More travel, lots of ceviche and sun. I'm so tan I almost look Peruvian. Almost.

Sunset in Trujillo

About a month ago my friend Whitney and I decided to do some traveling. Humberto and I had already visited much of southern Peru and I was eager to go north and follow the beaches up into Ecuador. So, with a limited budget, Whit and I set about planning this journey. Her boyfriend Jose and Hum were going to come along, too. The Lonely Planet book came in more handy than I expected -- I highly recommend it to anyone coming down here.

So, the plan. Leave Cusco and go to Lima. From there, another bus to Trujillo (and Huanchaco, the beach town nearby), then Chiclayo and finally the beautiful beaches (and, unbeknownst to me, party town) of Mancora. My plan was to then head up into Ecuador, but Whitney wasn't sure if they'd accompany us. No worries. We'd cross that bridge when we came to it.

The way I've traveled over the past year is unlike any other traveling I've ever done. I'm usually a meticulous planner and a very organized traveler -- even if I still overpack a little. This has changed quite a bit. I still overpack, but everything else is out the window. I just take every day as it comes and hope I get a tan along the way.

Admittedly, Whitney and I did do a little planning for this trip. She was an anthropology major and a bit of a nerd (as am I), so there were a few archeolgical sites we wanted to visit along the way -- Chan Chan and Sipan (more details on these places later). And we wanted to make sure we could find affordable places to stay as well, including a little camping, if possible. But we didn't overdo it in the planning department. You just can't -- especially when you're traveling with a couple of Peruvians whose concept of time is drastically different than yours.

The day before we left, Jose still didn't have his new ID card yet. He applied for it earlier in the week and it hadn't arrived yet. Of course. So, for a brief time we thought the trip wasn't going to happen, but since Humberto has an aunt who works in the government office where the IDs are done, she helped Jose get photocopies of all the documents he'd need to travel -- sans ID card.

Ok, we were over the first hurdle. On the Saturday we were leaving, Hum still had to move the rest of his stuff out of his apartment and into mine. And he didn't wake up until 12:30 (and only because I went to his place and woke him). That's what happens when you combine a Friday night with Rum, Coke and cousins. I was slightly annoyed. Ok, more than slightly annoyed. But somehow everything worked out and we were all on the 5:00 pm bus to Lima with a few minutes to spare.

The bus ride was 22 hours. It was a more economical bus, so it was less comfortable, too. Fortunately for me, I had sleeping pills and am rather flexible. I can sleep almost anywhere and in any position and that's just what I did. Whitney told me later that she and Jose kept shooting me envious, dirty looks the whole journey.

When we got to Lima, we split up with Whit and Jose, as Jose's uncle lives there and wanted them to visit. Hum and I found ourselves a comfortable hostel, crashed for a while and then went out to explore. We're getting pretty familiar with Lima, but there's always something new to see or do. Our bus to Trujillo wasn't until the following night, so we headed to Jockey Plaza, a fancy shopping mall with a Home Depot and Crate & Barrel-type stores that we spent waaaay too much time in getting ideas for the restaurant.

Our hostel had a pool, so we spent most of the next day lounging and swimming. Whitney and Jose were taking another bus to Trujillo closer to where they were staying (about an hour away from where we were -- Lima is BIG), so we were going to meet them there. We went out for Thai food that night in Lima (a first for Hum) and made it to the bus station in time to catch our 10pm ride. This bus was much comfier than the last one and we slept well through the night and woke up around 7am, as we were pulling in to Trujillo.

We met up with Whitney and Jose and decided to pretty much skip Trujillo altogether and just take a taxi to Huanchaco, the beach town about 15 minutes outside of Trujillo. Good idea. Huanchaco was lovely. Lots of high surf and a nice beach community. Cheap, fresh ceviche in every restaurant and a lot of vacation-minded Peruvians. Hum and Whitney even took surfing lessons (and were so sore the next day they could barely move).

Surfing




We stayed at a campsite about a block from the beach. It had a communal kitchen, hot showers and lots of hammocks. I couldn't believe how well I slept in our little tent and regret not staying there more than one night.

Our campsite...




On our second day there, we went to Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America. I don't have a vast knowledge of these civilizations, so any sidetrips to sites like this are incredibly interesting and eye-opening to the expansiveness and intelligence of these cultures. It was awesome.

Chan Chan





After Chan Chan, we went back to the campgrounds, gathered our things and headed into Trujillo to catch our next bus -- this time to Chiclayo. It was a 5-hour ride and we got in around 7pm, found a cheap (and dumpy) hotel for the night and headed out to find dinner. Chinese food was on the menu -- which I usually eat as a last resort -- but the difference between the Chifa along the coast and the Chifa in Cusco is the seafood. Well, that pretty much goes for any restaurant comparison between Cusco and the coast. The mariscos (seafood) are abundant and fresh here and sooooo good. We inhaled our meals but made sure to save room for ice cream afterwards.

The main square in Chiclayo is quite pretty. Lots of people out and about enjoying the weather and the people they were with and we were no exception. We wandered back to our hotel and crashed with the plan to wake up early to catch the bus to Sipan.