You'd think I'd know better...

Time for an update. I am in Chiclayo tonight, seems like a cool place, but I don’t plan on being here too long. Though I will hang around long enough to check out the witchdoctors market tomorrow…

Ok so after Huaraz, I caught the night bus down to Trujillo. Trujillo, very cool place. I could see myself living there. Great weather, and the ladies… Well I’ll leave that to your imagination. But the weather, it doesn’t get cold in winter and not all that hot in summer and I was told it hardly ever rains. Maybe I am just unlucky, but it rained the whole night last night. I woke up this morning to find the hostel half flooded with water due to the lack of a full roof over the place. They say they don’t really need a full roof as they get an average of 6mm of precipitation a year. They are on the other end of that wonderful el nino/la nina weather system that we are all so fond of in Australia. Though where as we get drought at home they get floods over here. Doesn’t sound too bad to me, until they explained that the last time this happened it washed away the paint from a 2000 to 3000 year old temple. Now my question was obviously, if the painted had been there for more than 2000 year, why would it wash away so easily with a little bit of rain. Surely it has rained at least once or twice maybe even thrice in the past 2000 years. Come on… Well the explanation for this was that for most of that time the site has been buried under the desert. It was only excavated sometime during the past 10 years and they didn’t have any serious rainfall until la nina came along and wreck the thing. Bit of bad luck I say. But I am getting ahead of myself again.

The reason I stopped in Trujillo was to see Chan Chan and the pyramids of the sun and moon. These are archeological sites that predate the Inca empire, by a lot. I think Chan Chan is around 3000 years old. Though I don’t really remember and I don’t have my guide book with me (feel free to correct me if I am wrong). Chan Chan is a massive adobe city with a total of 9 palaces. It is really impressive, I was blown away by this place, absolutely incredible. I might be able to get a few photos up of it in a month or so. Sorry, still waiting on the new digital camera, but I snapped a few shots with my high tech disposable number. The pyramid of the Moon was also incredible. These places are built total out of mud bricks and then painted over with some amazing images. Which have managed to survive for 2000 to 3000 years, until someone came along and dug them up… The current idea is to excavate some areas and then recover them with sand as this seems to be the best way of preserving them. It is also interesting to see the damage done to some of these sites by grave robbers. When I hear the word “grave robbers”, I think of a bunch of guys sneaking in at night and stealing a few things. Not quite. When you see the damage some of these guys do… They were not exactly sneaking around during the night. The pyramid of the Moon has a massive tunnel dug through the side by people searching for buried treasure. And at the pyramid of the Sun and entire side was washed away with permission form the Spanish, so that they could look for gold. Apparently they found quite a bit.

Huanchaco is a little beach village just outside of Trujillo. Apparently it is a popular spot for surfing. Well on the way home from our tour of Chan Chan we stopped by to check out the beach. To be honest, it wasn’t that impressive. The sand was grey, the water freezing, and dirty. The whole beach just felt dirty. Call me a snob, but I like the beaches in Australia better. I’ve yet to see a beach in South America that even comes close to those at home, though I haven't been over to Brazil yet. So I wont write them off completely just yet. Anyway on the road to Huanchaco you have to pay a toll. It’s to help fund the clean up of the beach as basically everyone comes down from Trujillo for the day, leaves the place a mess and buggers off back home in time for tea. Not cool. Well when we arrived with our little combi full of gringos, our wonderful guide tried to tell them that we were all friends of the local lady who we were giving a ride. She sat there straight faced and tried to argue with this guy. Absolutely hilarious. The guys keep point to us in the back saying “gringos, gringos” and she is sitting telling him “no, amigos, amigos”. I was cracking up, eventually we paid and did a little tour of the beach town.

I’ve also been putting my stomach to the test, trying to toughen it up for what is to come on this trip. How you ask? I’ve been hooking into the Cheviche with reckless abandon. Reckless abandon? Eating at the market, and this morning I bough a cup of cheviche off some lady on the street. That one had my stomach in knots for a while. Cheviche for those who don’t know is a raw fish dish. The fish sits in this lemon juice mixture which in theory cooks the fish. Though you should always be a little careful with this kind of stuff. I wouldn’t exactly call eating of street vendors careful, but I think my stomach can take it. Though check back tomorrow and I’ll confirm that, or maybe not. You’d think I’d know better by know…

Later
Zac

I was wrong...

Oh so very wrong. There is a worse smell than me after 50 hours on a bus... Other people... I had forgotten all about that wonderful aspect of public transport in Peru. Needless to say I had a crap bus ride last night. Didn't sleep too well at all. But I made it to Huraz, arrived about 7am and promptly found a hostal. Got a good deal on that so I was happy, then sorted out a tour to Chavin..

Now this is where it started to go wrong. The guide on the bus did all the explanations in Spanish, not too big a problem as I understood most of what was said, though don't ask me to repeat it. My listen skills are the same in Spanish as they are in English, in one ear and out the other. Anyway, we were an hour or so into what was meant to be 4 hour bus ride to Chavin when we were told the road was closed. From what I could make out it had something to do with construction and explosives, great combination. Well the guide said we would press on so we could see some lake and then check out the road for ourselves. Though from the first mention of the road being closed he was quite clear that the tour would continue in some way, so there would be no money back as it wasn't his fault.

Anyway, saw the lake, woo freaking hoo. Nice lake but nothing special. Saw the road block, I am not exactly sure where the construction and explosives came into it, but there was a minor land slide and the road was defiantly closed. I think it may remain so for a few days to come. So we turned back, and the tour continued to some town, which looked just like 100 other towns I have seen in Peru. Then we had the choice of what to do next. Or so we were told, it seemed to me like the choice was made for us. We were going to head to some thermal bath and then some other minor archaeological site in the area. We came back to town so people could pick up a change of cloths for the baths and this is where I gave up. The guide seemed only to be explaining what was going on to the few people up the front of the bus. It seemed as if we were going round to people's hostals so they could grab some stuff, well that theory was right, except we went no where near mine. When I asked what was going on, he said I could go back and they would wait for me, but I only had 10 mins. Half way back to my hostal I decided to hell with it, I wasn't keen on the thermal bath to begin with. So I ditched my group and went and had lunch.

Not that impressed with Huaraz, I think I will bail tomorrow night and keep on moving up the coast to Trujillo. Hopefully things will work out a little better there.

Oh yeah, and I found part of Lima I don't like. Where my bus left from. For some reason the bus terminals are all in the seediest part of town. Not an area I want to be walking through after dark, or in the day for that matter.

The other thing I forgot about Peru was that February was not a smart time to travel. They have their crazy month long water fight going on, I've already had a few close calls and it's not even February until tomorrow.

I’ve had whinge and I feel better already.

Later
Zac

What's that smell....

That smell would be me. Or at least it was me. I've discovered the worst think about a 50+ hour bus journey isn't the uncomortable seats, or the cramped little toliet on the bus. It's the smell. After more than 50 hours with no shower, sitting in the same seat, sleeping in the same seat. You start to smell... I was glad when we finialy made it to Lima, first thing I did was have shower. Ah so good.

So obviously I made it to Lima. I survied the 50 plus hours on the bus, and managed to avoid using the little toliet on the bus. I think that has to be some kind of record. Well at least it should be. So Lima. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I've found a part of Lima I like and I think it would be a great city, if it ocasionaly had some blue sky. I've been to Lima 4 times now, at different times of the year and not once have I seen blue sky... But other than that it's cool. I got interviewed on the street about Australia's chances in the football world cup, but I forgot to ask what it was for. Doh!

Anyway I am off to Huaraz tonight and then Chavin tomorrow. So if you have a map of Peru check it out and you'll know where I am. If not, check back here, and I'll tell you all about it.

Later
Zac

Off again...

No, I don't smell bad. I am going travelling, again. I am leaving for Lima, Peru on Friday. Catching the bus up from here, 50ish hours. As the Chileans say, I am going to have to draw my arse back on afterwards...

My plan is to spend about a week or so travelling through the north of Peru and then go up through Ecuador to Quito. From there I am planning to make the return trip to Peru via the river Napo. It should be a 4 or 5 day trip down river to Iquitos in Peru. Then I will go up river to a place called Pucallpa, this one will be about 5 or 7 days. But this will take me half way back down Peru. From Pucallpa I am going to head over to Cusco to visit a few people and then continue on to Bolivia and La Paz. Then the rest depends on time, I am due back here in Santiago in March for work.

So over the next couple of weeks check back for some updates, and maybe even some photos... Provided I get my new camera......

Later
Zac

Ok, so my little holiday in Buenos Aires has come to an end. And the answer to the ultimate question "Is it possible to eat too much meat?".... Well the answer is yes. I ate too much meat. But I would gladly do it again, and I am sure I will.

I am unable to give a full account of the last days, as I don't have much memory of them. I am not sure if that was from all the beef or the beer and wine I was drinking. From what I can remember, it all started to blur into some kind of meat eating frenzy. Although I almost went one day with out meat, I had fish, but I also had a choripan (sausage in a bun) for breakfast, so not truly a meat free day. I do recall taking a trip out to Tigre, to escape the city for the day. Very nice, next time I might actually go see the wetlands which Tigre is famous for, instead of sitting in a bar all day. Maybe...

New Years Eve was pretty good as well. Another asado at the hostel, followed by a dance party in some park. I just managed to get to bed before the sun came up. Sometime around 7am I think. And you'll all be pleased to know the first thing I ate this year was.... Yes, another dirty great steak. Awesome.

I caught the bus back to Santiago on the 2nd of Jan. Forked out the extra cash for the full "carma" (bed) experience. Man o man, that was swish. Instead of the usual 4 seats to the row, there were only 3, and they went all the way back. The food was better than I would have expected for a bus, you even got wine with dinner. I also had the front seat, right in front of the window. At first I was happy about this, I had the best view of the city on the way out, but later at night when I got to watch the driver overtaking 3 and 4 trucks at once, and well it got a little scary.

Back in Santiago and back to work. Though today I had the coolest class ever. Not so much the student, but the where. I am now teaching 2 days a week in a brewery! Yeah!!! It's awesome, I could smell the malt the whole time... Mmmm malt..... I need to see if I can get one of my students to get me a tour of the place. Or at least let me take my own tour, I won’t touch... Promise. And if that isn't enough for you, I get a free lunch! I get the feeling that is the only reason I was given this course, the ladies here keep telling me I am too thin. And they tell me off for eating sandwiches all the time.

Oh yeah, I did the weigh in when I got back from Buenos Aires... Wait for it.... 2 kilos. That's it. Only two freaking kilos. I eat every bit of beef I can for 10 days, and only put on 2 kilos. I am a little disappointed.

That's about it for now. I am off travelling again in February. So keep an eye out for my updates, and hopefully photos if I get my new camera.

Zac