Week 20: Up On The Roof

On the pier

To say that the bus journey from Chachapoyas to Trujillo was uncomfortable would be an uderstatement. I was already feeling sick from forcing apple pie down my pie hole in the afternoon, and to add to my discomfort the air conditioning was turned off during the night. I fell asleep almost immediately as we left Chachapoyas, but woke up after a couple of hours, sweating profusely. At about 0600 we arrived in Chiclayo (which will henceforth be known as Chlamidya, it's probably just as pleasent). Joe, Matt and Gemma had all seen Chiclayo before and I was assured it wasn't worth a look. We changed bus to head to Trujillo, about 4 hours further down the coast. We were very lucky to watch a Jackie Chan film, which we could barely hear, and even luckier to see the DVD loop another 127 or so times. ("Dios mio" *everyone wince if you know what's coming* "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"). The very kind bus lady eventually switched it off about half an hour after I asked her to. So far the day had not been fantastic, (although somehow I had managed to find a store selling genuine Diet Coke in Chachapoyas, and remembered I had it in my bag - after 5 months of Coke Zero it was like the elixir of life).Our day was about to take a serious turn for the better.

One of many beautiful sunsets at the beach

Splashing out on lunch

After arriving in Trujillo, we took a taxi to Huanchaco, the nearby beach town, where we checked into a hostel. We practically had a balcony all to ourselves, however we felt let down as we thought there was a roof terrace - it turned out to just be a roof. We refreshed ourselves with an assortment of frozen lemonade and beer before heading out to lunch. Words cannot even describe how welcome this food was. The Lonely Planet website lists "Big Ben Restaurant" as the number 1 thing to do in Huanchaco - this is definitely for a reason. We spent 60 soles each on lunch (about 13 pounds) but had 4 dishes between us and a bottle of wine. It is probably some of the freshest and most delicious seafood I have ever had: a mix of ceviche, a Peruvian speciality, BBQed seafood and other varieties. We headed to the beach to let our food go down, or not, as Matt, Gemma and I all got in the sea almost immediately. It was refreshing but rocky, and there was a strong undercurrent. This was naturally followed by a few more drinks - I indulged in a Pisco Sour, the national drink of both Peru and Chile, although it is still widely desputed where it came from. The spirit Pisco comes from grapes, and then the other ingredients are lime and egg white. It may not sound very nice but can be pretty enjoyable on a hot day.

Enjoying a few beverages at Bily's Bar

Do not be fooled by how cool this cocktail looks

It was getting close to sunset and we thought about getting dinner - but even the idea of chewing cardboard was preferable to chicken and rice - and we couldn't really justify splashing out again. We watched the sunset from the beach, I could hardly believe how quickly it seemed to go down getting so close to the equator. We had a few more cocktails at "Bily's Bar" (after much discussion amongst ourselves somebody else interjected and told us that it was in fact pronounced "Billy") and went for a walk along the pier. At Bily's, Joe decided to have a "Machu Picchu" cocktail. The only way I can describe it is as a layered cocktail of Orange Juice and Mouthwash (it was actually Creme de Menthe). It was absolutely foul. We returned to the hostel to buy a few beers so we could go and sit by ourselves on the beach. (I won't mention who but one of us managed to walk out without our beer...) We sat for a while on the beach listening to the sea and just enjoying each others company. Joe and I (stupidly) both left our shoes by a signpost, and it later turned out they were to become a sacrifice tp the Fun Gods (best trade of my trip so far) as when we returned they were nowhere to be seen. Matt and Gemma headed to bed, and then some hippies came and sat about 10 feet away from us and started a drumming circle, so we moved further along the beach. (It's okay, it wasn't like they had miles and miles more of beach to choose from, and nobody likes a drumming circle). After about an hour more of sitting and chatting, I finally convinced Joe to go in the sea, as he hadn't earlier in the day and probably wouldn't otherwise. It was flipping freezing to say the least, so we headed back to the hostel to sit on the balcony, although Mr Fun Sponge at the front desk told us we were being too noisy (BS) so we snuck up onto the roof for a bit, before calling it a day and both heading to bed. We also came to a conclusion about the life cycle in South America (having noted that the main things about South America are dogs and litter - also hills but that's irrelevant for now): Human throws rubbish, dog eats rubbish, dogs reproduce, human throws rubbish, dog eats rubbish, dogs reproduce... A bit depressing really.

The following day nobody felt that great, but it had totally been worth it. After much needed showers and food we headed back to the beach for a dip in the sea (also very much needed). Joe was flying back from Lima the following morning so needed to make a marathon journey back, as he hadn't originally intended to come to Huanchaco - you can't blame him, who could resist our excellent company?!

A long-awaited full English

I spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading after the previous night's antics. Although I had told myself I wouldn't read any books on this trip that I have previously read, I gave in and smashed my way through Wide Sargasso Sea in a day. A short but intense book about the character better known as Bertha Rochester from Jane Eyre.

I think the look on Matt's face says it all

The next day I woke up to a nasty surprise. I had changed dorms the previous night and while I slept I had once again been mauled by bed bugs. It was pretty gross and if you know me well enough I already sent you a picture, if you don't know me well enough you probably don't want to see it anyway. Thankfuly they chucked everyone out the room and spent two days fumigating it, and did my washing for free. To make up for it we basically had a whole day of gorging ourselves on delicious food as a relief from months and months of chicken and rice. Accordingly, almost 50% of photos from this week are of food. We kicked off the day with a (almost) full English breakfast of tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, fried eggs and bread. I upgraded to a hot chocolate which was above average for South America, and we managed to wangle a juice with no papaya in it. We had a short break on the beach and a swim in the sea before returning to Big Ben's for lunch. I hadn't thought it possible but we pushed the boat out even further than before, and ended up paying 100 soles each (just over 20 pounds) for the best seafood lunch I have ever had. We had 5 dishes between us and 2 bottles of wine. Although it seemed a little excessive at the time, we didn't have too much of a problem rationalising it to ourselves. We spent the rest of the afternoon back on the beach, then had a walk along the pier and I had a carbonara in the evening. (More real bacon!)

Stuffing my face with delicious carbonara

Colour still on the walls from centuries ago

It was time to get back to doing cultural stuff the next day so we took a trip to a few pre-Inca sites. I could hardly believe how well preserved some of the ceramics from the sites were. We went to Chan Chan and the Huacas de la Luna y del Sol (Temples of the moon and the sun). These ruins were in some ways more impressive than Machu Picchu, although they had less grandeur as a whole, they had been so well excavated and many of the walls still preserved original paintings and colours. The temples had been rebuilt on one another to that extent that it is impossible to continue excavating without ruining the later buildings.

Mind-blowing paintings

Picnic times

We wised up and brought lunch with us. Continuing our theme of excellent food we had a picnic of sandwiches (with real butter!), crisps, cucumber and fresh fruit. Man cannot live on chicken and rice alone, regardless of what any South American will tell you.

Impressive carvings

We returned to Huanchaco in the evening before our bus. I treated myself to another carbonara (no knowing when we would have any more bacon) and in the evening we took a local bus to Trujillo to connect to our overnight bus to Huaraz, ready for some trekking.

All in all the previous days have been some of the best of my trip. It was a bit like a much-needed and well-deserved package holiday to the beach after so many weeks and months in the Andes.

Another colourful sunset on the pier in Huanchaco

Week 19: A Horse With No Name

Mausoleums - bottom right of picture

Our "4 day trek" to Gran Vilaya was more like a "4 day excursion with 2 days of trekking in the middle", but that was absolutely fine by me. On the first day we had a brutal start. After a drive we arrived at some mausoleums, which were half an hour's walk down a steep hill to get to. Which of course meant walking back up. Nevertheless it was worth it. Before they were mausoleums the structures were houses for up to about 6 people, who, instead of building their homes near the river, carted water up the incredibly long and steep hill every day. Each to their own I suppose. Roger was our guide for the 4 days, also doing the trek were an American Joe, who I had walked the "pre-Hispanic trail" with (you may recall it ended rather messily) Matt and Gemma, a British couple, and along for the day were a Swede called Simon and a German called Annelise. We headed back to the nearby town for lunch (thankfully it wasn't chicken and rice) before going to see some sarcophagi in Karajia where we had an additional volunteer in our group - a local boy called Hector, who took a particular liking to myself and Annelise (I had to carry around the presents he gave me until we left). The sarcophagi were very interesting although we learned that there had been more but they were stolen.

Looted sarcophogi

In the minivan on the way to our next destination I tried coca leaves for the first time. In Peru, particularly in the areas of higher altitude it is common to chew them to help with fatigue and altitude sickness. I hadn't tried them before now because the smell of them pretty much repulsed me, but I decided to give them a go. Many people had told me "it's okay, they are sort of like tea" which is okay. If you like tea. Which you are probably aware I don't. I only drink infusions. Anyway I tried the coca leaves and actually gagged. But I persevered and chewed them for a while - they made my tongue and cheek go tingly which reminded me of the dentist (possibly my biggest fear) so I spat them out.

with our new friend Hector

Our first glimpse of the Belen Valley was from the top of the mountain pass. I don't think I have ever seen grass so green, it looked like a painting, or the Robin Williams film "What Dreams May Come". After a long drive down the mountainside we arrived at our lodging for the night - a sort of scout hut surrounded by cows. I could hardly believe we were staying in such a beautiful location, the river could be heard from the hut, we had a bench outside with an amazing view into the valley, and the whole time we were there only one other vehicle passed by.

The impossibly green Belen Valley 

After an explore of the river we sat around drinking some rum which Joe had conveniently brought with him, playing cards and having dinner (you guessed it - chicken and rice!) and talking about what felt like every topic under the sun.

Indie's new best friends

We all slept pretty soundly and I awoke before everyone the next morning to go and wash in the river. I am pretty sure our guide, Roger, saw me starkers.
After a breakfast of bread and jam we set off through the valley - I felt as if I was in some kind of dream from the film Inception because all the noises and colours were so vivid. 

Shoes off everybody!

Lovely weather on day 3

We had to wade through the river at one point which was very refreshing, and felt colder than it had in the early morning. Unfortunately the easy walk was not to last for long. Before lunch we had a bit of a climb, before beginning our exploration of "Gran Vilaya." This was where the real Indiana Jones work took place. These ruins were literally dotted in the jundle, grown over with creepers and eaten up by the forest. Most were pre-Inca but later used by the Incas also. We were all stung or bitten on our venture but none of us cared. It was incredible to see the way time had taken over the once imposing buildings. When we finally emerged from the jungle we started a knee shattering 900m descent to the pueblo of Congon. On arriving we all got a drink. I didn't fancy a beer so opted for something that looked suspiciously like an imitation of Inca Kola, the most popular soft drink in Peru - it is the colour of nuclear urine and tastes a bit like bubblegum. Personally I believe it was created as a resulted of Hiroshima. It was disgusting but at least it probably replaced some sugars in my body. When I say replaced, I don't mean replenished...

Enjoying a well earned beverage

For dinner we surprisingly didn't have chicken and rice, Matt and Gemma headed to bed and Joe and I played cards. (Irish snap... no prizes for guessing who won...). That night everyone was apparently kept awake by the barking dogs except for me. In the morning the 2 mules and 1 horse were waiting for us after breakfast, as that day's ascent was 1500m, and we could do with a helping hand.

A room with a view

Lush jungle greenery

We all started off on foot to warm ourselves up for the day, and after a few hours reached the beginning of the climb. After a while I decided to have a turn on the mule, as it was tipping it down and all a bit miserable. The last time I rode a horse I imagine I was probably about 9, so it has been a good many years. We asked the names of the animals, but they didn't have any. I named my mule Jessie, (after Jessie's Girl) and the other one was named although I can't remember what... but the horse never got a name. After about 20 minutes on the mule, I got off and refused to get back on. It isn't that I'm scared of riding, but I swear I saw the mule's leg physically buckle underneath me (fat lump), so I'm going to save the experience for another time. That's right, I decided I would rather walk up the top half of a 3300m mountain than take the mule. It was pretty hard work, and I would be lying if I said I didn't fall on my bum in the mud once or twice. 

Most welcome soup in the history of mankind

We stopped for lunch at an isolated shack - it was possibly the most welcome meal of the trip - we were all soaked to the skin and giving off steam in the hut. We had an excellent soup and fritters and beans for our main. In the afternoon we set off again and the weather was looking up. We walked on the flat for a while before one big final push up hill. When we reached the top, the mule guy turned around with the mules to take them back to village. (much to my dismay as I had been counting on taking them downhill). We had a short rest stop at the top ("the top") before continuing to climb gently for half an hour or so. 

Triumphant at the "top"

Matt confident on the horse... it didn't last long

Roger, our guide, was texting on his phone, so I decided to switch mine on, on the off-chance that I might have some signal (I had been waiting on a phone call.) About 10 minutes later I took my phone out of my pocket to see I had a text from my mum: "Baby boy 11.40 on Sunday 27th. Meg did very well. He is beautiful and BIG. Lots of love. Mum x." I am not ashamed to say that I read it, said "I have a nephew" to everybody, and promptly burst into tears. I had been an aunt for over 24 hours and hadn't even known it. It was pretty incredible getting that message at above 3000m, in the middle of the Andes in Peru. I got Gemma to take a picture of me to remember the moment, but I won't upload it because my face is a bit red and puffy and generally unattractive. I had some celebratory oreos before we ascended to the pueblo Maria where we would be spending the night, and once we reached the accomodation I rang my mum briefly, who told me my little nephew had been named Ifor Huw Charles Noall (strong welsh name)

Whilst I was on the phone, the absolute terror that was the daughter of the hostel owner, (I am not saying this in an endearing way) came over and starting licking Gemma's leg. Yes, you read that right. Later in the evening, the child, Ginella, also kept stealing the cards whilst I was trying to play solitaire. It wasn't amusing.

After we had all showered we had a beer to celebrate (we would have had one anyway but it was a good excuse), had dinner and played cards before heading to bed, as Joe and I had to get a bus back at 0600. Matt and Gemma were going to the ruins at Kuelap but as Joe and I had both already been we were getting a ride back to Chahchapoyas.

Impressive scenery at Gocta Waterfall

After our hideously early start and a bumpy ride back to Chachapoyas and the hostel we had been in before, Jose, the hostel owner let us check in early and we crashed out for a few hours before heading to "cafe fusiones" for a hot chocolate (of course) and some apple pie (probably). I was hammering my way through The Hunchback of Notredame (what a mission... don't go there! Disney lied to you.) 

The following day Joe and I went to Gocta Waterfall, an hour or so from Chachapoyas. The waterfall was only known to the world in general in 2005 when its presence was publicised by a German. It is measured as being 771m and was once thought to be the third highest in the world, but is now regarded as the fifteenth highest. The walk there was mostly downhill. I managed to fall down again (don't try and walk down a steep hill whilst singing and dancing to Don Mclean's American Pie... nobody saw me but doesn't change the fact it happened). When we got to the waterfall some Peruvians had their picture taken with us, and then I went swimming in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. As you can imagine, it was pretty chilly. The sun must only be over the pool for an hour a day, maximum, so I was quite lucky to be there at that time. On the return walk, my legs were seriously protesting, clearly they thought I was going to give them a decent rest after the other day's hike - no such luck. 

That tiny speck on the right is me

In the evening Joe, Gemma, Matt and I headed out for dinner. The restaurant we had intended to go to was closed, so instead of finding another one, we headed for our old friend, the rum bar, where some of us consumed a little more than others.

Joe and I at the waterfall

The following day was our last in Chachapoyas as we had decided to all go together to Huanchaco on the coast, for a change of scenery. After buying bus tickets for that night's overnight bus, we visited the town's "museum" - poor effort Chachapoyas - and I finally finished reading The Hunchback of Notredame - a serious achievement in my books. Then we headed to cafe fusiones. I hadn't had any lunch when the others ate so I ordered 2 sandwiches. I was still peckish afterwards so ordered some more apple pie. It was what was going to become known as the "apple pie incident." I realised soon after it arrived that I wasn't that hungry, however pride overcame common sense and I forced it down, despite my stomach's protestations. I was going to suffer for that - I felt incredibly sick for the next 12 hours or more. Whilst I was gorging myself, the waiter gave Matt a pyramid puzzle to complete. On the board it said if you completed the puzzle you would get a free coffee. When we went to pay we found that because Matt had been the first person to successfully complete the puzzle, our complete bill was waived - had that made the apple pie worth it?

Didn't get a picture of the apple pie, so this will have to suffice

We said our goodbyes to Jose and Donna, who had been excellent hosts at Chachapoyas Backpackers, and went to the bus terminal, ready to hit the beach the following day.

Week 18: I'm On A Boat

After an extremely good night of sleep to recover from our jungle experience, we treated ourselves to a good breakfast on our last morning in Iquitos. The Australian couple who has been with us in the jungle, Jourdan and Darcy, joined Elisabeth and I before they headed off to the airport for their flight back to Lima.

Our journey wasn't going to be anywhere near as quick or conventional. The boats leaving from Iquitos to Yurimaguas, further west, leave daily, so we decided to just turn up at the dock in the afternoon armed with our hammocks and hope that it would all pan out.
As we still had some time to kill we went to the Butterfly Farm on the outskirts of Iquitos - unsurprisingly we had to take a boat to get there. We passed a pleasant afternoon and I was actually very interested to find out about the life cycle of butterflies and moths, and to see some of nature's most impressive camouflage. I also found out that once a moth has turned into a moth it never actually eats - just drinks, sleeps and does the dirty.

The site was also an animal sanctuary with many different specimens who had sort of ended up there by accident. There is a jaguar which is housed here and although the owner of the sanctuary applied to move him to a more suitable home in the jungle in Brazil, the Peruvian government denied her application and she had very little choice but to look after him.

Inadequate roofing

After buying a few essentials for the boat we headed down to the dock and were shown on to a relatively nice boat with 2 proper decks for hanging hammocks. Here I must admit we were a little lazy (also I didn't want to plummet to the floor during the night) so we asked some Americans who were with Peruvian friends to help us hang our hammocks. A wasted effort on all parts it transpired, as after moving berth we were told we needed to change to another boat as that one wasn't leaving that day. It was a serious downgrade. There was only one proper covered deck and the top deck had a tarp over it for about a third as the only protection from the elements. Very little protection I must say. All the same Elisabeth and I hung our hammocks on the top deck with the American/Peruvian group.

Jay and I just before he got off the boat

We set off at about 2130 after a couple of false starts.
I have noticed since travelling that when it comes to meeting people and making friends it is almost like being back on holiday as a child, before you got too cool to make friends on holiday. Jay from Nevada was the perfect example. Some friendships are only meant for a day or two and you wouldn't want to spoil them by making them more than they are. I spent most of the first evening and next day talking to Jay about all sorts. He was about to go and live with Luis and his family in a small village in the Amazon for several months as part of their family. I found it really interesting.

The first night it absolutely peed it down and our flimsy tarp proved to be insufficient. I woke up a few times. The first time I put my waterproof on against the wind and then again at about 0500, to find that almost the whole deck had cleared and many people had moved below to the horribly crowded deck. I decided to stick it out, despite the fact that my hammock was soaked through. It was more appealing than the claustrophobic conditions below. It paid off in the end.

Hammock selfie...

The first whole day was passed pretty pleasantly as nobody really ventured up to the top deck despite the sunshine and fresh air. It was also on this day that we met two Peruvian children who thought it was hilarious to mock us. In the evening Elisabeth, Jay and I played cards with the children, although as none of our Spanish is amazing it was pretty difficult to explain the rules - so we mostly played Go Fish (or Vamos a Pescar). At about 2300 Jay and his family alighted with their Peruvian friends in a tiny village, and I slept pretty soundly in my hammock, wrapped up well in warm clothes. I was beginningto get used to sleeping in a hammock and was becoming very attached to my colourful new home.

We awoke on the final morning to realise that was precisely what it wasn't: the final morning. In true Peruvian style everyone had been particularly vague about when we would arrive in Yurimaguas, but we managed to establish at the very least that it wouldn't be until the following day. I can't say I minded too much. I passed a blissful day in my hammock reading The Hunchback of Notredame and chatting with my new neighbours. As well as a Spanish couple, I was befriended by many many Peruvian men who were all giving me tips on where to go in Peru, as well as complimenting me on my Spanish (not necessary - I know it's pants). Before they left they insisted I had a picture with them all, so it would be rude not to publish it for the world to see. It was also sadly the end of one journey for my Baby-G watch which was unwillingly rehomed at some time between 0107 and 0450. Probably by a member of the crew on the prowl for easily stealable items. My only consolation is that if he tries to turn the alarm off he will probably just set a new one (which is what I did) and I hope that he will be perpetually confused as to why day of the week it is, as in 5 or so years of having the watch it was always two days out and I never managed to change it.

My new fan group

The third and final night was much clearer than the first two so I lay by myself on the deck for a while and watched the sky - it was only just past full moon so still quite bright - and I was richly rewarded with two shooting stars. The view of the sky was similar to how it had been in the salt flats - virtually no light pollution and therefore more stars than a person could ever even hope to count.


The food on the boat had been a double edged sword - naturally we were served chicken and rice for every meal, but in almost every tiny village people came rushing on board with fresh fruit and other culinary delights. I tried grubs for the first time (no idea how Pumba does it - I reckon they would be just about palatable if you BBQd the life out of them), ate at least 2 fresh mangos every day, tried fresh coconut - I'm a fan of the flesh but not the milk, devoured a shameful amount of popcorn and tried other fruits too and ate too many churros (a bit like doughnuts). I also tried yucca beer. Without disgusting you it is basically other peoples saliva containing alcohol from three times chewed Yuca. Whilst on this topic I need to tell you a little anecdote which helps demonstrate very clearly how things are in Peru. People will always tell you what you want to hear. Without exception. So I had been craving an empanada for a few days (an empanada is a bit like a pastie - the best ones are really in Argentina but I really wanted one) and when a guy came on with a basket of empanadas we had the following conversation:

Me "empanadas?"
Him "si" (yes) - so far so good
Me "pollo?" (Chicken?) - I didn't want chicken obviously, as I had been overloaded with chicken, I was only asking out of interest
Him "si pollo!" (Yes chicken!) - he obviously thought I wanted chicken
Me "Caliente?" (Hot?)
Him "si caliente"
I agreed to buy an empanada and after I had paid I put my hand down to take it. Here is where he said "cuidad! Caliente!" (Careful! It's hot!).

As I touched it I thought it wasn't very hot and then I bit into it. It wasn't a hot chicken empanada. It was a cold vegetable empanada. Which was fine, because I would have bought it anyway, and in fact preferred it to chicken, but it does demonstrate in the simplest form how they will simply tell you what they think you want to hear.


All in all I had loved my experience on the boat (although I suppose that shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody) and when we alighted at half 7 on the third morning I was ready to move onto new things, and to shower.
Elisabeth and I took the bus with David, a Portuguese guy, to Tarapoto, a few hours from Yurimaguas. However after half an hour or so David and I decided to go straight on to Chachapoyas, 7 hours away. Sometimes it is easier to just get all the travelling over with in a big chunk.

The view from Kuelap

The bus journey was beautiful and contained more culinary delights (and some awful bits) as it turned into a massive food swap. I only brought popcorn and pineapple to the table but I got to try yuccabiscuits (smelt and tasted horribly fishy) and a strange sort of pod thing which was a seed encased in sweet edible fluff. I also had chufles for the first time - dried plantain chips. Trust me when I say this is the only good thing you can do with plantain.

We arrived in the evening and went to Chachapoyas Backpackers, a hostel which had been recommended by the spanish couple from the boat. It is one of the nicest hostels I think I have stayed in on my whole trip. Jose and Donna were the most welcoming hosts and there were brilliant facilities and hot(ish) showers which was all very welcome after the sparse facilities on the boat.

Staying in the dormitory was also Joe from Colorado. He invited me to join him and an English couple Andy and Kate, to go for a drink in a rum bar nearby. This hostel also had an abundance of British people in it. I feel guilty saying this made me very happy - sometimes you just need someone to talk to about home and roast dinners.  Anyway we had lovely couple of drinks. And a few horrible ones. One was made out of 7 roots and another one was supposed to be an aphrodisiac - but if you got a whole glass down you I think you would be too ill to have any sexy time anyway.

Beautiful scenery on the drive to Kuelap

The following day I decided at about 0815 to go on the day trip to Kuelap, which left at 0830. Kuelap was a fortress built by the Chachapoyans starting in about 6 century AD and is still quite overgrown, which gives it more of an authentic feel than Machu Picchu.
The tour was almost entirely spanish speaking, I think Peruvians on holiday. Evidently the majority of them had never seen a Westerner, or at least nobody blonde, as I was in quite a lot of pictures both with and without being asked.
In the evening I went out for dinner with another English guy which was enjoyable although I think I blabbered on quite a bit.

The next day I had a day to myself to back up my pictures, relax, write my blog, explore the town, wash 80% of my belongings and fix the other 20%.
That day as I was walking through the town I passed a woman with her son of roughly 4 or 5 years. Just after I had passed them I heard "mama mama mira! Mira mama!" (Mummy mummy look! Look mummy!). I turned around and the little boy was pointing straight at me. I smiled and waved at him, he waved back - I was starting to feel like a celebrity.

Joe told me that the following day he was going to do a walk on an Inca Trail from a nearby village returning to Chachapoyas, so I decided I would go with him, despite the 5am start.
In the morning Joe and I took a collectivo (shared taxi) to a nearby town. Originally there was going to be a third member of our party - an elderly American gentleman named Rick, however despite his best intentions he accepted the fact that the walk was going to be too challenging for him and he returned to the hostel before we took the collectivo.

The ruins of Kuelap

After getting some stuff for lunch in the village we started off on the Inca Trail, which Jose, the owner of the hostel, had assured us was extremely easy to navigate and that it was very obvious which path to take. It was. For the first half an hour. We took one wrong turn and realised after a few minutes that it was the wrong way, so we returned to the main path. Five or ten minutes later it happened again, but this time there was no turning back, the path was just made up of incredibly thick yellow clay like mud. To start with I was quite good at picking my way through the mud. The problem with this - I told Joe - was that pretty soon you get a bit cocky and end up knee deep in mud. Do I need to tell you what happened a few minutes later? It wasn't quite knee deep but it was close enough. Originally my foot stayed completely dry but after trying to pull myself out (with very little help from Joe who was laughing too much) I realised I was going to have to physically dig myself out, and all the water flooded into my shoe. When I was eventually out, and covered almost head to toe in mud, we continued on the path until we reached the road. We realised we were either going to have to back track (not a chance) or walk back on the road. Thankfully it was a quiet road and we got to see some ancient ruins casually sprawled metres from the road.

In the end we did have an enjoyable walk although about 20 of the total 22km home were downhill, which made us both surprisingly sore. We got back about lunchtime and I had to explain to Jose and Donna why I was such a mess. After a nap we headed out for lunch at what had become our local - "cafe fusiones". Naturally I ordered a hot chocolate, although when I asked him to make it a bit more chocolatey he went a bit overboard and I ended up practically drinking liquid chocolate. Not a bad result but not quite what I was after.

The view of the town of Chachapoyas from afar

In the evening I saw Elisabeth again as she had caught up to Chachapoyas from Tarapoto and we managed to swap some pictures from the previous few weeks.  Joe and I went for a few drinks again in the evening, this time with a guy from NZ called Phil who was slightly crazy and a British guy whose name unfortunately escapes me (it was a very sociable week).

Jose, who was particularly talented at convincing people to part with their money, had told us about a trek to "Gran Vilaya" - a more remote area near Chachapoyas with more ruins. There were already a British couple going so Joe and I decided it would be fun to go too. We were all ready to don our Indiana Jones hats the following day...

Week 17: Welcome To The Jungle

-- I am going to apologise now for just how many pictures are in this blog... I really tried to narrow it down but the Amazon was just so amazing that it was really difficult! --

Finding a bus to Oxapampa was something of a mission; after being told several different routes and times (all of which were in the evening), we eventually found a bus leaving at 1130 ("1130"... Peruvian time) for La Merced, where we would have to take a 1 and a half hour carshare to Oxapampa.

On the way to "El Tigre" waterfall

After 1 breakdown, 2 buses, 11 hours, 1 film about kidnap (surprise surprise, because they never show those!), going from sweltering heat to freezing cold and from sea level, over a 5000m high mountain pass and back down the other side Elisabeth and I arrived in La Merced. It's amazing how tired travelling and doing nothing makes you, so we found somewhere to stay and went straight to bed.

The next day was more interesting - we bought some delicious, cheap, fresh fruit (this has become a lovely recurring theme), and took a car share to Oxapampa. After finding a hostel we had a small explore followed by a delicious lunch; we enquired about getting to Pozozu, the area which still has more German and Austrian influence on its culture, but to our dismay (mainly Elisabeth's) there had been a rock fall on the road recently and it would be impassable for at least a week. So we sucked it up and went to visit the waterfall "El Tigre" which was nice, but not up there in my top waterfall experience.

At the waterfall

On returning we went to a good restaurant to try and plan our onward journey - the waitress was particularly helpful so we stayed for dinner, although all in all most of our enquiries were fruitless, so we decided we would just set off the next morning and play it by ear.

Crossing the river

The following day was travel mania! After a breakfast fit for kings (and eaten like children - I think my entire face was covered in mango) we set off for Villa Rica, our first stopover. We had considered staying to see the sights, but as the next Camioneta (Jeep) to Constitucion was in a few hours, we chose to keep moving.

This leg of the journey was one we had been dreading since the previous evening. Slightly lost in translation we had been led to believe we would be standing up inside a bus for 5 hours on a dirt track. We decided to buy the cheap seats - in the back in the open, rather than in the cabin. It was the journey I had been dreading the most but turned out to be the one I have enjoyed the most so far. For the first hour we sat a little uncomfortably, but enjoying the incredible scenery, and after this another guy who was travelling in the back with us suggested we stand up. Possibly one of the best suggestions of my whole trip so far. It was so much fun.

Household pets

For the next 5 hours I was like a dog sticking its head out the window, even when it got dark. I was like Boudicca riding in on her chariot, except I wasn't leading a revolt, and she probably didn't have the same silly grin on her face as me. We got a bit carried away taking selfies and I got hit full on in the face by a massive hanging vine. Not very dignified but it could have been worse.

We had expected that on arriving in Constitucion we would have to stay over, however we found at 2200 that we were still able to get a Camioneta to take us to Pucallpa with another lady and her child who had come from Villa Rica. It was a slightly hairy ride as we were sure the driver would fall asleep at the wheel. (An idea, I am sure you can imagine, which strikes fear into my heart more than some.)

After 3 and a half hours we arrived in Pucallpa and the lady who had shared our Camioneta helped us sort out the hostel. We slept like the dead. In the morning we went to the house of the lady (whose name I unfortunately never found out) where we had an unexpected breakfast of sweet apple tea and delicious bread and cheese, before being shown the animals in the garden - this entailed throwing raw chicken into the pond to entice the tortoises out, feeding the giant eel (I think) and the crazy large birds. Then a member of the family very kindly took us for free to the airport in his mototaxi (tuk-tuk).

Here we pulled one of my new favourite moves - we bought our tickets at the airport half an hour before the flight departed. Crazy but I love it. Do people even do that in the UK any more? We were soon in the air and on our way to Iquitos, the largest city in the world inaccessible by road or train.

One of many forays on the river

When we left the airport in Iquitos we were mobbed by mototaxi drivers, which was a bit much for some. After finding a hostel and some lunch we went on a rather round-a-bout mission to find a jungle tour. We looked at a few places but after some hard bargaining settled with the agency affiliated to our hostel. We were going to spend 4 days and 3 nights in the Amazon rain forest.

We spent the evening preparing, and I have to mention that I did accidentally open the bathroom door on a completely naked asian guy. Seriously, there's a lock on the door. Use it. In the morning we were picked up in a minibus where we met our two guides Pepe and Marlon, and the rest of our number. Darcy and Jourdan, an Australian couple, Hugo the Peruvian, and a couple from Spain.. We drove for 2 hours to Nauta, on the only road between Iquitos and anywhere else - at 110km, and which took 25 years to build) - then took a 2.5 hour boat to reach Renaco Lodge, our destination in the jungle. Elisabeth and I shared a room with Hugo. Our other companions need not be mentioned by name, but let us just say they have creepy long feelers and like to scuttle. I am not going to lie, I screamed like a girl. Only one time, but I did. For once I was happy to give in to gender stereotypes and we left Hugo deal with the cockroackes.

Jourdan and Darcy's new children

After a lunch of chicken and rice (something we were going to have to get used to) we set off again, this time on an open boat so we could all get a better view. On our first foray we saw tiny jumping monkeys (scientific name), a sloth, a lot of different birds , and we were hoping to catch a glimpse of a caiman but sadly it was not to be. However in the evening we also saw a tarantula at the lodge.

I don't remember what we had for dinner, but I expect it was rice and chicken, or chicken and rice. After dinner I stayed up playing cards with our guide, Marlon, as lights out (generator off) was at 9pm everyone else had decided to go to bed. I was glad I did as before I went to bed we went outside and I saw 4 caiman in the water right by the lodge. Despite my fear that a giant cockroack was inside my mosquito night, I managed to sleep soundly that night.

Howler monkey

We awoke early on Wednesday morning for some bird watching, which was actually quite fruitless but a refreshing way to wake up. After breakfast we went to see the pink river dolphins, then to "monkey island." This is a spot where many rescue monkeys live; it only served to confirm my suspicions that I do, in fact, feel very uncomfortable around monkeys. This feeling was only increased when one of them BIT Elisabeth. It is quite a funny story actually: we took fruit with us in the boat to feed the monkeys, and as we were leaving one was still sitting in the boat with us calmly eating his mango. He needed to get back in the trees so the guide said "just do a splash!" this, unfortunately got a little lost in translation, and after a few dribbles of water, Elisabeth splashed him with a handful. He looked her right in the eye and then bit her straight on the arm. It didn't break the skin so we weren't too worried, and he went on his way.

Swimming in the river

View of the Lodge

On the way back we donned our cozzies for a quick, refreshing dip in the river, before returning for lunch and to prepare for our night in the jungle sleeping in hammocks. After a few hours on the boat we arrived in the national reserve, where we hung our hammocks, complete with mosquito nets and tarp in case of a downpour. As the evening drew on the air became thick with mosquitoes, and as you can probably imagine, I suffered worse than most. After dinner (pasta!) we went for a nighttime walk in the jungle - where we spotted lots of frogs and tarantulas, as well as an eel but unfortunately no snakes. Our guides also went "fishing" in the swamp - which consisted of waiting patiently and then swiping at the fish with a machete. Darcy, Jourdan and I attempted to catch our own fish - we saw one which we thought had already been hacked and was dead, so I poked it with my stick. It didn't move to Jourdan bent down to pick it up. This fish went nuts and jumped right out of her hand!

The aftermath of the mozzies

When we returned to the camp we all decided to call it a night as the mosquitoes were unbearable. Just as I was about to get into my hammock I noticed an evil cockroach had somehow got onto the inside of my mosquito net. I am not embarassed to say I had to get my guide to take it out. I passed a surprisingly good night; although some of us hadn't tied out mozzie nets properly so woke up with hundreds of mosquitoes inside our hammock space. Somehow though they still had less bites than me.

After a breakfast of eggs (yum!) and plantain (my favourite...!) we went for another walk in the jungle and then returned for our boat trip back to the cabin. Luckily in the afternoon the weather held out (we were extremely lucky the whole time) and we got on the boat (anyone noticed a theme here?!) to go and see the lilypads, which were incredible. They can hold up to 15kgs and looked really beautiful on this serene part away from the main river. We also saw an iguana which our guide tried, unsuccessfully, to get into the boat.

Lilypads galore! 

Succesful fishing exped

After this we went piranha fishing. I was very unsuccessful to begin with, and said that the only way my day would be complete was if I managed a catch. With my last peice of raw chicken bait I had success! We left the piranhas flapping in the water in the bottom of the boat to keep them as fresh as possible while we went on the hunt for a caiman. It was a very bright night as it was a full moon, and unluckily we didn't manage to spot one. After out delicious dinner of piranha and another night time walk, we stayed up playing cards for a while before passing our last night sleeping in the middle of the amazon. Elisabeth went to bed first and while the rest of us were in the communal area we heard an ear piercing scream. Some of us were getting more used to the cockroaches than others. On our nighttime walks in the jungle I had noticed that there were two very distinctly different buzzing noises to be aware of - the high pitched zzzzzziiiiiii of the mosquito and the more helicopet like tchuk-tchuk-tchuk of the cockroaches. Generally we would just hit the cockroaches off each other as discreetly as possible and hope the other person didn't notice. This evening our guide also found som anacondas in the river by the lodge. He asked who wanted to hold one... you can guess who volunteered to go first...

That's right. I'm holding an anaconda

One of many many tarantulas

On our final morning we visited a nearby village where we learnt a bit about how the village functioned, and met the pet sloth of one of the families, as well as their little monkey. I faced up to my fears abnd let the monkey sit on me. It leaped off pretty quickly and I was slightly offended, and then relieved as it was only being polite and didn't want to urinate on my head. After a scrumptious lunch of chicken and rice we were awaiting the covered boat to take us back to civilisation. Almost as I put my cutlery down after my meal, the heavens really opened for the first time since we had been in the jungle. Talk about timing.

Sloths are awesome

After an enjoyable last boat road fillowed by a slightly hairy drive back from Nauta to Yurimaguas, we found a nice hostel with a hot shower (we were pretty willing to splash out) where Jourdan and Darcy were also staying. We went for dinner at "Dawn on the Amazon" cafe which was lovely but probably the most Western cafe in the whole city. It transpired therefore that it was probably also the most pretentious. I didn't really feel that I would have been comfortable partaking in about 90% of the conversations going on as I probably am not "discovering myself" enough or "challenging society" to the same degree that all these people were. At the same time they still weren't supporting the locals as they like to think they should - I, on the other hand, was willing to admit that I just wanted some really good food.

We had survived the jungle pretty well, and were now preparing ourselves for the 2 day boat ride to get to Yurimaguas, which we planned to do the following day.

One more picture of a sloth to cheer your day