Huaraz and Trujillo (7 - 12 June 2008)
Huaraz was not in our original planning for Peru, but everyone said that it was such an awesome place for hiking and biking that we had no choice but to check it out. It is nestled in the massive mountains of the Cordillera Blanca. A recent earthquake destroyed most of the original colonial buildings in town, so the town itself was a sight for sore eyes. But the surrounding mountains were breathtaking, even from the window in our hostel.
We checked into Hostal Tany. We had only two days in Huaraz before heading north toward the Ecuador border. Eon wanted to go ice climbing very badly, but it was very expensive and they only offer tours of multiple days. So we settled for a day hike. Seeing that there was no tourist information in this tiny place, we asked around and gathered as much information on the hike we had in mind as possible.
So the next morning we checked out of the hostel, stored out big backpacks and took a taxi to a nearby village called Llupa. From here it was a one and a half hour walk through the village and through fields and mountains to the next village called Pitec. Here we started the gruelling ascend up the mountain to Lake Churup. We finally reached a thin but high waterfall. We had to climb over the mountain where the waterfall was streaming from. There was no clear path and at times we had to literally rock climb over huge boulders. I had a near-death experience when my feet slipped and I was hanging in the air, holding on with only hands. Eon was the hero saving the damsel in distress - he grabbed onto my hands and pulled me up to safety. I know it does not sound very scary, but hanging there knowing that if I fall it might be my last breath was absolutely petrifying. I had no “life flashing before my eyes” or any clear moments, all I could think off was how the heck I was going to get to safety! A true survivor, aren’t I?
After all the blood, sweat and tears we finally arrived at the lake. And what a view! There was the crystal clear Lake Churup with Mount Churup’s snowy reflection on the surface. It was breathtaking!
We did the same route back to Huaraz and hopped on the bus to our final destination in Peru - Trujillo. The bus to Trujillo was our fourth overnight bus within about 10 days and we were really not looking forward to it. See, an overnight bus has the pro of saving a night’s accommodation, but you hardly get any sleep and feel like a zombie the next day. So the two zombies arrived in Trujillo at around 6:00. We took a taxi to Hotel San Martin, but this was too expensive for us. We walked down the street and found Hostal Korona for only 40 Soles per night.
This is another thing about the overnight bus - you are so tired that the only thing on your mind is to find a bed. You do not properly investigate the hostel, if it looks good, you take it. So we ended up with a very noisy room and a shower with no hot water. Trujillo is about five kilometres from the ocean, but we had no interest in spending time on the beach. We wanted to see the nearby ancient ruins of Huacas del Sol y de la Luna (the Temples of the Sun and the Moon).
The temples are set in the desert and today look like broken pyramid figures, covered in sand. These ancient temples were built around 2000AD and are attributed to the Moche period. The Huaca del Sol is the largest pre-Columbian structure in Peru although about a third of it has been washed away. The structures were built with mud bricks, made with a combination of sand, rocks and egg whites. The temple of the Sun was used for everyday activities - social gatherings, markets, etc. and the temple of the Moon was used for sacrificial purposes. The temple consists of five levels - it started out with only one level and then every one hundred years, a new level was built on op of the previous one. The previous level was totally filled up with mud bricks to support the upper new level. The excavations have only partially uncovered three of the levels, decorated with brightly coloured murals.
We had a personal guide who took us through the Temple of the Moon, telling us the most amazing stories about the temples and the people who used to live here. The inhabitants’ religion included a very important human sacrifice to the gods which resulted in a sacrificial combat between men. The winners would become soldiers and the defeated would be imprisoned until it was time to be sacrificed. Several graves have been uncovered, but many have been destroyed by grave robbers. It really was an unexpected interesting tour.
That evening we took our last overnight bus for Peru. We paid an extra R30 to get a cama bus, rather than the semi-cama. This was the best R30 I have ever spent - we had big leather seats that reclined almost fully. It was just a pity that the passenger in front of us was a curious 4 year old, who had nothing better to do than to stare at us. When I finally out-stared him, he figured out how the reclining of the seats worked. He kept flipping his seat back and then flipping it back up - how many times could this be funny to him?!
We were sad to leave Peru, because we had such a great time here with so many adventures! But it was time to see what adventured awaited us in the wilderness of Ecuador.
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