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Lima Part 2 – Museums and Moving On
On the Plaza San Martin sits an old an bar called the Cathedral of Pisco. Where better to try pisco sour for the first time than a well population bar that promotesitself as holy place to the drink. Pisco sour is a grape brandy mixed with lime, egg white and I’m not sure what else.…
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Lima – The City of Kings
When the conquistador Pizarro founded Lima some 500 years ago, he dubbed it the City of Kings. It’s certainly a city of more than just kings, for the good and the bad! The city had been inhabited long before the Spanish conquered the area by several cultures, from the Inca and further back centuries by…
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Huanchaco and Huaraz – Coast and Mountains
The illegal miners blocking the Panamerican highway in Casma gave me the excuse to spend a couple of days in Huanchaco, the beach town near Trujillo. To be honest, there isn’t a lot of reasons to stay here more than a day. The beach is grey and not inviting, and there isn’t anything to do…
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Trujillo – Colourful, Ancient Ruins and some Fake Money
Ah Trujillo, it’s a large city where every building in the central area is painted incolourful pastels of red, yellow, brown and blue. Like every city I’ve been through so far in Peru, there’s also an army of council works cleaning the streets every hour or so. If you don’t notice these tireless workers in…
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Cajamarca – Crossroad of the Northern Highlands
The first thing that strikes you on the taxi ride into the centre of town is the number of churches along the way. Not small churches, but in true Spanish colonial style of amazing masonry and architectural design. Of course the inside are the same as every other Catholic church on the planet, and the…
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Leymebamba and on the Road to Cajamarca
After almost 2 weeks in Chachapoyas I knew it was time to leave when the girls in the café next door to the hostal didn’t have to ask what I wanted for breakfast. Or the pub around the corner just gave me a Pilsen without asking. Chachapoyas is such an amazing little town the days…
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Chachapoyas – Caving, Sarcophagi, and Green Fields
I was promptly up, showered and out the front of the hostal to start the 8am tour to explore the Quiocta Cave, the ancient sarcophagi of Karajia and to the Valle de Belen. One thing I’m quickly learning in Peru is that nothing runs on time. A half an hour later we finally filled the…
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Chachapoyas and the Fortress of Kuelap
To say Chachapoyas is a mandatory stop in northern Peru would be an understatement of criminal proportions. Not only is this small town, the capital of the Amazon basin, just brilliant to visit with it’s fantastic cafes and friendly people, it’s surrounded by the most amazing pre-Inca ruins of the Chachapoyas people – or People…
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Welcome to Peru: Quick Update
As I said in the last post, I was still planning on heading out to the archaeological site of Tucume before leaving Chiclayo. Once again there was a drought of any combis signed with Tucume, they all left for a place called Salas. When I was asked if I was headed for Salas, I shook my head…
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Welcome to Peru, and the Oldest Civilisations in South America
The first thing that is immediately noticeable when catching the bus between Piura and Chiclayo was the fact the bus was pretty damn awesome. The girl at the ticket counter asked if I wanted the panoramic seat, so I figured why the hell not. I thought this was just a fancy name for the window seat, something which I…
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