbers. There were lemon, tangerine and avocado trees and bamboo and coffee plants. They just pick a few coffee husks a day, dry them for a couple of days in the sun, extract the beans and then roast them, grind them and drink their own coffee. We had some with K&J and it was beautiful coffee, so bought some to carry with us.
We came back again to have lunch with K&J and had a great afternoon chatting and getting slowly drunk on chilian wine. We carried on into the evening and went to a bar in the town and met a woman who was convinced she had had a relationship with sinaid o´conner, but looked spookely like her, I think "she had issues". Things continued to deteriate as we met a Nigerian woman who claimed to be the wife of a man in a famous family in the pharmacutical industry. I won´t say the name becuase later we witnessed him hitting her in the face, we attempted to protect her and managed to keep her away while the man was evicted. She said she wouldn´t go back, but it was obvious that she would, as is so often the case, with all the money she might have now, she was still a slave.
We recovered the next day, which was very wet, unusual for this area at this time of year. In the evening we left to catch the night bus to Peru. We crossed the boarder at about 3am and had to get off the bus and spend ages waiting for the immigration to stamp the passports, however, this is mean´t to be the easiest boarder to cross. No bribes needed at least, so back on the bus and into Peru we go.

quito to peru cont - cuenca

Cuenca is so different to Quito, more of a large town feel to it, much more relaxed, feels safer, lovely colonial architecture, more comfortable to walk about. Having said that, while the advice in quito was to never walk at sundown, Cuenca was very deserted not long after and when we walked back to the hostal after going to an internet cafe, we felt a little nervous. The hostel, Macondo (presumably named after the Marquez novel I´m reading right now), was a beautiful colonial building with fantastic, enormous rooms with high ceilings, courtyards and a welcoming kitchen. Here we could have good coffee and in the evening share some wine with a fellow englishman, who now lives in switzerland. He was doing the reverse journey to us, heading northwards, having come from Argentina.Like everyone else we´ve met so far, he eulogised about how beautiful, safe, friendly and cheap Argentina can be. We had a great evening listening to the ricky gervais/karl pilkington podcasts from his ipod, regretting that we didn´t sort out podcasting before we left. The problem would always be subscribing to the latest ones when on the move, because you have to synch your ipod to a pc (which is restricted), but he had found a way around it using juice, xplay and podnova. We also met an american family who were staying there for two months to learn spanish, both parents were doctors and had a young son. They confirmed the need for nurses in the states and that some can get paid as much as 90$k a year. Nice, interesting people.
The indigena are still quite visable here, but it stuck me that they are very much like ghosts walking alongside the modern world, reminders of a lost ancient world and connection to nature. It is if, they are not real and if you attempted to touch them your hand would go right through, only the odd mobile phone in their hands, says any different. In this way, it is like being in a marquez novel when in south america. Imagine walking down a central london street and in the background, always there, are poeple from dickensian times or earlier, 17thC peasants rubbing alongside us, worlds apart.

Papallacta

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Originally uploaded by finbowa

quito to peru

Quito is not high, in Andean terms, but the altitude did affect us. Just climbing the stairs of the hostal would leave you a little breathless, so Cusco at twice the altitude will be interesting. We are quite glad to be leaving behind the polution and the reports from other travellers of robberies in the city and else where, so we head for Papallacta on a local bus.
The thermal springs are mean´t to be the best in Ecuador and they don´t dissapoint. Set amongst beautiful scenery, next to a river with hills on all sides and the snow capped Antisana volcano standing ominously in the background, you can lay in hot pools and admire it all. There are about 9 pools of varying temperatures, beautifully crafted and maintained by the hotel next door. It closes at 9pm, so you can wollow in hot sulphur water and look up at the stars in the night sky, fantastic!
The next day we returned to Quito for one night and then caught the bus in the early morning to Cuenca. A journey that was supposed to take 9 hours, ended up delivering us to this laid back colonial city, 12 hours later. It took an hour and a half just to get out of Quito, the bus stops on every corner trying to get punters not just on the seats, but packing the aisles as well. The clouds were low, so we got no view of the volcano´s on route and then we struggled up into the mountains, lovely scenery but felt like we would never get out of them. Then we broke down, which precipitated nearly every male passenger (except me) to get off and look under the bonnet and fiddle with engine. Whether one person new what they were doing, or whether the combination of many mechanical minds in tandem had the effect, the result was us limping off again after about 45 minutes. The last 2 hours were spent looking at the driver through his rear view mirror, his eyes were drooping and his colleuge (not co-driver) didn´t appear to be proding him with a very large pole. I was willing him to keep on putting cigarretes in his mouth to provide some kind of stimulus to his rapidly deteriating senses. Nicotine, it appears, delivered us safely to Cuenca.

earthquake in Peru

We are currently in Trujillo, about 500k north of Lima.The epicentre has been reported to be in the Ica region, including Pisco, around 300k south of Lima. Wednesday evening, at about 7pm local time, a shock meassuring 7.9 was detected, this was felt in Lima causing considerable panic in the city, enough for people to evacuate buidings and go out on to the streets. People here in Trujillo have reported feeling a tremor at that time, including our host at the hostel, who might have experienced some pre-activity the day before, saying he was faint and a little nauseas for a brief time. I felt nothing at all I´m glad to say.
The situation now, after about 24 hours, is that 437 are confirmed dead including 200 who were worshiping at mass and died under the collaped church. 70-80% of both Pisco and Ica´s buildings are destroyed, it is a very poor area and poor quality buildings, power, water etc is all down. It is reported that health workers broke their strike to go to the affected areas to help with the relief effort.Earlier today we were told that 120 buses were stranded in the area and all flights were cancelled, that was quickly lifted, but the fate of the buses and the people who want to get out is unknown at the moment.
As to us, it feels strange and a little unsettling, that we were heading right down in to this region, planning to arrive in Pisco next week and then on to Ica. So now we will have to revise our plans, we are considering a bus to Huaraz in the mountains for some treking and then on to Lima via Caral (les recommendation). We might then fly to Cusco, which can be done for 40 quidish, rather than 24 hours on a bus for not much less. There doesn´t appear to be much inbetween, or if there is, the posh buses don´t stop there, so local buses would take decades to cover small distances.Watch this space.

terrace view of old Quito

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Originally uploaded by finbowa

Quito, Ecuador

I like Quito, the first day was about acclimatising to the altitude and resting.After a short walk around the old town I wasn´t immediately impressed. Some nice colonial buildings, churches and the basilica, but the streets were shabby and a little unnerving. I remembered the smell, mainly exhaust fumes and bad sanitation, it was in Guatemala and India as well. More signs appear to attest to this being a developing country, rather than 1st or 2nd world. Shoe shine boys as young as 6 or 7 years old making a living on the streets, indigenous faces, grubby and ancient. A 4 or 5 year old girl runs down the busy road to board buses and sell sweets. Beggars are from the indigena as well, so disconnected from the proud people who stubbornly hang on to their ancient culture and refuse to assimilate into the modern world. Only agreeing to meet it on their terms, to sell their wares at the market.
After a visit to the new city, visiting a museum, art gallery and collecting bus tickets, we returned to the old town and felt so much more at home. I started to appreciate my surroundings more and felt more confident after working out how to get about the city, it´s got more to it than I originally thought. The U.S was a holiday, now we feel like we´re travelling and it feels good. I can´t quite believe we´re in south america, and Peru, Bolivia and Argentina await.
The hostel (secret garden) has a fantastic roof terrace overlooking the old town, the view of the city terracing up the mountain side, on all sides, is equally impressive whether day or night. On the terrace there is one long table, a hammock and a kitchen where breakfast and evening meals are cooked. It is mainly used by the backpackers, it is actually open to the public, and serves 3 course meals of high quality food for about $5. It is unsafe to out after dark, unless you get a taxi, so from sun down we all catch the view of the lights coming on, music is playing, beer is sold and everyone gets chatting about their travels. Volunteers work for their keep and run the place, overseen by some paid managers who have made a life here. They deal with all the organisation of rooms, meals, trips, internet,baggage storage etc, while locals are employed to do the laundry and cooking. It is very well run and nicely quirky.
Next we go to Papallacta a 2 hour bus ride from Quito, to visit some hot springs and then on to Cuenca for a couple of nights and then Vilcabamba, near to the Peruvian boarder.
More pics are on flickr.com and you can search for anyone´s photos of a place we are visiting. This will be the last post for about 7-10 days as we might be incommunicado for a while- see the link to the Vilcabamba hostel earlier on in the blog to see why. Will try to post more on the above as soon as possible.