Hold onto your hats, this could be another long one! It turned out that Chiclayo wasn´t about ruins and tombs but about museums about them so that made a bit of a change! There were quite a few museums around but we chose only to visit one, which is apparently one of the top 10 museums in the world. It`s called Museo Tumbas Reales – Royal Tombs Museum and is dedicated to some royal tombs that were found at Sipan, near Chiclayo. It was a really well laid out museum on three levels, which you started from the top, and solely had artefacts found in these tombs, which was quite interesting. It also had lots of information about how the tombs were laid out. They had loads of gold decorations and jewellery etc., which is quite unusual because that sort of thing has usually been taken by grave robbers. Apart from one tomb, I think, the rest were found intact. The exhibition was mainly about two tombs in particular – the Lord of Sipan and the Old Lord of Sipan and you wouldn´t believe how much stuff they were buried with!!! Unfortunately, we haven´t got any pictures as we weren´t allowed to take them and had to leave all of our stuff in a left luggage area. We were then checked over with a metal detector thing before we went in and we thought they were going to strip search Chris in the car park as the guy asked him to lift his shirt up!
After the museum, we grabbed some lunch and then headed back to Chiclayo, in one of the little minibus things. When we got back to Chiclayo, we thought it was about time we sorted out our transport for the next day and took a motorbike taxi to one of the bus companies – great fun! They`re basically motorbikes with a little seat thing on the back – you´ll have to have a look at the photos to get a better idea. It was a bit of a hassle getting the tickets as the company we went to didn´t go to where we wanted to go so we had to go back to where we´d just come from. Unfortunately, it was a normal bus, and we had to travel overnight so we weren´t really looking forward to that!
The next day, we checked out of our hotel as late as possible and spent the day doing not very much! Chiclayo was quite a nice place to be though because although it´s not particularly attractive or anything, we don´t think they get many tourists, which means that the people seem to have a nicer attitude. We found people to be really friendly and helpful without seeming to want anything in return, which was quite refreshing. (Chris – I had an enormous delicious burger in a café called El Bum a couple of blocks from the main plaza – highly recommend it!)
It got to time to get our bus and on we got. It wasn´t quite as uncomfortable as we imagined but we didn´t get the best night´s sleep. We wanted to get off at the place we had booked to stay for the next couple of nights, although neither we nor the driver were entirely sure where this was! As we thought we were getting closer, the driver called Chris into the cabin with him to ask for the address and have an extra pair of eyes to look for it. It turned out we still had a fair way to go but we found it eventually, arriving at 4:15 in the morning. We´d said that we´d be arriving at about 5:30 and so were a bit early and to start with we didn´t think we were going to be able to get in! Luckily, we managed to disturb someone and they showed us to our cabin on the beach! It was really nice – made of wood with the sound of the Pacific in the background. We collapsed into bed to get a few hours sleep.
There isn´t really very much to say about the next couple of days – they were completely relaxing and we didn´t do anything apart from walk to the next village on the first day to get some water, play a bit of frisbee on the beach, paddle in the sea a bit and watch the crabs and pelicans. The place we stayed was called Casa Tres Puntas and it was wonderful – so peaceful with a completely empty beach and fantastic food. It was just a pity that we couldn´t stay longer but we had to push on.
Saturday came along and it was time to make our way to our seventh and final country in South America – Ecuador. The guy from the hostel very kindly told us how to get across the border…oh, if only we´d listened…We got a little minibus to Tumbes, the nearest town, no problem. From there, we should have taken another minibus and then a motortaxi to the border. However, when we got off the minibus, we were met by a load of taxi drivers who all seemed to be shouting that they´d take us to the border for one sol, which sounded very good. Note to self – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! So, off we trotted…there was a guide as well as the driver and he seemed very friendly, chatting away and telling us a bit about the region. To all intents and purposes, it didn´t sound very nice, with one town that we went through called the white city because of all the cocaine that passes through! It also sounded quite dangerous and he was telling us to make sure that we looked after our documents very well as there were lots of people around who would steal them etc. They took us to Peruvian immigration and came in with us to make sure everything was OK…so far, so good. Then we approached the Ecuadorian border and that´s where the fun began. First of all, the guide bloke said that he needed $20 to pay for his permit to get in to Ecuador because there was going to be a protest the next day and therefore the border crossings were different or something – blatantly a lie. We protested, saying that he hadn´t said anything about this before and said that we didn´t have $20 and it seemed to pass and we crossed the border. Then they took us to this really dodgy looking little market place and said that we were going to have to walk to the bus station, which was about 1km away and the guide bloke was going to come with us. Then he asked for the $20 again, which we tried to protest about but he kept insisting and as our rucksacks were in the boot of the car and it didn´t seem that they were going to let us get them without paying, we reluctantly paid in soles. Then the driver said it was going to cost 40 soles for the journey! If we´d done what we should have done and taken the minibus and motortaxi, it would have cost about 6. Again, we didn´t feel like we had much choice. I only had a 50 soles note and the cheeky bastard of a guide then wanted the 10 soles change as a tip to take us to the bus company!!! I said no way and then the driver said he only had 6 change, which we took and got out of there, minus a guide. We had basically been very stupid and should have clarified the total cost before we got into a taxi – for anyone doing this crossing, go with a minibus and motortaxi! On hindsight, we should probably have dragged our rucksacks over the seat, left them 20 soles or something and walked off but you don´t always think of these things at the time.
So, we arrived in Ecuador very hot (it must have been high 30s – sweat pouring off us without even having to move) and very bothered. Not the best introduction but we were glad to be rid of Peru. Although there are undoubtedly some very beautiful places in Peru, we did have the impression that people were generally out to get all they can from tourists and our last experience didn´t do anything to change this, which was a shame as we were coming to the conclusion that the north of Peru was better. (Chris – I’m sure in time, looking back from the comfort of England, that we’ll say we enjoyed Peru and laugh about the niggles and rip-offs but at the moment darkest Peru has a whole new meaning for us).
There we were then, in a very muddy market place in Huayquillas. We eventually managed to find the bus company to take us to Cuenca, where we are currently, after asking a few people who, thankfully, seemed to be quite friendly and helpful. We bought our tickets and then had a couple of hours to make a reservation in Cuenca, have a drink and cool down a bit. (Chris – There seemed to be a change in peoples’ attitudes as soon as we crossed the border – much less hassling, much more friendly – it was very welcome).
Our bus left at 3:00 for the 5 hour journey to Cuenca. It was amazing the difference in countryside between the north of Peru, which is mostly very desert-like and the countryside we saw on the journey to Cuenca, a lot of which was very tropical looking – lots of lush green vegetation. The journey took us from sea level to 2,500 metres above sea level so we were climbing for quite a lot of it and the temperature began to drop and it rained very heavily!
We arrived in Cuenca just before 8:00 and were immediately met off the bus by a guy offering a hostel. Here we go again, we thought. I ignored him and Chris dismissed him rather abruptly to which he replied “OK” and seemed a bit hurt! Then we were approached by a couple of girls acting as guides…another couple to get rid of, we thought…except they simply approached us to give us a map and make sure we got a taxi OK and that he wouldn´t overcharge us – we were beginning to get the impression that things were slightly different in Ecuador!
We arrived at our hostel and they were all very friendly, then we ventured into the town to get some money, grab some dinner and have a bit of a wander around. Everyone that we came into contact with seemed very friendly and we had a really nice feeling about the place.
The next day (where are we now…umm…Sunday), we spent wandering around the city, visiting some of its churches and plazas. It´s a really attractive colonial city, the third biggest in Ecuador and the Rough Guide says it is Ecuador´s most charming, which we can believe. Again, everyone was very friendly and we weren´t hassled at all. We also phoned our Mums to wish them a happy Mother´s day and as always, it was lovely to speak to them. As everything was shut, we didn´t do very much else.
On Monday, we got up bright and early to catch a bus to some nearby (well, Chris thought they were nearby but they were about 2 ¼ hours away by bus…near by South American standards I guess) Inca ruins – the biggest ones in Ecuador. Again, the countryside was very pretty, although different again. It was still very green but this time, it was more crops and fields – it almost looked a bit like England. We arrived at the ruins and there was a guy there who simply told us where the ticket office was and didn´t try to offer his services as guide or sell us anything or anything – we were shocked! By this time, it had started to rain (we know now that it´s the wet season in Ecuador – they don´t have seasons as in spring, summer, etc., just wet and dry – so we´re going to be seeing a lot more of it!) so we took refuge in the museum for a while, which was quite small but quite interesting.
We then went to look around the ruins, which were quite small by Peruvian standards, but quite nice to walk around and it was lovely not to be hassled by lots of people or be surrounded by tourists. There were also some very funny llamas there, who seemed to be in two gangs who would periodically chase each other and make some of the funniest noises! When we´d walked around the ruins, we found that there was a circular walk we could have done taking us past a rock formation in the cliff called the Inca face but unfortunately, we didn´t have enough time to do that before the bus left so instead we went for a cup of tea and coffee. There was an artesan shop next to the café as well, where Chris saw a nice wallet to replace the one he lost and rather than having a shopkeeper trying to ram things down our throats almost, we actually had to go and find someone to serve us – all very strange! We had our tea, then got back on the bus and returned to Cuenca.
When we got back, we went to find out about trips to Cajas national park, which is about 35km from Cuenca and was supposed to be very nice. Although it was expensive at $35 each for a day trip, we ummmed and ahhhed and eventually decided we would like to do it and arranged it for the next day. The Rough Guide said that it was easiest to go on a guided tour, although you can go independently which we considered but on hindsight were very pleased we hadn´t done. We also managed to find Chris another camera, the same as the one he lost so he was chuffed about that.
Yesterday (Tuesday) was another reasonably early morning as we were picked up at 8:00 for our tour. It turned out that we were the only two people going so we had our own private guide – Santiago. It took about 45 minutes to drive to the park and he then explained that we were going to be doing a circuit (walking) that would take 3 – 4 hours so off we went. He was a really nice guy and also a botanist so was very knowledgeable about all the plants. At the beginning of the walk, he kept stopping to explain about all the plants and at one point, I never thought we were going to make it all the way round! We took it very slowly, I think because I´d told him that I had problems with the altitude, although I only really meant when I had to go uphill. By the end of the walk, we were quite glad we´d gone slowly though as we were both really tired as it was!
The park was beautiful and apparently, another British couple had said that it was quite similar to the Scottish highlands in some ways, which I can imagine. Although the plants are probably quite different, they look similar to what I´ve seen on pictures. There are apparently over 240 lagoons in the park and we walked around about 6 of them (a very small part of the park but it´s total area is something like 29,000 hectares or something (although I might have got that wrong – it´s certainly big though)) so we weren´t going to be going around very much of it!
The walk also took us through some woods, which Santiago called magical. When we arrived at the first one, we could see why – it looked like a fairy grotto or something. It was a wood of Quinoa trees, or Polylepis trees, latin for much paper as their bark is like flaky paper. They were all sort of intertwined with each other, which made it interesting to walk through, especially for Chris, but it was beautiful to see. There was also a river running through it which added to the atmosphere. From there, we came out into the open again, overlooking one of the lagoons, which the indigenous people say eats people. Although this sounds like a fairytale, apparently it´s not so far from the truth as a couple of young guys died there 8 years ago. One of the guys had epilepsy and suffered an epileptic fit and fell into the lagoon and his friend jumped in to save him. However, because of all of the weeds in the lagoon, it´s almost impossible to swim and they both drowned, so it was a bit like they were eaten!
The walk took about 3 ¾ hours in total, around more lagoons and through a couple more woods and we were glad when we got back as it had just started to rain quite heavily and we´d already got very wet. Santiago kept warning us about the last part of the walk saying that the last 2 or 3 minutes were the most tiring because they were uphill, which was true but it was nothing compared to Colca Canyon! All in all, it was a lovely walk, despite the rain, and I think we were quite lucky as Santiago did seem to know the park very well and apparently took us to places, like the first wood, that people don´t normally go to. During the whole time, we only saw one guy and his son or grandson fishing and that was it. Incidentally, talking of fishing, they were fishing for trout, which are prevalent in the park and a typical food of the area, as indeed it is of many areas in South America it seems. However, Santiago was explaining that trout isn´t indigenous of South America but imported by the Spanish and it is now causing problems. They eat up the small crustaceans and things in the lakes and rivers quicker than the native fish, which means that the native fish don´t have enough food. Also, they reproduce very quickly, meaning that they outnumber native fish significantly, and their excrement creates a lot of sediment. So, there is now an initiative to get rid of the trout and increase the numbers of native fish. People are therefore allowed to go into the park (having paid the entrance fee) and catch as many trout as they like. These are then sold in nearby villages etc.
Feeling very wet and quite cold, we made our way to a restaurant nearby to have lunch. We also picked up an American guy at the park administration place, where we started from, as he was trying to get back to Cuenca and hadn´t had much luck at getting a bus. He and Chris started talking about music and it turned out that he was a huge Wildhearts fan, one of Chris´ favourite bands but not very well known in the UK, nevermind in America, so that was a very strange coincidence. They chatted about that while Santiago put on the Beach Boys!
We arrived at the restaurant, which unfortunately wasn´t any warmer but was really nice and in a beautiful setting, looking out onto the mountains. We were first of all brought a local liqueur, which was very nice. I can´t remember the name of it but it was made with cinnamon and a local herb. It was also very warming, which was good, as was the soup which followed! For our main course, of course we had to have trout.
We then returned to Cuenca, very tired but very pleased with our day out. I said earlier that we were glad we went with a guide. Apart from learning a bit about the flora in the park, it meant that we went to places we certainly wouldn´t have seen if we had gone alone because the paths weren´t very obvious! The American guy had gone on his own and had therefore just walked around the principal lake, next to the administration building, and up one of the nearby hills. Although I´m sure this was lovely as well, I´m also sure it wasn´t as good as the way we went :0)
When we got back to Cuenca, we spent ages wandering around trying to find a launderette and then went to the skeleton museum, which was quite cool – a little museum with all sorts of animal skeletons from a baby elephant to a hummingbird. All really well preserved. We weren´t supposed to take photos but I was ever so naughty and took quite a few. I don´t understand why you´re not allowed to take photos in museums??? I can understand if you´re asked not to use flash but not why you can´t take them at all. Again, it was raining quite hard (we got quite wet looking for the launderette) so we then came to check emails etc. It seems to be the pattern here that it´s quite nice in the morning and then tips it down in the afternoon and evening – it´s been like that again today.
Which brings us to today…phew! We got up this morning and walked down by the river to the Central Bank Museum, which isn´t a museum about banking and is supposed to have an exhibition of shrunken heads, which would have been quite interesting. Unfortunately, half of the museum, including that part, was closed for maintenance so we gave that one a miss. We then returned to town and decided to take a taxi up to a viewpoint that was mentioned in the Rough Guide. It was a nice view over Cuenca and it gave us a good feel for the size of the place and the setting – all around are green hills. We then went for lunch at the English café and Chris had a full English breakfast, which he thoroughly enjoyed. We then went in search of somewhere showing the Champions League match between Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, but it´s not on until later so I left Chris in a pub/restaurant to watch Juventus v Real Madrid while I went to look in a few artesan shops…after which we came here so we´re up-to-date again! This evening, we´re going to try to watch the match (well, Chris will, I´ll sit) and then make our way back to the hostel and pack up again. Tomorrow it´s time to move on again – we´re going to Alausi to hopefully take a train on Friday down the ´Devil´s Nose´! From there it will be on to Riobamba…which you´ll hear all about next time. Until then…
|  | 
|
