Hey, What's Going On in Peru?

¡Hola familia y amigos!

After a lazy, hung over day in beautiful Cuenca, we went to the bus terminal to take an overnight, 12 hour trip into Peru!

As we were waiting for the bus we spent a few moments writing our final Ecuadorian post cards. We were told that the main bus station had a buzón (mailbox) and we figured that it would be very easy to write the cards and send them before we boarded. Once written, it became apparent that, in fact, there was no buzón in the station. There wasn't even one in the neighborhood! As we asked around we kept hearing that the mailboxes are only open during the day (which defeats the purpose of a mailbox) and that we would have to travel to the only post office in town the following morning.

We only had about an hour before we boarded, but we were determined to mail out postcards from Ecuador, and this was our final chance to do so! We made a mad dash to the post office, and after poking around we discovered that Brandt was able to stick his arm through the metal fencing and reach the drop slot of the buzón! If you receive an Ecuadorian postcard, then know that the mailing of them was quite the feat!

The bus ride itself was uneventful until the border crossing. Bleary eyed (it was about 2 in the morning) we groggily lined up in the Ecuadorian line to exit, then walked to the next line, which was for Peru, to get our entry stamp. About five years ago this particular border crossing station was widely considered the most dangerous in South America. However, at 2 AM, we found that the station was sleepy and oddly convenient.

Our trip continued, and after two police stops,  where all passports were examined, we made it into the city of Chiclayo.

Honestly, we chose to stop in Chiclayo because if we went straight to Lima, we would be on the bus for 26 hours. Therefore, Chiclayo provided a convenient city to crash for a night.

There was, unfortunately, little to do in Chiclayo. It is a medium-sized city with an overabundance of taxis (As I am writing this on a bus, I literally passed 24+ taxis waiting for a traffic light). The geography is of a desert, and it is hot! Why do people stay in a dusty desert town, you ask? Well, this area is home the site of a major archeological discovery.

The Mochica empire thrived around 1000 BC and was known for its excellent pottery, gold work, and pyramids. This area even used to have several, block-type pyramids. The museum a little outside of town holds many artifacts unearthed in an archeological discovery from the 1980s.

We found the museum fascinating, but unfortunately, we can't provide pictures of anything as cell phones were not allowed in the exhibit. We had to actually store our phones in a locker before we were admitted!

Believe me, when I say that the museum was wonderful, and if you ever find yourself avoiding a 26-hour bus ride to Lima from Ecuador, Chiclayo is a decent place for a quick stop.

Currently, Brandt and I are on a schwanky bus to Trujillo (schwany: adj., a superlative form of swanky). Not only are the seats leather and spacious, but the bus is a double decker, there is air conditioning, free snacks, and drinks (non-alcoholic unfortunately)! It feels like an airline!

Stay tuned for updates from Trujillo. Our next goal is to find a Pisco Sour and some fresh ceviche!

Ciao,
Rob

Hey, Magical forest

A friend we made suggested a city about 6 hours from Guayaquil. Las Cajas national park is a huge refuge high in the Andes that is known for its spectacular vistas. But first we needed to get there.

It started like any other bus ride, but things started really moving once we hit the rain. We lurched to a stop and many of us wiped the sleep from our eyes to see a river of mud crossing the road from the hillside. One hundred yards up, the hill slid due to the soggy weather. 

We sat. The driver was doing something or another while the temperature started to rise. He'd  turned off the air in expectation of the cool mountain air, but we'd yet to reach it and outside was 85 degrees, inside was approaching 100. We cooked.

An hour or so later the road crews showed up with heavy equipment to move the sludge in order for us to pass. Mothers were fanning their babies to keep them cool. Finally, we moved and fresh air entered the windows.

We stayed at Hostal Mallki just outside the historic center of Cuenca. The owner Andres restored the place by hand with a great result. We were eger to go exploring the colonial center.

The city abounds with churches. Nearly every corner has one if not two. We had reached the town after dark so we had the real pleasure of seeing the buildings with their lighting.

Next morning we awoke early to go to Las Cajas national park. The taxi driver took us to the main bus terminal, where we conveniently boarded another taxi to go to the transfer terminal on the other side of the city. By this time we'd missed the morning buses (8am and 830) and had to wait for the next at 1040. We went for an adventure.  

A block away from the Occidental bus office we found a huge open air market filling several square blocks. We wondered the food area and gawked at the food handling. Whole raw chickens skinned sweating more than the two of us. Fish weren't kept on ice, no plastics separating the food from the guests, not a single glove in use. I suddenly saw how important it was to have your food cooked fully because it has most likely picked up a few ickies that would give a tourist the trots or worse.We decided bread would be our lunch with some red grapes.

Forty minutes outside of town lie las Cajas named for their box shape when viewed from above. Hiking begins at 4000m which makes your lungs burn and your head pound. The park was carved by glaciers that have long since gone away. We were told route 1 (pink route) was a favorite and expected three hours hiking.

It must have rained through the night because  the ranger laughed when she saw our waterproof shoes and suggested an alternative hike. We were unswayed by her wise guidance and set off. Fifteen minutes later we were covered in mud to the knees and had nearly lost a shoe in some quicksand. We pressed on undaunted.

The path turned into a forest which I can only describe as magical. At neary 13000ft in altitude, these trees have weathered the constant wind, but have warped in every direction as if they were scribbled by a toddler.  Their paper thin smooth bark is translucent brown. The hike just got unexpectedly awesome.

We had some weather and lighting move in after passing the forest so we had to high tail back to the ranger station, slipping and sliding the whole way. We waited on the side of the road for a Cuenca bound bus to get us home.

That night was a bit blurry. Andres broke out some moonshine aguardiente called Pajaro Azul. Traditionally they make the stuff with a raw chicken which turns the booze blue hence the name "blue bird". 

Pablo Chichel and Andres jammed until three thirty in the morning with some very entertaining renditions of sings you know and their own compilations. Kathy, a very kind Canadian, rob and myself did our best to keep a beat on the box drum. The next morning was tough, to say the least, but we still made it out to the museum and ruins at Pumapungo.

Hey, Guayaquil

Recovering from the Galapagos was a priority when returning to the mainland. We overspent and got too much sun. We needed a couple days at a budget  hostel and home cooking sounded perfect. We overnighted to Guayaquil on the south coast of Ecuador  and found our way to the Dreamkapture hostel.

The hostel is also renowned for its Galapagos travel agency, go figure. The location is convenient to the airport and bus terminal but kinda far from anything else. Judging from the electric fence on the walls of the hostel, the hostel's neighborhood is probably not where you wanna go for a night stroll. The undersized dipping pool was an oasis fro the day's heat.

Guayaquil is Ecuador's largest city and an important port. The Malecon 2000 is a seawall built next to downtown containing amusements, malls, gardens, and restaurants. We strolled along while people watching until the soccer game started on TV and air conditioning was calling our names.

The other odd thing about Guayaquil is its iguanas that live in a park in the middle of downtown. These guys were huge, but unlike their Galapagos cousins they prefer to live in a dirty urban park and get molested by fat mouth breathing tourists.