Pacasmayo

Our final destination for this trip was Pacasmayo....home to one of the best waves in the world. Its better than chicama but somehow not well known even though it's only two hours north. It's longer and stronger...always a perfect wall to carve and barrels when it's bigger. Its also picks up more swell than chicama. I had one ride that went for maybe two minutes with a couple barrels to it, did countless turns, a few floaters and a couple long pumping sections. My legs were burning! I just did a 15 minute walk back on that one. The paddle back is a workout. It provides the only hinderance to taking each wave as long as your legs can handle. Perfect wave.

Our hostel (los faroles) was great thankfully. The town itself was not that great. The colonial waterfront area was pretty but the rest of the town was largely under construction. And fIndIng restaraunts offering something more than fried fish/chicken or cevIche (good but can't eat daily) and crummy ambience and service on our lower budget proved difficult. Anyway, our hostel had a kitchen so we started to make good use of that and get veggies in our diet again. The kitchen was useful for fixing up breakfast and coffee early each morning because all surfing had to take place before winds kick up by noon. Although there was a really good sandwich shop and bread shop that consistently pulled through. 75 cents for a chicken sandwich and Italian rolls for a nickel. Can't beat that.

So our days started early at the beach (a ten minute tuk tuk ride away). I surfed and Kelly sunned and made jewelry on the beach (well, rocks...it's all cobblestone on the poInt). Then go back and eat and lay around then eat and sleep. ....we're not happy to be leaving this life. Despite the town being less than stellar, the wave is so perfect and hostel was so peaceful, I would come back to Peru just to visit Pacasmayo again.

Now it's time for a 2 hour bus ride back to Trujillo. Dinner and maybe shopping there for 4 hours until 830pm-430am sleeper bus to Lima for 8am flight to Mexico City with 7 hour layover (taco time in the city!) and then SFO by midnight. Man this month went by too fast.

Chiclayo -Sipan-Tucume

I'm just going to wrap these up in one post. We caught a bus 4 hours north of Trujillo into the archeological hot spot of the Chiclayo area (ie the Egypt of South America). Chiclayo itself is a big dusty hot busy city, only good for a hostel and some great hamburgers in the plaza de armas. there is also a massive market that has everything from swordfish to hallucinogenic cacti, dress clothes to......just everything. Really interesting and amusing. We thought we could do some final tourist shopping it turned out to be the city's (of 900k) one and only version of Wal-Mart.

Nearby is Sipan and Tucume, towns containing pre-Inca pyramids that are still being excavated. We visited the Sipan museum containing lots of gold and turquoise artifacts from the tombs (more than found with king tut) and then went further north to see the pyramids in Tucume around sunset. Again, I'm completely impressed with these ancient civilizations. Their craftsmanship (they figured out how to make and weld iron....and made insanely small turquoise beads by the millions. And construct massIve adobe pyramIds desIgmrd to wIthstand huge earthquakes) and ability to harness nature (their irrigation system...in the desert!!..is unsurpassed by any other ancient civilization) is mind boggling.

This was a worthwhile mini excursion for a couple days before heading back south a couple hours to Pacasmayo where there is a wave dubbed Chicamas big brother. Heck Ya!

Also pictured is a Peruvian Hairless. This is a certified breed of dog....

Chicama

The famous wave. Only got it around shoulder high so it wasn't epic, or connecting all the way through the point section (visible in pic), but still got minute long rides in the cape section behind the point. So what you see in the pic is about a third to half of what this wave can offer. Not sure anyone's legs can hold together that long. Mine turned to jelly in small conditions!

The town of chicama (Puerto malibrigo) was pretty desolate and dusty. Not a lot going on here. But good views from most of the hostels. We had an ocean front balcony :)

Another highlight was the bread lady that rode a bike around before sunset, honking a horn selling 10 rolls of bread out of a huge basket attached to the bike for 40 cents. My saving grace for food as this was when my stomach was acting up the worst.

Chan Chan ruins

Outside Huanchaco are loads of Moche and other pre-incan civilization ruins. A popular one is the Chan Chan ruins. They are made completely with adobe. Large walls surround the complex which includes homes, plazas, temples and ritual spots and tombs. Biggest sand castle I ever saw.

Pretty neat for a couple hours of entertainment and walking. Impressive that people pulled off living so well in the desert.

Huanchaco

It was nice to get out of busy and smoggy Trujillo and arrive from the hot sticky jungle to a warm sunny beach. Ah, ocean breeze.

Huanchaco is a pretty cool place. It's a smaller desert town (60k but you don't notice) that lands rIght on the ocean, with a long waterfront street and pIer that has everything of interest to tourists. On weekends the residents of Trujillo flock here and the beach and streets are packed. On weekdays is much mellower.

We got a room at a nice hostel away from the action. It makes for a long walk to the pier area that is the hub area for food and action, and surf, but the hostel is good and we didn't feel like moving (fyI It has two resIdent tortoIses). And the best alternative we found was only next door but not available for our entire length of stay. Although, that place had the best non-Peruvian (fried and not always fried fish and potatoes and rice) and heathiest food around so we still spent a lot of meal time there. We went vegetarian there (it's a vegetarian place) for about 3 days I think. Super good food. Peruvian food is good but after a while we needed that variety. Its also a challenge to get over stomach issues with a diet of greasy/oily food. I had to eat saltines for dinner and breakfast before I found the menu next door haha. That all said, weve been enjoying lots of ceviche too, when the stomach Is up for It. They make it spicy down here, with pretty big strips of fish.

So our place has been good. Food's good. Weathers good...warm with gray skies in the morning that burn off in the afternoon. Surfs been pretty good. There's a long left point that can form up some good waves. Its made up of a few sections that only link up when the swell is bigger or if you have a longboard. One day it was bigger AND I was on a longboard so I had myself one of the longest rides of my life. I ended up just renting boards instead of buying one, which has worked out nicely because I can mix up what I can ride depending on the conditions and size of crowds. And I'm renting for about six dollars a day so it's a sweet deal compared to buying one or bringing my own.

So all in all Huanchaco has been the place to be. We've ended up staying here for 7 nights....broken up by our chicama trip.  Hard to justify going further north to the more popular beaches when everything we need is right here. Sun surf food. Kelly's been soaking up the sun, I've been wearing a wetsuit mostly. The waters chilly but still warmer than home and midday you can still trunk it. Fyi this may also be where people first surf....fisherman here use the same reed canoes to go out and fish on that they used 2000 years ago, then they surf them in to shore at sunset.

Huanchaco, like some weird love child of Afghanistan and Waikiki.

Lima to Trujillo

From the airport we got a taxi to the cruz del sur bus station where we killed six hours playing cards, watching soccer, eating (doesnt kelly fIt rIght In wIth her beanIe? :) )and cruising nearby streets (where we saw the IncredIble vw roach coach), before the 9 hour overnight bus ride. The bus was pretty luxurious with movies, food, and 160 degree seats with blankets and pillows. Got a good 6 hours of sleep!
Anyway we arrived in Trujillo, had breakfast and made a bank visit, then got a 15 minute taxi ride out to huanchaco. Not much to see in Trujillo so we were outta there.

Puerto Maldonado

We stayed 2 nights in Puerto Maldonado. I didn't know much about the place going into it, and as it turns out there is not much to know about the place. Actually Its got a cool lIttle hIstory, but one full day here is more than enough. It's a larger town (400k) that sits pretty isolated in the world, at the confluence of the tambopata river and rio madres, so you can still view rivers and the amazon jungle..just from a little further away. But still feel more if it's heat since you are surrounded by concrete and not trees. We mainly used this time to regroup after the Salkantey and Amazon excursions. And do much needed laundry. It got pretty lively at night as everyone hangs around the plaza de armas. It was a cool vibe. lots of famIlIes. Very relaxed since the city itself is pretty far removed from the larger world. You feel this at the airport too haha. Defintely no need to arrive two hours early here. The daily flights for each airline pop in one at a time, passengers and luggage go out to the plane together, and you head back to where the planes came from (Cusco/Lima).

The Amazon is a powerful and important place, the whole world should care that it's protected. Hard to put into words how alive it feels. Would be great to make it back someday.

Amazon jungle lodge

Fresh off a late night return from Salkantey and Machu Picchu we caught an early flight the next morning to Puerto Maldonado, our gateway to the Amazon. We booked three nights at the explorers inn, the only lodge in the tambopata reserve. At the airport our prearranged driver picked us up in a tuk tuk (fun!) And took US to our connecting shuttle with the rest of the lodge guests. But first I have to say the airport was pretty cool. Really small and with the heat and humIdity and jungle all around we felt like we were already deep in the amazon backwoods.

After a 40 minute drive through the jungle to the tambopata river we got to our panga-type boat and took that an hour and a half up river. Along the way we saw howler and dusky monkeys, capybara, and macaws. Once at the lodge we were pleasantly surprised at how rustic it was. Kerosene lamps guiding the walkways, no electrity in the rooms (only candles). Brown ass water coming out of the sink and shower whenever you first turn it on haha. But still flush toilets which was cool. All the meals were family style, where meal bells ring and you all sit at the same table. The food was amazing. Each meal we ate so so much, and it was delicious. Soups, meats and curries and potatoe and corn dishes I can't even describe.

The first night after dinner we went on the boat up the river to spot caimans. We saw a couple little ones. The boat driver put us right up to them so I'm glad they were not any bigger. Then on the way back we had a silent time to enjoy the night time sounds oc the amazon. Hectic but beautiful and peaceful. The was also great because no mosquitos on the river. Back on land we got chewed up.

The next morning we started a 5k (mostly muddy) jungle hike to an oxbow lake where we saw giant river otters from a blind, and then took out a catamaran (two canoes lashed together) on the lake to look for more birds and wildlife. In yeah, piranhas in this lake.! Our guide crumbled some crackers and sprinkled them in the water below us and it looked like the water was boiling because all the ferocious activity of the piranhas. Dip and a cut finger and they would eat it up in no time! Do after this we hiked back had lunch and had a siesta. Then around sunset we hiked into the forest again to go up the inn's 42m (126ft) canopy tower. Here we watched the sun set over the canopy while taking in the jungle sounds and (unsuccessfully, save for a bunch of macaws) looking for wildlife. On the way back was a night hike where we only spotted various frogs. No jaguars :/

The next day at 530 am we went to a clay lick down river. Here we sat for an hour in a blind watching the morning rituals of parrit's and other birds go down. Afterwards was breakfast, followed by a trip to a nearby farm that grew yucca, bananas, papaya, avacados, and some bean. They polycrop arrangement of the farm made it very productive without the use of pesticides and herbicides. We ate all of the off their trees along with some other random amazon fruits. Tasty! Then it was time lunch and siesta. I woke up early to play volleyball with the staff and resident biology researchers. Then a sunset hike and dinner.

The next morning was breakfast and a journey back up river and through the forest to the town of Puerto Maldonado for two nights.

All in all, our time at the lodge exceeded our expectations. Hard to leave, although I won't miss the mosquitos.