A change of plans

I changed my mind about the Amazon, realising that I wanted to use that time to explore more of Southern Peru and Bolivia. There are too many tempting options on this continent! Thus began my journey south.

Since leaving Vilcabamba, Ecuador, I have travelled for over 36 hours in five different types of transport (car, pickup, combi, truck and bus), and I have ended up here, in Huaraz, Peru, again. I like this town, and I thought it would be a nice place to spend my birthday. I had come here with the intention of going mountain biking again, but I've just discovered that my guide from before, Julio, is out of town, so that plan's out the window. I've also discovered that Huaraz is a different place out of the May to September trekking season. Nearly all of the traveller hangouts - book exchanges, cafes and so on, are closed. A bit of a let down then, but I'm still happy to be here, in the shadow of the beautiful mountains.

Let me tell you about my journey here. It turns out that travel through southern Ecuador and northern Peru takes time. The border itself was the easiest part. I've heard some stories of border guards asking for bribes and so on, but the ununiformed official on the Peruvian side who met my French companion Thierry and I across the border was very friendly and gave us a genuine welcome and a smile. This particular point of entry is an infrequently used frontier, and I believe Thierry and I were the only gringos to pass through that day, as the man opened up his office specially for us. When Peru and Ecuador put an end to their war in the late nineties they agreed that this small bridge south of Zumba could become a legal crossing point.

Before making the border we journeyed from Vilcabamba south to Zumba, and from there on to the border in a truck. The journey from Zumba to the border was going fine, until we came upon this.





After the border, we took a 2 hour car ride to San Ignacio, where we stayed the night. In the morning we made our way to Jaen, where we went our separate ways. Thierry headed off to the east to Chachapoyas and I headed west to Chiclayo. My night bus to Chiclayo was supposed to take six hours, but ended up taking over twelve, due to a landslide. I'm not complaining - I don't think my South America trip would have been complete a landslide or public unrest causing a major hold up! This particular hold up seemed very mysterious at the time. At about 1am the bus stopped in the middle of the road and turned its engine off. After an hour or so of not moving, I assumed we had broken down, so I patiently waited and caught a bit of sleep. When it was light at 6am I went outside, and imagine my surprise when I saw buses, as far as the eye could see in both directions.



I previously had no idea that there were other buses around us and I was quite pleased that the whole of northern Peru was at a standstill (for this is the main route through northern Peru), instead of just us. The rocks were eventually cleared and we went on our way again, seven and a half hours after having stopped.

Another two long bus rides got me to Huaraz. Tonight I'm going to celebrate my birthday with Tommy (Nelly's son) and his friends at one of Huaraz's fine discotecas. I'm in half a mind to do a bit of trekking before I leave the area, but I may decide it's best to hit the road and find the South.