Peru was absolutely amazing. The girl's worked so well and, I believe, had one of the most worthwhile experiences of their whole lives.
The first week we spent a day in Lima, also we had to wait for 10 - count them! - bags that IBERIA failed to get on the plane - FROM HEATHROW!!!!! (we had a connection in Madrid) the day before.
and then a few day acclimatising (which wasn't long enough for some - including me!) at a lodge outside Huaraz that belongs to a guy called Alex - for truly chilling out in stunning surrounding you can't beat this place:
Then we headed off on the Santa Cruz Trek - except we did it backwards to avoid folowing another couple of wilderness groups - amongst others! It took us about 4 days and was one of the most awesome, and testing, things I have ever experiences. The views were stunning, the headaches were mean but ultimately it was definitely worth it.
Then for some recovery (and our tree planting!) we went to the Llanganuco Lodge, which is run by Alex's brother Charlie. There is a lake up there with a folk story attatched to it and the views over the valley are breathtaking.
The tree planting day was hot and sunny - until the afternoon when the wind decided to have a little fun!
The next 5 days were spent on project. A previous group had laid the foundation and underfloor pipework for the toilet block. It was our job to finish the plumbing and cement it in, purchase and install the sinks and toilets, dig a pit for the 1,000 gallon septic tank and for the pipes leading away from the toilets and also to dismantle on of the end buildings so the bricks could be used to for the new block......piece of cake!
On our last evening there the family of the cook at the lodge came over and prepared a feast for us. It consisted of Cuy (Guniea Pig), Chicken and Potatoes all cooked in a chilli sauce - absolutely gorgeous. First proper meat we'd had in over a week and a half! They bought the Cuy live and killed them there so we could watch the process. I was actually fascinated until one of them started squeaking when they took it out of the bag, then I found sudden interest in the piece of rock I had been trying to remove with the pick-axe and left them to it!
After project we started our Cultural/R&R phase.
First we headed to Chiclayo where our hostel had a lovely guy yelling "Mas, mas, mas" outside the window every 3 mins or so for (and no, I do not exargerate) 18 hours a day! We never worked out why he was yelling that but it added to the local colour!?!
We visited the Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán (Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipan), which contained all the artefacts found at the burial outside Laymbayeque. It also has a reconstruction of the burial site an loads of info on the Sipan - really well presented, layed out and lit (!) displays and my Spanish improved no end as there was no English translation!
We also spent a couple of afternoon's pottering around the famous market in Chiclayo. The plays was a riot of smells, colour and people wanting to sell you everythig from machetes to pet birds! Did my first bit of bartering on a present for one of the John's (quite chuffed as I really don't like doing it) and enjoyed the coffe/cocoa stalls as well as the interesting objects , herbs and othe things in 'shaman alley'.
Next we headed over to Chachapoyas - a much smaller town but with lots to visit - including the brilliant Kuelap Ruins. This place rivals Macchu Picchu in it's size, volume of stone and preservation. But the pleasure of this one is that not many people go there and most of it is still fairly overgrown with jungle - so you get to feel like an explorer (all those Famous Five books when I was younger!). There are around 140 round building, mostly houses, plus about 4 square buildings. Some have been cleared and one of them has been reconstructed so you can see what it would have looked like. The views, again!, are stunning - the Chachapoyans must have been able to observe for mile from up there
There was also a friendly (if elusive) pack of Llama/Alpaca up there :)
The following day we did the Gocta Waterfall hike. This had been meant to be an overnight thing but we discovered that it could be easily done in one day and would give us an extra day elsewhere! It was great fun hiking through the jungle, saw loads of butterflies, plants and even a Cock o' the Rock (bird with bright orange head and body and black wings) - very exciting! The waterfall was immense - the tallest double waterfall in the world. It was the dry season when we visited but it was still pretty cool.
We then set of to get to Tarrapoto. Although this involved a rather lengthy wait in Pedro Ruiz (a village in the back of beyond!) waiting for bus that never showed up! We had fab fun with some local kids and eventually the bus guy said for an extra 30s/. he could get us a collectivo/combi to go to Tarrapoto. 5 1/2 hours in a very small minibus - good times!
Tarrapoto was much more humid than the other places we had been and just as hot. We had 3 days of water filled fun! On the first afternoon we visited the Ahuashiyacu waterfall and got to swim a little and soak in the atmosphere of being in waterfool pool in the jungle! We also had fun getting there and back as we decided to take the motor-taxi's that seem to be everywhere there. They are basically motobikes with a carriage for 3 attatched (although they also have ones with pick-up style backs on!). Sooo much fun!
The next day we went white water rafting on one of the tributaries of the Amamzon. So good - until a particularly strong current took me (and the dry bag containing my camera) under the raft for 20s before I struggled out and then promptly had to resue 2 oars and one of the girl's shoes. After that I considered my camera out of action until I could get home and dry it out properly. It was a fabulous afternoon though!
For our final day in Tarapoto we headed to Moyobamba and the Thermal Baths which are kept at a steady 42'c - just hot enough so that you get too hot and bored at the same time! Had a good meal in the evening although a coupld of the girsl started to get sick - the others went out for some Karoke fun (apparently not that fun!) whilst I headed back to the hostel with the sickies for an early night. We were staying in the Hostel "July". July is the nam of the owner and in the lonely planet she is described as an 'Imelda Marcos type' - which is her to a tea. Gregarious and very protective of us she was one the best characters we met out there and fought everyone to see that we got the best deal for everything!
