Cordillera Blanca

From Trujillo we decided to make a detour into the Cordillera Blanca, reputedly the highest mountains of the continent. The road from the coast into the mountains was the roughest we have ever been on. Big sharp rocks, huge holes and frequent rockslides make 10 km/h the highest comfortable speed. Our first ride was on top of a truck transporting random things, amongst them a sheep and a bull. We were seated on a narrow wooden plank directly on top of the bull´s horns. The truck sped at what we guessed must have been at least 25 clicks, and we were shaken hard on our perch. At first the trucker told us that he will take us for 6 hours. ¨Awesome¨, we thought: a long scenic ride. But after an hour the truck stopped at a desolate crossroads in the middle of the mountain desert and informed us that we ought to take the left road, as he was taking the other one. Damn. There it is on the photo, crawling away.So we started walking in hopes of finding a shady tree. There were none in sight. It was hard walking on the rough surface. In about half-hour a truck heading the opposite direction stopped and gave us bananas and oranges. We ate them immediatly.
We passed a few ghost-villages, with only mud walls remaining. In one of them was a restaurant that was guarded by about 20 dogs. They barked fiercly at us and we made a big loop around the friendly establishment. Finally! A shady bush with a good view of the road. We were hidden under the leafy branches so well that the traffic did not see us at all, so when we saw a car heading our way, we had to leap out like wild bushmen, possibly scarrying a few drivers.
After a few hours of contemplating the red and yellow mountain sides around, we flagged down a Jeep. A true racer was behind the wheel. He floored the gas pedal a few times, and was advancing with an average speed of 40 km/h. He hit the bumps so hard that we were jolted from our seats, he sped around the blind turns and made no attemps of avoiding the big sharp rocks that sometimes fell from the cliffs above. In a few hours we were in Huallanca, where we stopped to eat. As a good omen, as we were leaving town, something burst under the hood and the oil leaked out of the engine (no freaking wonder). We were glad to part ways with our kind but dangerous friend as he took the bus to Huaraz.
We walked a bit out of town in search of a level spot for our tent and came up to a school yard,where we spotted a tent. A french couple was inside it. We decided to camp with them for the night and soon we organised an expedition for firewood, on the other side of the fast flowing river Santa. There was no bridge over the canyon... but there was a busket.You get in and pull the rope until you are on the other side. Scary! When we were on the other side (one by one), we met a grandma who told us that the whole contraption somehow collapsed last year, when four people were crossing at once! Then she wished us a good night and pulled herself to the other side with a huge bundle of grass to feed her guinea pigs. We gathered the wood and crossed back over as it was getting dark. This time two at once (much easier to pull the rope).The next morning we were excited to go through the next section of the road to Caraz. There is a beautiful Pato Canyon and also 35 tunnels in 50 kms of the road! The road was empty at the early hour and we did not think it through when we flagged down the first truck that appeared. We climbed into its closed box and realized that we will miss all the beauty as there was no opening! No, wait, there is a door on the side! And it opens... on the right side, so we watched the rock face fly by all the way. There werea lot of beer bottles, however they were empty. At least we were not in complete darkeness...In Caraz we made up our minds to visit the beautiful lake Paron, surrounded by white peaks and beautiful glaciers on all sides. It was only 35 kms up a very steep and winding road. And no cars. We walked may be 5 kilometers and were completely exhausted. Chewing coca leaves infused us with enough energy to climb the small hill to find a place to camp. In the morning there were no cars again (except for honking taxis speeding up and down) so we walked down to town, exhausting ourselves again. May be it was the altitude (around 2300m), our recent illness or our general weakness, it was hard to say, but no more mountain excursions for us! This photo was our only reward for this fruitless and very hard attempt to visit the lake. The lake is directly under this peak,still a long ways off.Yesterday we walked into Huaraz, a town famous amongst primarily Israely tourists for trekking and mountain climbing. There are tons of agencies here offering all of that and more, but we politely decline their insisting offers. As we were walking towards the main square we met a couple walking in ridgid mountain boots and carrying ice axes and ropes. We shivered.
As we were looking for a spot to pitch our tent for the night, we asked a knitting grandmother sitting on her porch for directions to the beach. In return, she invited us to camp in her garden. We slept tight throught the cold night.

The highlands

From Chiclayo we went to Chachapoyas. Our first ride was with a director of a nearby archeological site, so we were invited to visit it, free of charge. The erroding pyramids of Tucume were impressive in the setting sun. As it was getting dark, the best camping spot we could find was on top of a small unexcavated pyramid, amidst bee hives and very prickly trees.In the morning, a few short rides and then a truck, all the way to Pedro Ruiz. The truck was carrying bags of cement, and us on top of the bags. The scenery was beautiful, but the cement dust got into every crack! We were happy it did not rain!
In Chachapoyas we reunited with Tolik and Lusine, and also met Miryam and Markos on the street, for the second time since Panama!
The main thing to do in Chachapyas is to visit the Kuilap fortress, an archeological site. It´s quite hard to get to, as the three-hour ride bus ride there leves only once a day - at 3 am. Yes, 3 in the morning. We got together with Miryam and Markos and went. We were the first visitors of the day (at 6 in the morning) and the site was closed until 8. So we were invited to have a cup of coca tea at a nearby hut. The archeologists working at the site, happened to take their breakfast in the same hut, so we chatted with them and they invited us to visit their excavations later. There, we saw skeletons of an ancient sacrifice! Bones sticking out of the earth and workers brushing dust away with tooth brushes and syringes... Impressive. The whole site is little excavated, and there´s a lot more work for the few people who work there. When it is all finished (and getting there becomes easier), we were told that some day it may rival Machu Picchu itself!Our next stop was Cajamarka, and the road there is the scarriest (and most beautiful) we have ever seen. It is a narrow dirt road that winds its way through the mountain ranges, then plunges down to the river and then climbs up again. Oftentimes when you look out of the window, you see nothing but the valley a few kilometers down. There are lots of blind turns and the drivers honk to warn the oncoming traffic. There is not a lot of cars on this road, but if there is an oncoming one, you usually meet it just around the bend.
In Cajamarka we hanged out with Miryam and Markos again, and headed out in the morning. A trucker with his young family picked us up and we stayed with them for two days until Trujillo. Another dusty low-rise desert town, we will check out the pyramids and go to the mountains, to Huaraz.

Sechura desert

Ladden with a load of fruits and water we take a minibus from Piura to the edge of the desert and walk off into the sunset... The landscape was dry and beautiful, with sand dunes and prickly bushes. As we walk further and further into the desert, we pass a shepherd leading his goats back to the village. After we walked over a few ridges we agree that we want to go no further, put up our tents and settle around a fire. And then the mosquitoes attacked us! In the desert! Crazy.In the morning the rides do not come quick, so we decide to strategically split our forces. Jonathan goes ahead, and as soon as he leaves, we are picked up by a tractor-trailer. The driver is funny and talkative. Half way to Chiclayo he stops for a group of men hitch-hiking, and loads them all in his empty container.In Chiclayo, we finaly meet Tolik and Lusine, go to their hotel and get a room. And in the room, we find a treasure! A plastic bag full of expensive austrian clothes and other travel gear. The jewels of the hoard are: a multi-tool from Navimag ferries, a gasoline lighter, never used, and a sleek flashlight. Who and why would have left all of it behind?We apropriated the find, but if the owner comes back in time, we will give it back.
In the evening we figured our route with the guys: It looks like a lot of bus rides! Oh well, we`ll see what this way of travelling looks like!
Later at night, we reunited with Jonathan (who made it to Chiclayo half an hour after us) and talked well into the night.
The next day we went to the nearby ruins of Sipan with the guys. What looks like two muddy hills at first sight, are actually the remains of huge ancient adobe piramids. In the nearby museum there are a lot of excavated gold objects and descriptions of the tombs.