I've just been transported back 300 years in time, I think!!

The first sector of my 6 sector journey to and from Tarapoto is over - a 6 and a half hour overnight coach trip departing Trujillo at 10pm last night and arriving into Cajamarca at 4:30am this morning. Way to early to impose on my host here but thankfully the coach company leave the coach open so passengers can rest on board until a civilised hour, 6:30am in my case. There's usually one annoying passenger, of course, and today it was a man who decided that he'd play a game on his phone to pass the time (despite a mother trying to settle her baby to sleep) and the pinging every few seconds eventually drove me off the bus and into the dark and uncomfortable bus station.
At 6:30am I knew my host would be up getting her older child ready for school so caught a three wheeled mototaxi to the address - she did warn me that it was the worst street in the town and it was unbelievable. More like a dry river bed and I doubt the mototaxi could have driven any further up the hill than it did. Thankfully the host had given me explicit directions for the driver and he stopped at the well opposite where the house is and where even at 6:30am women were busy washing clothes by hand in primitive tubs of cold water. I feel as through I've been transported back 300 years here - the town smells like a sewer, which isn't surprising given that the drains are either open or only covered with slabs of concrete which don't keep the smell contained. It looks a bit like some of the old paintings of London town before sanitation was introduced and roads were cobbled - dirty and smelly.
The Airbnb here is very basic - more than just rustic! The room is clean, though, but the roof looks like it may leak if it rains as the ceiling is lined with plastic sheeting. And I did manage to have a hot shower this morning (under one of those same "electrocute yourself" shower fittings that are so common in South America). The host, Susan, is of Dutch stock but I haven't found out yet what she's doing here in such a third world situation. She seems so out of place here with her high school aged son and another 11 year old with Down Syndrome (both of mixed parentage). I couldn't find a laundry in town that could do my laundry before I depart at 5pm tomorrow night (and Susan says her washing machine is broken and she does hers by hand) so I'll take it with me to my next stop where I'll be for three days. I didn't quite trust the women across the road to do it there in case I never saw it again (with my Spanish language skills they may have thought I was donating it to them!).
There is a nice clean restaurant only five minutes away where I had a lovely lunch of Tallarin Chifa, which I think translates to Chinese noodles - it had plenty of nice fresh vegetables and white meat mixed in with it and was very tasty - $3.50. I may eat there again tonight - a hamburger maybe. They always offer soup as a starter but I always pass as I can't finish the main course otherwise. On occasions the soup still arrives but I usually just send it back or they might charge an extra $4.00 for it. They don't necessarily serve bread rolls with the soup either and even if you ask for them they usually say they don't have any, even when the bakery is right next door!
Not much else to report today - I'll see if I can find a photo or two to add. (Tried, not possible due slow internet connection, sorry).

I can't believe I'm doing this...

Well, after previously reporting that I might spend the rest of my time here in Huanchaco I've been talked into going to Tarapoto in the centre of Peru, over the Andes! It's not quite the Amazon jungle I was hoping to be able to fit into my trip but it's as close as I'm going to get with the small amount of time I have left. Barney, the Aussie guy who lives at the Airbnb where I'm staying talked me into it, saying it's on the edge of the Amazon rainforest but more accurately it's "cloud forest". The rain forest proper begins further East of Tarapoto. Should be interesting, nonetheless. Getting there is a mission - three coach trips each way so I don't have to spend 18 hours at a stretch on a coach from here to there over what is known here as The Death Road! My route is safer via Cajamarca and Chachapoyas but a lot longer. From the stories I've heard about travelers going via the Death Road who've refused to return via the same route or girls who cried en route because the wheels of the van were hanging over the edge of the road in mid air while the driver did a three point turn to get around some of the corners I decided that the safer route was the best option (I do need to get back to NZ in one piece if I can). So, the first day (night) is Monday 11th from here to Cajamarca where I'll overnight - coach departs here 10pm and arrives there 6am. Then another overnight coach from Cajamarca to Chachapoyas where I'll stay for 3 nights - there's plenty to see in and around that city, so I'm told. Then on to Tarapoto, my destination, on another overnight coach (it's not always possible to get a coach traveling during the day on these isolated routes so I'll no doubt miss some spectacular scenery). I can only spend 2 nights in Tarapoto before I start the marathon journey back to Lima for my flight to Santiago and home. I  think one of the overnight coach sectors on the way to Tarapoto is done during the day on the return trip, so that will be nice. I expect to stay back here in Huanchaco for 2 nights en route to Lima for a rest stop.
This morning I awoke at 8am to what sounded like the Rio Street Carnival right outside the Airbnb - too noisy for a Sunday morning!! Bass sounds amplified through loudspeakers in the park across the road. I could understand it if Peru had just won the Football World Cup but apparently this happens every Sunday morning!! I felt sorry for anyone suffering from a hangover (and there would have been quite a few of them after the clubs here closed last night).
Yesterday (Saturday) I did a full day tour which included the pre Inca ruins at Chan Chan and the Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon and associated archaeological museums. Some amazing stuff to see and artifacts in the museum as well as the gory history of human sacrifices made to appease the Gods - aren't religious rituals passed down from generation to generation and accepted as normal by the people interesting. The sacrificial victims even considered it acceptable to be the ones chosen to be killed in order to ensure a bountiful harvest for the rest of the population. Thank goodness we've moved on from those times! They had some good policies though - if you were lazy and didn't contribute to society you were physically punished, and harshly. You had to pull your weight or you were considered a burden to the rest of the population who worked hard to feed and clothe everyone.
Enough for today - maybe a little more tomorrow.

The well preserved frescos at The Temple of the Sun, near Huanchaco. The population buried them every few years with mud brick walls as they continued to build the Temple bigger and bigger over decades c.800 A.D.

Reliefs carved into the city walls of the city of Chan Chan which has been slowly unearthed by archaeologists over the past few decades.  They represent animals and birds hunted for food and clothing at the time of  occupation. 

At last, a good Airbnb in Huanchaco!

Yep! I may stay here for the rest of my time in Peru! Right on the beach, a Kiwi owner - Karlene - (who has moved back to NZ but still owns this place) and at least three semi permanent guests who all speak English - Barney from Aus, Emily from Ireland and her amigo Nico who's local but also speaks English. So when I went out to lunch I also met Brad from Vancouver who I've invited around tonight to share a few coldies with us in the courtyard - he's traveling on his own looking for a place to buy, maybe in Equador, where he can retire on his Canadian pension and live well. He's been living in Cambodia for the past few years where he had a restaurant business with a partner. He tells me that since the Chinese have moved into Cambodia in a big way building Casinos and taking over businesses there the place has gone to the pack. This Airbnb is big with a large lounge and spacious kitchen and my room is clean and comfortable with a double bed and plenty of storage space - hot water in the shower as well as good WiFi - what more could you ask for! There are a lot of surfers here from around the world as the surf break is consistent and worth hanging around for. I see youngsters in wet suits everywhere carrying their surf boards and dripping wet. Food and wine is cheap here, too - my lunch was a big hamburger with chips for $4.50 and Brad has pointed me towards a place that does a large Lasagna for $6.00. I also bought a litre of Cab Sav which he recommended as good for $6.50. I need to be careful I don't become dependent on alcohol while I'm here! 
After my siesta I arose about 5pm to go for a walk and watch the brilliant red sun set behind the palm trees directly across the road from my Airbnb as the surf rolled in. Magic. I though I might find a supermarket to buy some muesli or granola but apparently there isn't one in Huanchaco. Emily suggested I'd be able to get some at the produce market and either she or Barney will take me there. While she was attending to her two hairdressing clients in the dining room here we talked about places to visit and she suggested I do a trip to Huamachuco for a few days or further afield to Tarapoto. I'll do some research and see if I have time to fit either or both places into my itinerary, conscious of the limited time I have left here in Peru.

The pier at Huanchaco is a lovely place for a stroll in the evening, as is the beachfront.

Emily and Nico own a successful and busy watering hole (Mandala) a few doors from the Airbnb and does hairdressing as well (she was previously a hairdresser in Ireland).

The frustrations of travel in Peru...

Well, I’d have to say, Huaraz might be right up there as the rip off capital of Peru. A mecca for climbers and tourists, the population here, almost without exception, seem to be intent on extracting as much extra money from the gringos as they can. There’s the odd exception, of course, but it pays to know the going price of taxis, food and drinks. If you catch a taxi and ask at the end of the journey what you owe it’s likely to be twice what a local would pay for the same trip. Restaurants without a priced menu, the same. In one they handed me a menu that looked like it had rarely been used (usually they’re so worn and tattered from thousands of handlings by the locals you can hardly read them). I was immediately suspicious of the pricing and suspect it is the menu they only hand to gringos, with inflated prices on it. Hence, not worn and tattered like the rest.
After getting on the Linea coach at Huaraz I noticed that the windows all had a sun filter on them made of a material similar to that used on microwave oven doors - which meant you couldn't see out of them easily and photography was out of the question. This in what was probably the most scenic route in Peru, from Huaraz to Trujillo, through fabulous mountain scenery. How frustrating. So it was eyes closed most of the way. On arrival in Trujillo I discovered that Google Maps wouldn't load on my phone so I took a taxi from the coach terminal to my hostel. I'm guessing my phone has run out of data and needs a recharge. The taxi was another wreck and broke down only a few streets away from the coach terminal. The driver tried in vain to get it restarted and explained that his car had been stolen a few weeks ago and he'd rented this one only at midday and that it had been giving trouble since he picked it up. He phoned the owner who said he'd come and look at it and we waited on the side of the road for 20 minutes. Eventually a man did arrive and lifted the bonnet and hot wired the ignition to get it going (maybe he'd stolen this one himself!!). We resumed our journey which turned out to be a lot further than what had been indicated on Google Maps the day before. I had planned to walk the 7 minutes to the hostel but the taxi driver explained that the Linea Coach Depot Google Maps had found was only a ticketing office in the central city close to my hostel, and not the coach terminal. The frustration didn't end there - when I arrived at the hostel it was locked up and no one to let me in. I rang the bell several times but got no answer and finally gave up and checked into a hostel across the road where I got a single room with a private bathroom for less money. I hope to get a refund from the hostel I booked but I'm not holding my breath. I feel like I've seen enough of Peru and if I hadn't booked a non refundable flight from Lima to Santiago I'd probably terminate my travel here and fly home. I hope the next few days goes better for me.
It's now Thursday morning here and I'll check out of this Hostel and check into another Airbnb in Huanchaco which is a beach suburb not far from Trujillo. It looks like a nice area and I'll book any tours I want to do from there. I got a good night's sleep here, at least. This morning I went out for coffee and took my cereal hoping to get a bowl and some milk so I could eat it. I should have learned by now not to ever order coffee and milk at the same time - always order the coffee first and when you get the cup of boiling water and the liquid coffee concentrate to add to it THEN order a little milk to go with it. Otherwise you'll get a cup of boiling milk and the liquid coffee to add to it. YUK! Made that mistake again this morning and when the bowl and milk for my cereal hadn't arrived 10 minutes later I departed to look for somewhere else to have breakfast. The next place wouldn't help despite my generous offer to "rent" a bowl and spoon (I had the cereal and dried milk powder - just needed water) but the next place was even funnier - a stand up counter on the busy street which came up with a large cake mixing bowl! I asked if they had something smaller and eventually settled for the large glass jar  they offered! At least I got my cereal (better than the pastry option alternatives). All for now - I'll post again when there's something to post about (usually something every day).

Trust me, I'm not staying here!

Breakfast this morning was interesting - I've never had to eat my cereal out of a jar before!

As I suspected, the night was a nightmare - a noisy disco club somewhere close pumping out "music" all night, the incessant tooting of taxis passing the hostel (this is one of the worst habits of taxi drivers in Peru vying for your attention) and of course loud voices in the street just below my room. I could have put an earplug in but was worried I wouldn't hear my alarm in the morning. Thankfully. I booked a first class seat on the coach line with a seat that fully reclines, so I may get some sleep on my way to Trujillo. There's no hot water in the room, despite an assurance from the front desk that there would be. And I can't charge up my devices because the plug won't stay in the outlet (if I had sticky tape I could tape it in, but I don't). So, all in all, I should have spent the extra night at the Airbnb and caught a taxi to the coach terminal from there. I thought Trip Advisor was a web site where I could leave an opinion about where or where not to stay to help other travelers make an informed decision, but just discovered it is a booking site, not a feedback site. So, on I go - this may be the only chance I get to post a blog today since I don't arrive into Trujillo until around 6pm. More tomorrow.

There hasn't been much to blog about the past few days but on Sunday I wandered into town to get some exercise and was greeted with an amazing floral display in the Plaza which stretched right around the square, about 150 metres each side. I don't know if this happens every Sunday or if it was a significant religious event being celebrated. It was certainly drawing a lot of attention from the tourists.
I moved from the Airbnb into a hostel in town (Hostel Tany) close to the coach terminal which is only $2 a night more than I was paying at the Airbnb. It's clean and appears to have hot water in the shower. The first room they gave me on the fourth floor was a small single room and okay except for the fact that there was only a very weak WiFi signal which kept dropping out so I asked for a room on a lower floor closer to the modem. The old Señora, who seems to be the owner, didn't look happy about me changing rooms because I'm now in a more expensive ($30/night) large room with a double bed and lots more space. Noisier though, as it's right on the street. For the first time in a while I'll have to use an earplug and Zopiclone to get to sleep. I just hope I hear my alarm in the morning so I don't miss my coach to Trujillo. I think I'm the only person staying here - I was hoping there might be a few English speaking guests here so I could have a conversation - maybe the hostel in Trujillo will have. It's quite hard work trying to converse with someone who only speaks and comprehends Spanish. Although I've picked up quite a few words and some phrases in Spanish, I still can't hold a conversation in that language.

Incredible floral display in the Plaza de Armas on Sunday.

Most of these displays are done just with flower petals and stretch the whole way around the Plaza.

My day tour from Huaraz on Saturday 2nd June, 2018.

I’m having a rest day today. Sunday?? Day of rest?? After a long 10 hour day on a tour (with Mony Tours) from here to various of places of interest in the region in a bus that’s past it’s use by date. If I’d known how bad the bus was going to be I’d have booked with another tour operator. The tour itself was interesting, though, and worth the 60 soles I paid (overpaid??). I think I saw the same tour for 45 soles with a different tour operator (probably on a better bus). The Mony Tours bus I was on had little or no suspension, rattled the whole trip, had no air conditioning and was hot and stuffy, only a Spanish speaking guide and my seat had no leg room so I had bruised knees at the end. To cap it off, my aisle seat was next to a passenger who pulled the curtains and slept for much of the journey, so I couldn’t enjoy the spectacular mountain scenery! The first stop was at the town of Yungay, where we toured the remains of the town destroyed in the devastating Sunday afternoon, 31 May 1970 landslide/avalanche triggered by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake just off the coast of Peru, almost wiping out the entire population of the town; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Ancash_earthquake - looking at the area destroyed by the avalanche it’s hard to believe it could have travelled so far from the towering mountains surrounding the area and it’s understandable that the residents would have felt quite safe there, so far from the mountains. It is considered to be the world’s deadliest avalanche.

From Yungay the tour bus climbed high into the Andes in the Corderillas Blanca area on unsealed narrow roads to a place where it appears another landslide blocked a valley high in the mountains creating a small picturesque lake (Laguna De Llanganuco) of turquoise water at an altitude of 3850 metres. I suffered the same breathlessness there as I did in Cusco. The surrounding snow-covered mountains are nothing short of spectacular, some rising to almost 7,000 metres, and so steep some resembled the Matterhorn in Switzerland! I took lots of photos there. This was the highlight of the day. Native Peruvian women were serving Coca Tea and traditional Peruvian food such as Cuy (Guinea Pig) with beans and corn – I just had some tasty deep fried, sweet, corn bread cooked in a small stone room so dark you could hardly see what the women were doing, knowing we were stopping for dinner on our way back to Huaraz and only an hour or so from this stop. I had the fish and chips there – the fish was trout, butterflied and boned out, coated with seasoned cornflour and deep fried – very nice, actually, and only $9.00.

The last stop, half an hour from Huaraz, was at a shop selling pottery and ceramics – of no interest to me as I have no room for souvenirs in my backpack but a popular stop for some of the other tourists on the bus, all of whom were of Spanish ethnicity (I was the only Gringo on the tour). Got back into Huaraz around 8pm and walked back to my Airbnb from the tour depot to get some exercise.

Mañana I may do one more tour from here before heading to Trujillo, further North but on the coast, on Tuesday, 5^th, where I’ll spend maybe 4 or 5 days exploring that area.

My sweet corn bread snack cooked in a room so dark you could hardly see, about to be served - $1.00.

The remains of an upturned partly buried building in Yungay after the 1970 landslide.