Huanchaco, Peru (October 13-14th)

Huanchaco is another small town on the coast of Peru. It is about a half hour from Trujillo which is one of the larger cities in Peru.

On our first day we were pretty tired from our night bus so did not get up too much. Court and I walked to the main part of town and along the beach a little. There are lots of traditional grass boats everywhere that fishermen still use. We found a cute cafe called Chocolate that was a big hit with the Brit's in our group as they were able to have scones for breakfast and proper English tea! I think we must have visited three or four times during our two day stay.

On the second day our group got picked up and taken to Trujillo to start our tour of some pre-Incan ruins. First we visited the temple of the moon and a museum that has been made for all the artifacts found in it. We also saw a few Incan dogs. They are a very old, purebred breed used by the Incans. They are hairless and really quite ugly! When the Incans went into the mountains they would have to put sweaters on the dogs. The temple was quite large and still had the original color on all the paintings. Interestingly, after the burial of a chief in the palace the mochi tribe would completely cover the whole place again in clay and they start fresh, adding another level to the temple. So now there are layers and layers to uncover. Seems like a lot of work...

Next we had a quick lunch in Trujillo (including traditional dance entertainment) and then visited the Rainbow pyramid named for the colors that it used to be painted in. A large portion of the pyramid had been completely restored so we were not as impressed with it.

Next we visited chan-chan which is an ancient Moche tribe civilization. The area that was settled was quite a huge city area so we only toured one of the nine palaces in it. Most impressive was the sheer size of the palace, built entirely out of adobe. Again, a lot of the ruins had been completely restored so were not very authentic looking.

When we got back we went out for another English tea and then dinner to kill time before our night bus.

The night bus to Lima was amazing! Nicer than the flights we took to get here! Our group was all very impressed by the reclining seats, foot pad, pillow, blanket, dinner, breakfast and juice provided. The 9 hour drive went by very quickly!

-Lisa

Picture 1 - Grass boats in Huanchaco
Picture 2 - Chan-Chan ruins
Picture 3 - the Temple of the Moon
Picture 4 - Incan dog

Beach bumming it in Mancora, Peru (October 10-12th)

October 10th
On the morning of October 10th we left Cueñca in a five hour bus to the Peru border. The last half hour of the drive was really neat - banana fields on either side of the road as far as you can see. Ecuador is actually the worlds largest exporter of bananas. It was kind of funny seeing the Chiquita signs along the road and thinking we might eat those same bananas in Canada! We must have ended up at the wrong terminal at the Ecuador-Peru border because we had to wait outside the building for an hour for a bus to pick us up and drive us to the right building. We were getting a little restless- its a bit frustrating losing a whole day to busing but must be done! Once we were inside it was fairly smooth for us all to check-out of Ecuador and check-in to Peru (despite most of us having thrown out an apparently important document). Then another 3 hour bus to Mancora- it was awesome to wake up half way through to white sandy beaches and sun :)

Mancora is a small surf town on the coast of Peru. As soon as we arrived we were both in love with it. Such a laid back vibe, small and surferish :) There is only one main street and not many cars, instead there are tuk-tuk's everywhere. They are motorcycle taxis with a small seating area and roof attached to the back.

We got in around dinner and went out to a small seafood restaurant. The seafood was amazing! Lisa had swordfish (white meat kind of like halibut) and Courtney had arroz con mariscos (a mixed seafood rice dish with local spices, freshly caught squid, octopus, fish and shrimp). Both were amazing. We all participated in the 2 for 15 soles happy hour and enjoyed (strong) daiquiris and mojitos.Then we quickly got changed back at the hotel - Hotel las Olas which was right on the beach at the edge of 'town' and then walked along the beach to check out the nightlife. Very fun! There are two or three bars and dance clubs right along the beach and later we went to a reggae club with some locals. We tried Pisco Sours which is the Peru national drink. Not quite sure exactly what they are but they have naranja and lime and something frothy on top. And lots of fresh mojitos! It was a fun night of dancing and meeting people.

October 11th
The next day we woke up, had a quick breakfast and went to check out the shops. Court ended up with a much needed bikini (white water rafting did hers in) and I got a Peru tank top. Then we spent the afternoon lying on the beach and swimming in the surf. The water is a very pleasant temperature and most of the bottom is smooth sand. It was a very relaxing day- we wanted to try surfing but didn't quite get up the energy. Javier, a friend we made the night before, joined us and it was nice to have a local Peruvian to tell us fun facts and take us to the good restaurants throughout our stay. That night we grabbed a quick dinner and went back to the night clubs. We were all a little tired but after a few drinks a bunch of us got the dance floor started again and ended the night with a midnight swim!

October 12th
On our last day in Mancora the morning was spent lying in the sun and swimming once again. Javier took us to another good restaurant on the beach that we went for lunch. We all tried ceviche which is a speciality of Peru. It is raw chunks of fish that is cooked only slightly with freshly squeezed lemon juice and served with onions on top. It was very, very tasty. Javier told us that the ceviche is so much better here than in North America because of the difference in lemons. South American lemons are much smaller and more acidic so they cook the fish differently. For our meal we both had another plate of arroz con mariscos. The shrimp here are huge! And delicious :)

After lunch we visited some people we had met who were staying in another hostel to watch the soccer games. Peru and Bolivia played first and then Ecuador and Chile. Right now is the qualifying games for the World Cup so a lot of the town was watching the game. We ended up staying at the hostel and playing games all afternoon. They had large scale versions of Jenga, battleshots and connect-four as well as pool and ping-pong. It ended up being a really fun afternoon and we met people from all over the world - Ireland, Australia, Israel to name a few!

We lost track of time a bit (probably due to the rum slushies that went down like juice) because at 9:30 our guide showed up to tell us we had to leave to get our night bus to Huanchaco. None of us wanted to leave at all! It was a bit of a scramble but we all made it on with almosttt all our belongings- Courts down a pair of flipflops somehow haha! Luckily we both slept for the 10 hour trip despite being stuffed into seats next to strangers. It would have been really not fun if we hadn't- some of the girls didn't manage to so are feeling quite rough right now.

October 13th
Now we have had a nice long nap and are caught up and ready to explore Huanchaco!

-Lisa and Court

Picture 1 - Windsurfer
Picture 2 - Beach outside our hotel
Picture 3 - Beach access to our hotel
Picture 4 - Banana fields
Picture 5 - Sharing a coconut
Picture 6 - Terrace of our hotel room
Picture 7 - Sunset
Picture 8 - Mancora main street

Cuenca

We were up early and took a two hour bus and then switched onto a four hour bus. There was lots of room so I grabbed a seat to myself to sleep on but a man ended up joining me. As soon as I stirred a little bit he was chatting away, his name was Ali and he was very kind and we spent the rest of his portion of the ride chatting-him teaching me Spanish and telling him all about himself- he even gave me a bunch of jewellery that he sells, so sweet. Eventually we made it to Il Tambo, where we grabbed some 'cabs' to Ingapirca. The cabs were just trucks and a few of us piled in the back with the bags, it was a nice fresh air scenic little drive from back there :) Ingapirca is a ruin- it was started by the local Cañari tribe but then taken over by the Incas and expanded on. The whole area included burial sites, old storage buildings, some homes for the servants/farmers, original aquaducts still there, and the main sun/moon temple. We wandered around and it's still quite fascinating even though its only been a protected site for 50 years so a lot of it is ruined. Of course the Spaniards looted everything when they conquered and even up until fifty years ago locals could just come take the perfectly carved stones to build their homes with so there's not a ton left there. We also saw a mountain with a big face on it (think like a more natural Mt. Rushmore) that the Inca's cherished.
After another wind blown trip in the back of a truck down the mountain we were on our last bus, finally arriving in Cuenca. All we were feeling up to that night was finding dinner and then hitting the hay.

Next day (Oct 9th) a bunch of us and our guide went out to the Panama hat factory. Cuenca exports these hats all over the world and you're only getting the really deal it's its stamped with HO (Homero Ortega is the founder), then you know its made by the master weavers here. We took a tour of the factory which was interesting, it's quite a talent to make the hats high quality. The best part was the gift shop, we all tried on all the hats ranging from $25-$2000! A couple girls got hats but I opted for the easier to pack (and cheaper) head band with flowers on it that were weaved in the same fashion.
After we got dropped off in the old town portion of the city (the old town and new town are divided by a river) the old town is all colonial architecture and quite pretty. This city is quite large. Luis, our guide, estimated 500,000 ppl or so- it's the third largest in Ecuador. We first went in a "Museo de las Cultures Aborigenes" which was a collection of 5000 historical pieces that one family collected from all over Ecuador! We then walked along the river which was surrounded by big old buildings and then headed to a food market for our highly recommended roasted pig lunch. A bunch of booths just have giant whole pigs sitting there and for $2 we to a plateful of delicioussss pork, some mashed potato patties and a bit of salad. Yummy. Next we headed to see the two big churches which are basically side by side, ones the new church which is active and the old church next door is a museum that unfortunately we couldn't check out. They were both grand impressive buildings. We all stopped for some ice cream at a little bakery and then Lisa and I made our way back browsing through the vendors as we went. We then sat on the grass by the river and caught up on some journaling in the sun before heading back for dinner. We went out with everyone for traditional guinea pig which is a delicacy here. It was a bit scary since it comes with claws and teeth and everything still intact and you basically just have to pick it up and bite into it. It tasted pretty good though- quite salty and tender. Definitely interesting. Now just getting ready for yet another full day of busing tomorrow, and we're crossing the border to Peru which should be interesting considering we all threw out an apparently important document! Ah well, it's all an adventure :)
-Court <3

Baños (October 6-7)

From Teña we took a four hour bus to the city of Baños. In Spanish the word baños is used for bathroom, but this city is named so because of its natural thermal springs, or baths. We arrived at about noon, checked into our hotel (La Floresta Hotel) and went out for lunch in the Mercado (market). Some of our group ordered sheep soup, which is served with dried sheep blood to sprinkle on top. I didn't go so far as to order it but I did try some of the dried sheep blood, it tastes like soft jerky. A little strange! I tried mora juice (raspberry) which is made fresh from local fruit in front of you. Delicious! That afternoon Court and I went with a few others from our group to check out the baths. They were so crowded!! We definitely got a few looks from the locals and one man took a picture of our group. We were a little disappointed as we had thought they would be more natural looking - instead they were just swimming pools. But at least they were at the base of a mountain and waterfall! The hottest pool was very hot, at least as hot as hot tubs back home. There were also really, really cold baths.

Unfortunately Court came down with a bug of some sort after dinner the first night so she wasn't able to see much of Baños besides a little shopping trip. Poor thing!

For dinner on our first night we went to Cafe Hood which was a really cool restaurant. Court and I both tried canelazo which is the Ecuadorian national drink. Neither of us liked it too much. It has lime, sugar cane and sugar cane spirits. Very sweet and syrupy and it is served hot. The sugar cane spirit has quite a kick to it! It's a really strong alcohol. After dinner we checked out the local nightlife. First we went to the Leprechaun Pub it was called and were given a free shot of sugar cane spirit. What made it so bad is it was lit on fire and we has to drink it through a straw, while it was on fire! Definitely not the best shot I've ever had. From the pub we went to a discotheque and tried not to embarrass ourselves too much salsa'ing beside the locals. It was fun to try though! The salsa music is quite modern sounding and really fun to dance to.

The next morning I wandered around Baños with Alice and checked out some local shops. The town is quite small and everyone is very friendly. Not pushy at all when you are looking at their booths.

In the afternoon I did a four hour waterfall bike tour with Melany and Theresa from Germany. We started in town and biked two hours along a canyon out of the valley Baños is in. Gorgeous scenery! We stopped at 4 or so waterfalls and took a cable car across the canyon to one. At the end of the tour we hiked down to the latest waterfall which was quite impressive. Then we got a lift back to the hotel.

For dinner that night some of us went back to Casa Hood because we had enjoyed it so much. Everyone was too tired from the night before so we all went to bed early as we have to leave early in the morning for Cuenca.

Unfortunately our whole stay in Baños was cloudy so noone was able to see the active volcano just outside the town. Apparently it is quite impressive and you can see it steaming on a clear day. We decided not to waste our time trekking up to the viewpoints since it didn't ever clear up enough.

-Lisa

Life in the Amazon

After the long bus ride into Teña, a town on the outskirts of the Amazon jungle, we all swung by the store for supplies (gifts for the children we were going to meet, rum and flashlight batteries for us) then got picked up in trucks and taken into the jungle. Right as we were hiking up the path to the houses the sky let go and it started raining with thunder and lightening- pretty crazy to experience in the jungle. The family was waiting for us with lemonade and their little girl even carried Lisa's day bag up the hill, she was so cute. We dropped of our bags in our cute little cabañas which are little thatch roof huts with beds (mosquito nets included) and a candle because they don't have electricity and then headed for dinner. All our meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday) were home cooked traditional, local food by the family we stayed with. Each meal was more delicious than the last and we all agreed it was the best food we've had since we got to South America. The first night was Tilapia fish which is now commonly found in the Amazon after being introduced from Africa 30 years ago. Each meal had a new kind of local tea to try and lunch and dinner always had a different type of soup to start with. Everywhere in Ecuador meals are served with Ahi which is a homemade salsa that is delicious!

The family we stayed with is part of the Quichiua tribe, one of the five main tribes in the Amazon. The sound of the jungle at night is incredible. It sounds exactly like the sound tracks you buy to help you fall asleep at night. There are birds, frogs, and insects chirping with the sound of fronds blowing and water rippling. It goes on all night long!

The sound of the Amazon in the morning is a little different. The family's roosters start crowing at about 4:00am and they do not stop until after breakfast! Not as pleasant as the night sounds.

Our first full day in the Amazon we spent hiking. In the morning we followed a creek bed and hiked up a series of waterfalls. Before we left each of us had our face painted with a traditional Quichiua symbol using dye from the inside of a seed. Courtney had mountains that represented where all the spirits live and Lisa had a medicine bag. We also each got a traditional woven headband to wear. Hiking in the Amazon was a very cool experience. It smells very unique. Really moist and earthy (sort of like pine mushrooms) and fruity all at the same time. A very rich and pleasant smell, especially after it rains. Unfortunately none of the pictures we took really captures how impressive the jungle is with the extent of the different types of plants and the height of the trees because everything is the same vibrant green! Some of the waterfalls we had to climb up with ropes which was an added adventure. We stopped halfway up to stand under a waterfall (bikinis and gumboots - we're going to make it a new fashion) and at the top of the hike went swimming in the small pool with a waterfall cascading into it. Along the way we saw butterflies (one type is a very neon blue and is the size of a small bird but they were too fast to get on camera flying - the picture is of one with its wings closed), grasshoppers and treefrogs! Lisa was ecstatic about that as seeing a treefrog in the Amazon has been on the bucketlist since about grade five. On the way back down we both decided to rappel the largest waterfall without the safety harness just holding the rope which was pretty thrilling!

After lunch we hiked to a viewpoint of the Amazon. It looked like a scene out of National Geographic. All around us (including the morning hike and in our camp) was primary rainforest as far as you can see. It was really neat to see the canopy trees and all the smaller ones beneath. We found a lemon tree along the way which is not named for its fruit since it doesn't have lemons but for the edible ants that live on it. They actually taste like lemon, we all ate a few. On the first hike Lisa got to experience another type of ant - the fire ant! It really does feel like your arm is on fire when you get bit! We also saw a "6 o'clock" cicada and just like our guide said at 6:05 back at camp we heard the cicadas start to sound. After the hike to the viewpoint we stopped and gave our selves clay facials from a creek bed. Apparently our five minute treatment would cost $75 in a North American spa once they import the clay there! Our skin is now nice and smooth ;)

That night we had a cultural session put on for us by the family. It was really interesting! They showed us some traditional songs and dances and we all had a chance to try playing their handmade instruments. There was also a short shaman ritual to restore balance and harmony to an individual which was very relaxing. We got "Siepte Essences" to rub on our faces. It is an infusion of seven flowers that relaxes you while you sleep. We also got taught about a traditional wedding- oh yeah everyone Courtney's now married ;) The whole evening was very interesting and we felt privileged we got to learn more about their culture.

On our second, and sadly last, day in the Amazon we went white water rafting with two other group members. Rafting in the Amazon was an absolutely incredible once in a lifetime experience. We were literally travelling by river through the Amazon jungle, through untouched rainforest, all day with noone else around!! We saw a flock of parrots during the day which was also really cool. The scenery was amazing, lots of smaller waterfalls and overhanging cliffs with vines and other plants cascading over. However we couldn't just look around us the whole time because the rafting was hard work! All four of us decided we wanted to do the higher skill level of rafting (bigger, higher and longer rapids) and we were glad we did. There were just the four of us in our raft with our guide Tim who was very friendly and we all got along great. We all joked around all day and spent a large part of the day laughing and pushing each other into the river and stuff- a hoot! The rapids were huge! Much bigger than we were expecting, but also much funner! A lot of the rapids have only one "line" or path through them for the raft that you can take or else you will flip the boat. So when Tim told us to paddle hard, we did!! At the beginning we did not hit the right line (it took us a while to coordinate paddling between the four of us) so we got stuck in a "washing machine" rapid - it spins you around in a circle. When that happens you have to jump to the high side of the boat which is constantly changing as you spin around. Somehow we managed not to flip and made it out, which we kept up the rest of the day. The other boat with us flipped twice. Not something we wanted to try! It poured (really, really poured) for a lot of the day so the guides were a bit nervous when we got to the canyon we had to portage. We hiked through the jungle, more like bushwhacked since there wasn't a trail, which was difficult because our guide told us to "not touch anything because you'll get stung by lots of bees"... thankfully no one got stung! At the end we had to rappel down a rock face (in a harness this time) and then clamber over some smooth and slippery rocks (without a harness) while watching the raging river below. It was a little scary! Tim had told us that when it rains as hard as it was that in as little as half an hour the river can flash flood in the canyon we were at since right above it five rivers meet. So we were a little nervous sitting at the bottom waiting to go as the river got higher! Everything turned out okay though, the rain slowed and no flash flood. Right after the canyon we had to make it through "Paranoia", the hardest rapid of the trip. We watched the other boat go first and flip but we managed to make it through (yay we rock!) We stopped at a beach for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed the soggy burritos, pineapple and chocolate cake - it had started back up raining by this point. We also went for a little swim. One of many throughout the day. during the calm spots between rapids we would jump out of the raft and swim. Swimming in the Amazon! It still sounds crazy even after we have done it. Near the end of the day Tim asked us if we wanted to try floating through a rapid section not in the boat. So of course we all had to try it! It was quite scary- We had to swim out to the middle of the river and line up with the centre of the rapids. We got sucked under twice but you pop back up quickly. It was really cool and we were all glad we tried it. We also went "surfing" on a washing machine rapid near the end which was really fun. We purposely got ourselves stuck in the circle and then tried to stay in jumping from side to side for as long as we could. Really fun!

After the guide and a driver drove us back to our home stay and we were all having so much fun still that he stayed for a drink (or two, or...) We went into to Teña to small a bar/pool hall and had a few drinks and a fun time. When we got back to the camp there was a HUGE storm. They call them electric storms here. There was thunder and lightning and a torrential downpour all night. The thunder was so loud it sounded like a bomb going off in our cabana! It was a little hard to sleep through. We've never been in a storm that loud!

Early the next morning, after no sleep, we were off on the bus to Banos. More on that to come!

Being in the Amazon was so much more than either of us could have imagined. It's both a surreal and magical place that neither of us will ever forget.

Picture 1 - Viewpoint from the afternoon hike
Picture 2 - where we had lunch on our rafting tour
Picture 3 - being silly on our waterfall hike
Picture 4 - tree frog!!
Picture 5 - Hannah and Court getting a clay facial
Picture 6 - butterfly
Picture 7 - our Cabana
Picture 8 - a Tarantula at our camp about 15cm long (they like to dig holes and come out at night)
Picture 9 - the view from the deck of our cabana
Picture 10 - viewpoint from the afternoon hike
Picture 11 - Hannah, Alice, Jenny, Court & Lisa with our face paint and headband
Picture 12 - Lisa rappelling down a waterfall
Picture 13 - viewpoint from the afternoon hike

We can't change the order of the photos on the blog...apologies for the random order!

Last day in Quito - October 2nd

Court here.
After being out at the pub last night till the wee hours we all had a sleep in today. Lisa and I walked to the nearby square and had a "light" breakfast at a cafe. Delicious yogurt, granola, fruit, bread with cream cheese and jam, fresh juice (naranjo agria - sour orange) and coffee. All for five dollars! We're definitely not going hungry here... We then met up with the Irish girls - Dee & Caroline - to head to the TelefériQo. We negotiated with a cab driver a price to get there-thankfully he didn't kick us out halfway there as one yesterday did! We got dropped off high up a mountain where there's a whole amusement park and then this cable car that we went up to 4100m. Such a breathtaking view of the massive city, which is in a valley with gorgeous rolling mountains around it. We're still as shocked by the size of Quito as we were when we flew in- its about 1.5 million people and we've gotten to look at it from above a few times now and it's always amazing :) We wandered a couple paths up atop of the mountain before heading home. Lisa and I then headed to a little market nearby- rows upon rows of little vendors in booths. Each with similar, but beautiful, scarves, bags, sweaters, jewellery, blankets and such. Everything is in such vibrant colours. The vendors weren't too pushy which is nice and we were able to tell them "no gracias, solo estoy mirando" (no thank you, I'm just looking). Lisa and I started getting into bartering "Es muy caro" (it's too expensive) and ended up each getting a scarf, bag and bracelet! Our bags are getting tight already-uh oh! We're really enjoying attempting Spanish. The locals are usually quite helpful and seem pleased with our attempts and they're happy to yabber at you even if you say "no entiendo, no hablo español" haha.
Lisa and I did a quick walk through of the largest museum in Ecuador, sponsored by the National bank only a 5 minute walk from the Hotel. Some amazingggg gold and copper body art pieces and such.
Anywho, now we're packing up before dinner because tomorrow we're heading into a three day home stay in the amazon jungle! Eeeeeeee!
Will update after that hopefully :)

Quito, Ecuador - October 1st

On our second day in Quito we toured Old Town, the historic section of Quito. We walked to the Palicio Presidencial to watch the Changing of the Guards which happens every Monday. It was very ceremonial with a large orchestra and march around Plaza Grande Square by the guards in full regalia. The president of Quito stood on the balcony and waved to the crowd. The large crowd was chanting something about the president, we were wishing we knew what they said! We explored Old Town a bit more before lunch and visited some beautiful churches with amazing gold and turquoise ceilings. Unfortunately no pictures allowed! Our lunch at Vista Hermosa was recommended to us by our lovely concierge Theresa. Courtney, Alice and Jenny (from the UK) and I were awed by the amazing view of the city from our rooftop table. Everywhere we go in Quito we get stared at quite a bit, but our waiter was a little excessive - he kept walking into tables and dropping things he was staring at us four so much! It was quite funny. After lunch we explored La Basilica. It is a huge, very old church just outside of Old Town. There were lots of ornate spires, stained glass windows and a large courtyard to take pictures of. We climbed "stairs" up to the clock tower and bell tower. Except the stairs were actually a wrought iron ladder that went straight up 40 feet. The view was well worth it! And what do you know - I ran into a girl from my Biology program at UVic at the very top of the bell tower. It's such a small world!! Around dinner we met up with our tour group. There are 11 girls and 1 boy! Lucky him ;) It looks to be a very fun group with only us from Canada, and people from Germany, Norway, the UK and Ireland. We went out to a local restaurant with our guide, Luis, then hit up the Irish bar in town. All in all, a very good day!
-Lisa