Autor: paulakallert

​We arrived yesterday in Yurimaguas after one week in Chachapoyas. Since we were both sick when we arrived, we just took it slow for a few days and relaxed. The hostel was awesome and we went out a few times in the evening with a group of people we met there. We cooked a lot while we were there and had two movie nights in our room, with popcorn and a white bed sheet for our projector. Apart from that we walked around the city a little bit and went to the nearby canon de sonche, which is a Canyon with a great view.

We went on two tours, one to Kuelap, and one to Gocta Falls. Kuelap is an centuries old stone fortress on top of a mountain, and has an impressive size. It is apparently called the “Machu Pichu of the north”. Since we are not going to Machu Pichu, we at least saw the northern equivalent. The guide could tell us a lot about the history and the different parts of it. The Gocta Falls were very impressive, but the best thing was the path, through a jungle forest. We decided not to swim in the waterfall basin, since we were still a little bit sick and wanted to be well when we arrived in the Amazon forest.

Yesterday, on Max birthday, we took a bus for 10 hours to go to Yurimaguas. On the bus we had birthday-pancaces and Max blew out a lighter. In the hostel we decided not to go to Iquitos, since it is apparently like Lima in the jungle. We are going to take a tour from here to the Reservation National Pacaya-Samiria. Here it is 34 °C and the hostel is right at the waterfront.

​We just arrived in Chachapoyas after a few days in Huanchaco/Trujillo and a few days in Chiclayo. In Trujillo we spent two days looking at ruins and had some relaxation time at the beach. Of course we saw ChanChan and the Huacas del Sol y de la Luna. We ate cerviche for the first time, which is raw fish with lemon sauce. And for the first time in what feels like forever, we had real coffee in a small café called chocolate café. Since they mostly serve instant coffee in Peru, it was a real treat. Also, they serve the best chocolate cake we ever had. On the beach, Paula got a sunburn. But it was sunny☺. We met a lot of awesome people at the hostel, with whom we went out eating burgers every evening and doing all the other touristy stuff.

In Chiclayo we had for the first time a hotel where there were no other people. We went to the big market and saw the sipan ruins. They just look like two big mountains, since nobody took care of them. But the museum was nice and had a lot of information.

​On the 8 hour drive from Lima to Huaraz we had the best bus trip ever. The busses here are so nice, and very comfortable. If we bought a first class ticket we would have the same seats like in a first class flight.

On the first day we took a short hike to a viewpoint from which we could see all of Huaraz and some snowy mountains. The same day we met Marina from Greece and Nora from Germany, who also wanted to do the Santa Cruz hike without a tour. We planned together for one day and bought food and other stuff and then started at 5 o’clock to take two collectivos to Vaqueria, where the trek started. Collectivos are small, old busses with images of saints on them. People apparently have to pray a lot when they get on them.

The trek was amazing, even though it always started raining in the afternoon, so by the time we set up the tents we were soaked. But in the morning we could always dry our stuff. Max and Nora went swimming in a glacier lake at 4420 meters, while there was ice swimming on it.

On the last two days of hiking Max hurt his knee so that we just had some slow last days. We went to Chavin de Huantar and one of the glaciers at 5000m. On the bus to Chavin Paula sadly lost her Panda hat. RIP.

Next we are going to go to Trujillo, a city further north known for ruins and surfing.

We just spend one week in Lima, the enormously big city. But first things first. When we got to Miami, our last stop before Lima, the flight was overbooked and they were looking for people who were willing to stay behind. Since we are in no hurry, we volunteered. In the end, there was enough space for all the passengers and we got upgraded to first class.

Arriving in our hostel we got our space in the 8person room. On the first day we joined a free walking tour of downtown Lima where we could see some historical buildings and have a first touch with Peruvian culture. But we were also told that Lima is very western in comparison with the rest of the country, so this should be a good place to get used to Peru slowly.

During the week we went downtown with a lot of different groups and people we met at the hostel to see the botanic garden, the catacombs and the fountain park. It is amazing how many different nationalities there are here at the hostel, from all over the world.

Max is taking a Spanish class right now to be able to have a basic conversation here, since most Peruvians don’t speak English.

Our next stop is going to be Huaraz, from where we will do the Santa Cruz trek and perhaps some other treks in the mountains. We have to first stay in the city for a few days to get used to the height, since Huaraz is at 3000m and the highest point of the Santa Cruz treck is at 4700m. From Huaraz we are going  up north and then to Iquitos.