Northern Peru; Often forgotten, definitely under appreciated

We had been told to skip Northern Peru; we were told there was nothing to see and that the beaches were dirty.  Almost out of spite we decided that we would give Northern Peru the opportunity to show us that what we were told was wrong so we embarked around the northern half of the country looking for unique experiences.  If Northern Peru was a country it  wouldn't be our favourite and it's beaches were full of garbage but the mountain areas, Chachapoyan ruins, nature, people and hiking paths were well worth investing time in.  In this blog we cross into Peru, hike to one of the largest water falls in the world, hike the ruins full of real human bones, explore ancient communities, find some of the worst/scariest highways on our trip thus far, soak in hot springs and fall in love with a small surf community that weekly cleans up all the garbage in their little piece of paradise.  

August 23^rd – Through the forgotten border

We have had long border days, but this one may be the longest, interestingly it had nothing to do with the border itself. The border we had chosen to cross through is known as the forgotten border with many of the border guards telling travellers that their respective governments (Ecuador and Peru) forget that they exist.  However, we choose this border not for its seclusion but because the drive is supposed to be beautiful, the border is very relaxed and it gets us on the correct side of the Andes mountains to see what we wanted to see in Northern Peru.  Unfortunately, the two nearest campgrounds to this border are Vilcabamba and Jaen, Peru which, according to google will take at least 8 hours, not including time at the border and the typical day first day task in a new country (money, new SIM card, groceries, insurance, etc.) We knew today would be a long day.

We set the alarm for 6am and were on the road as soon as we had some breakfast.  The drive was just as beautiful as we were told, the only issue is we kept on saying “wow” but never really took any pictures.  The drive had us go up into the mountains on a single track dirt road with numerous switch backs and viewpoints of the valleys we crossed.  The quality of the road was fine, something similar to a forestry road back home.  We are sure the drive would have been more stressful if we encountered other vehicles, but we seemed to have the road to ourselves. 

After an hour and a half of driving down the dirt road we encountered the community of Zumba where we got some photocopies done of some documents we thought we would need for the border.  The community itself seemed rather militarized, probably due to its proximity to the Peru border.  It is also an area the government of Canada says you should not hike due to landmines.  Maybe this was why no one was dancing in the streets practicing Zumba.

The remaining hour on the dirt road contained a few military checkpoints, but they didn’t seem concerned with us driving towards Peru.  By 11am we had finally reached the border, which was good timing for us as we had heard the border takes their lunch break very seriously. 

The Ecuador side seemed like the wild west.  There were a couple derelict buildings but the people working in them were very friendly and excited to see us as not very many people use this border.  There was only one issue, they needed internet to process our vehicles departure and our personal departure of the country and the internet at this forgotten border doesn’t work.  We had heard that this is a regularly occurring problem here but the customs border guard responsible for checking our vehicle out of the country seemed unfazed as he took pictures of all our documents then walked up and down the road with his phone held high in the sky messaging his friend at another border to process our paperwork.  He said that this may take awhile so to head to immigration to start our exit process.  We sat for quite a while waiting as photos of our passports were taken on private devices which were then walked out to the road in the hopes of a glimmer of internet/data/service.  After about an hour we were told we that the other border processed our exit and we got our exit stamps. We were free to go to Peru.

Our sticker was placed at this forgotten border!!

As we crossed the bridge to Peru we were surprised that the dirt road became paved and the customs and immigration buildings looked new.  Entering Peru was very easy, a few quick questions and we had our stamp and vehicle importation permit.  There was one issue though, in Peru you are required to have insurance but we couldn’t buy insurance at the border.  The border guard said that it was our responsibility to get insurance ASAP and gave the nearest town but we had read that that town doesn’t sell insurance to foreigners, instead, we had read, we would have to purchase insurance in Jaen. If you are wondering about Rupert, they asked to see his Rabies paperwork, and after seeing it gave Rupert the thumbs up.   Altogether the border took a little under 2 hours, with most of the time on the Ecuador side waiting for a cell signal and data so another border could process our paperwork.

The first thing we noticed about Peru was that it was hot, often on our drive the temperature reached 35 degrees.  We also noticed the road was in pretty poor condition making a long day of driving feel even longer.  By the time we reached the first main community in Peru, San Ignacio, we were exhausted, but we needed to get a few of our tasks done.

Although we had no cell service we were able to find a bank and a Claro store that was willing to sell us a local SIM card.  We had read it was sometimes difficult for foreigners to get SIM cards in Peru and that if we wanted one we would need to go to an actual cell phone store.  Well, it was definitely a process to get the SIM card, not only did we have to sign a contract (a first for us on this trip when getting prepaid SIM cards) but we also had to put on finger in ink to leave our fingerprint on the contact.  We were waiting for them to ask for blood as well, but luckily it never got to that point.  We did try in San Ignacio to get insurance but just as we had read no one would sell us any, all saying we had to drive to Jaen.

We did drive to Jaen finally arriving around 4pm where we were able to purchase insurance and some food; however, by this point we were so overtired all we were looking for was somewhere safe to camp.  Our app iOverlander had mentioned that there was an actual campsite in the area so we headed towards its location, but were confused when we hit a roadblock of locals.  It was at this point we realized how different Peruvian Spanish can be and to this day we still don’t know what the locals wanted, they never asked for money, but maybe they were looking for a tip without using the word for tip.  Finally, Paul asked if we could pass and that we were tired and they seemed to let us go.  The campground was fine, but the weather was hot.  We made some dinner just as the sun set and tried to go to sleep but we seemed to be so overtired we struggled to get to sleep at a reasonable time. 

We knew today would be a long day, but we were so happy that it was behind us.  We were officially in Peru.

 

August 24^th – Celebratory drinks!

We still had a long drive ahead of us to reach the Amazonas province of Peru known for the Inca settlements and the cloud warriors (Chachapoyan people).  The drive was made longer by the poor road conditions, the number of rocks on the road and road construction.  Thankfully they were made more enjoyable by the amount of street food sold whenever we had to stop and wait for our turn to pass through the construction zone. We treated ourselves to stuffed potatoes (still called Papas Rellenos), sweet empanadas, and some ice cream.

We did make it to the Amazonas province and the start of the road to the community of Cocachimba where we learned that the road was under construction and was closed to the public between the hours of 8am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 5:30pm.  Somehow we lucked out with our timing and it was just after 12:30pm when we arrived so the road was open. 

What should have been a 15 minute drive ended up taking over an hour as one of the workers mistakenly placed a dump truck load of material in the middle of the road right before they opened the road again.  Since it was lunch time it seemed like no workers were available to fix this mistake. One worker was telling vehicles to come back at 5:30 when the road would be opened again which infuriated the locals as well as tour guides who had tours to go to Gocta falls; the reason we were also visiting the community.  Since we were only 1 km away from the centre of town those in taxis and tour buses were leaving their vehicles and walking over/around this pile of dirt. The situation was made more stressful as the trail to Gocta Falls closes at 2pm meaning that if we wanted to do the hike today we would need to rush to the campground, set the van up, make Rupert comfortable, buy our tickets then rush to the trailhead.  In the end we decided we would do the hike tomorrow and spend some money on bottles of wine to formally celebrate our arrival into country #12 (or country #13 if you count Canada).

We should have known to stop celebrating once we “needed” to go on a wine run for more beverages.  Unfortunately, we did do that wine run and we did consume the wine meaning the next day may not be as pleasant as we would have hoped.

 

August 25^th – Gocta Falls

Gocta Falls was, until somewhat recently, the 3^rd tallest waterfall in the world; unfortunately for Gocta, they keep on discovering new waterfalls meaning that its ranking is a bit of a mystery.  We have read it’s #4 but also that it’s #16, so who knows?  The falls themselves command the landscape so we were excited to hike the 11 kilometers (5.5 kilometers one way) to the waterfall.  We had originally planned to start the hike around sunrise, but thanks to yesterday’s wine we started closer to 9am.

We saw the national bird of Peru while walking back!

The hike to the falls was most enjoyable, mostly because the vast majority of it was downhill with numerous miradors where you could look out at the falls or the landscape, meaning that before we knew it we had arrived at the base of the falls.  They were amazing with unique rock formations around the falls and greenery everywhere.   The whole area seemed to have its own colder climate with the falls themselves being genuinely fascinating to look at.  Because of the length of the falls and the quantity of water falling the water seemed to fall in slow motion making the waterfall appear as if it was in a long exposure photo.  It was the perfect spot to spend an hour or so taking in the falls.

The hike back to Cocachimba was grueling. Luckily there was a small hostel/hotel that served Guarapo (fermented sugar cane juice we had first tried in Colombia) and juanes (round tamales stuffed with chicken). We needed this nourishment before we hit the trail with one section specifically etched into our minds from the hike down. It was steep and consisted of endless switchbacks making us wonder if the hike was worth it.  Thankfully, hindsight and the pictures we have taken remind us how amazing the falls were.

As the road was once again closed when we arrived back to the van we decided to relax our muscles and complete various maintenance tasks required for our van.  This included reoiling the van and doing some work on stove.  Hopefully this bit of preventative maintenance will prevent future things breaking.

 

August 26^th – Walking towards death

We left Cocachimba at 7:30 am before the road closed for the day and made our way to Lamud an area known for various archeological sites.  The first one we wanted to visit was called the Pueblo de los Muertos or the Town of the Dead.  

 

We had planned to get a few tasks done before going to the site, which included getting some groceries from a local market, going to the bank, getting some water and getting some more gas.  Unfortunately, the only task that we were able to complete was going to the market, meaning we were pretty much out of money and with all the banks closed we had no way to retrieve any more.  Even if we had money everywhere seemed closed.  Our experience in Colombia and Ecuador is that Saturday was a day where everything was open and communities were alive with activity.  This did not seem to be the culture here in Peru, at least not this part of Peru.

We arrived to the trailhead where we expected to encounter a guardian of the area where we would pay a small fee to hike to the Town of the Dead, but were surprised to see the place deserted so we started our decent.  The hike itself started at the top of the mountain where we walked down to an ancient Chacha (pre-Inca) settlement within a cliffside littered with human bones.  For sometime we thought these bones may have been props but were later assured that they were real. 

 As we started the ascent back to the parking lot we encountered the Guardian of the area who decided to accompany us back to the parking lot to ensure we paid our fee to use the trail.  During the walk he told us about the site and that it was only discovered in the late 1980s.  When we returned to the parking lot he questioned us on what else in the area we wanted to see, where we responded we wanted to see some sarcophaguses located roughly an hour’s drive away.  We were then informed that there was another trail starting at the parking lot that go to, in his opinion, far superior sarcophaguses.  In the end we decided to do this hike rather than the one an hour away and we were so happy we did.  He was right!

The trail itself was also littered with human bones, a jawbone with a tooth in it, and a skull with a hole in the head caught our eye, along with a few ribs, some vertebrae and a few femurs.  The sarcophaguses were vivid and relatively close to the trail meaning we could easily see the detail on their carved and painted faces.  It was made even more interesting as a broken sarcophagus was close to the trail meaning we could see what it was made of, a mud and hay mixture cured with some sort of paint.  It was unbelievable how well they had held together for the last 1500 years. We also learned that all these routes were part of the Inca trail (originally used by the Chachapoyan people [known as the cloud warriors]).

Another thing that happened here is that we were extremely low on water (like we had 2 litres and that was it). We asked the guardian where we could get some and he gave us 6 litres out of a jug and told us it was clean.  We were so grateful for his kindness knowing we now aren’t in as urgent need of water.

We drove to Chachapoyas the large community known for its white buildings and where most backpackers who explore the area spend their time.  We didn’t spend too much time in the community, only stopping to get money from a bank that was actually open, instead we opted to travel north of the city to Canon de Huancas Sonche known as the Grand Canyon of Peru.  We could see why it is known as that!

We decided to camp at the parking lot of the mirador.  We had heard we would be allowed to do so and after asking permission we were told that “yes, you can camp…its…normal”.  The long pause at the end of the sentence making us wonder if that we were doing was really normal. It did make us question if staying here was the best decision, but it was already getting late.

After the sun set and night fell upon us, Kendra awoke with some bad stomach cramps and gas and some “JATOD” as some refer to it (just a touch of diahrrhea). Luckily 1 of the 4 bathroom stalls was open and she was able to make it in time… is it the beef we had bought from the market with the cowhead proudly displayed with what looked like a smile, or is it from the clean water we were gifted…

 

August 27^th – Mixed Reviews

We awoke this morning with our stomachs feeling a bit off. The original plan was to return to Chachapoyas and spend the day exploring but we never really found a reason to stay.  The white buildings were unique but soon made everything incredibly uniform looking.  We had hoped to find a nice café for a cup of coffee and some breakfast (especially since this area of Peru is known for its coffee), but all the proper cafes opened at 3pm.  The café we did find had only instant coffee which they prepared with the help of a microwave.  For food they had what seemed like week old pastries.

Shortly after we started exploring we decided to leave heading towards a mountain road where the unexcavated ruins of an Inca settlement, known as Yalape, were located.  1500 years ago, the community would have consisted of 600 buildings but today it is just rock buildings overgrown by the landscape.  Thankfully exploring these ruins started to raise our spirts for the rest of the day. 

Sadly, the rest of the day consisted of a 3 hour drive to the ancient Inca city of Kuelap, known as the Machu Picchu of northern Peru.  Most people access this site through a cable car but because we have the dog we decided to drive the hour long route to the site through mountainous single track dirt roads.  When we arrived the guard of the site seemed a little surprised to see us but was happy to allow us to camp beside the site. 

We set an alarm for the next morning to hopefully see this ancient city before tourists travelling up the cable car would arrive.

One thing to note for today is Kendra somewhat purposefully dehydrated herself, to answer last night’s question of whether it was the meat from the cow who died smiling or the water. Paul drank the water today and tossed and turned the entire night with stomach cramps and gas.

 

August 28- Feeling Ruined

Needless to say, we awoke this morning (Kendra awoke while Paul was already awake) and we are now confident the water we were gifted is clean for Peruvian’s to consume but not clean enough for our foreigner stomachs and intestines. Paul slept soundly from 7:00am-7:30am and at 8:30 it was time for us to head into the archaeological site of Kuelap.  Kendra had read on iOverlander that in 2019 the cable car up to Kuelpa is closed on Mondays for maintenance, but there were no recent updates. 

We figured if that was the case we may have the site to ourselves (since this road is also under construction from 7:30am-1:00pm, 2:00-5:30pm).  We found the security guard and someone who works for the Ministry of Culture who both made some phone calls and reaffirmed with us that there is no one to take our payment to enter the site, but they would register us in their book and take pictures of our passports so we can enter.  We wandered the museum and the security guard made a few more phone calls. He then told us we could enter the site at 9:30, and with it being 9:05 we should start walking because it takes 25 minutes to get there.

The security guard pegged our fitness level just right and we arrived to the site where we were greeted by another security guard who wanted to confirm we are the Canadians coming here. He had us check out the replica traditional house of the Chachapoya people and took another picture of our passports and then opened the gate for us.  We were then greeted by one last security guard who gave us each a hard hat to wear and told us we must wear them for the entirety of our visit.

In 2022 (we think it was in April but haven’t checked official reports) there was an earthquake that caused a landslide which impacted the stability of Kuelap. The site has been closed to the public ever since then, and only last week did we find out that the site was reopened for visitors (since 2022 you could still come to the site and see the outside wall and the replica house, but you were not allowed in). We feel very fortunate for our timing with visitors being allowed inside Kuelap once again.

With our hard hats on we entered the site as what we believe to be the only tourists for today.  There were workers with fall restraint harnesses who are actively working on the ruins to ensure its structural integrity and stability and archaeologists digging and sifting through the dirt removed from the remaining foundations of the homes. It gives you a whole different perspective on an ancient city site to see researchers digging into the ground to try and uncover some of the secrets that have been buried for hundreds of years.  While Kendra had hoped we would be able to see the Major Temple, we were only permitted entry into the central sector of Kuelap, since the other areas are still being worked on and inspected for safety. While this site is culturally and historically important, its application to become a UNESCO heritage site has not yet been granted.

After feeling like explorers we happily completed the downhill hike back to the van. It was raining and cool but Rupert was happy to see us (since no dogs are allowed in the Kuelap site). We decided to hit the road because like many other roads in this area, there is construction and we were not 100% sure of when the road would be open or closed or where the closure would actually be.  The signs stated times of free travel (7am-1pm, 2-6pm, 7-1 on Saturday and no times on Sunday), but listed times that seemed like it would be when people would be working.  We decided to hit the road to see if we would be stopped. At 11:30 we were finally stopped and enjoyed the 1.5 hours break from the windy dirt road.  Paul and Rupert took a nap in the van while Kendra added some updates on iOverlander. At 12:59 the other vehicles that were stopped with us started honking and we thought one truck was going to run down the pylons blocking the road. At 1:00pm right on the dot the pylons were removed and we were back on the road.

We stopped in the town of Nuevo Tingo and refilled our water with purified water and stopped for a lunch of soup and fried trout, it was delicious. Our next destination, the community of San Bartolo, wasn’t too far away but it would take us an hour due to the windy, dirt, mountain roads with switchbacks galore. On the way we stopped at another ancient city labelled as CAPUKUMACHO which was not listed on any map or app. We climbed up the steep steps and further up the mountain side to once again be surrounded by the circular stone walls which would once have housed people.

After a few more switchbacks and Waze and Google trying to make us drive up some staircases we arrived to the community of San Bartolo.  San Bartolo is a small and quiet mountain town with it’s Quechwa culture displayed in the traditional construction of houses and the words Haku Winay above every door. We parked the van inside the municipal office’s hall, and met our guide for our final hike of the day.  This hike was to Revash, an ancient burial location for the Chachapoyas people.  During the hike we were shown different plants and told their uses, ate a gooseberry and enjoyed the view of the valley below. Unfortunately, a guide is mandatory for this hike since other tourists have entered this sacred place and graffitied, vandalized, and even stolen from the tombs. While our guide only spoke Spanish, Paul learned a lot.  It was amazing to see these tombs filled with meaningful symbols drawn on the cliff face. The symbols included a sun, a dog and a guinea pig. Like so many hikes in Peru, this hike was mostly downhill to get to the tombs which meant for a slow uphill climb on the way back.

After returning to the van, Kendra cooked dinner while Paul decided now was the perfect time to rotate the tires. We had previously talked about rotating the tires since our front tires were showing more wear than our back tires and said once we were at a level camping spot we would do it.  Paul decided the concrete floor of the hall that was perfectly level would be the perfect place to rotate the tires, so after a long day of hiking Paul rotated the tires to the sounds of local music and guinea pigs squealing.

 

August 29- I swear there was a place selling cake!

Today started with Paul putting our spare tire back on the roof because he was too exhausted to do that last night. We left the quiet mountain town of San Bartolo and drove towards the town of Leybamba. After a quick stop for groceries, and watching the local police remove a sheep from their office and load it into the back of a truck (we have no idea why this happened), we made our way to the local museum which had been recommended to us by a few people.

One thing that annoys many people, but the most vocal are the Europeans, is that ticket prices cost a different amount for locals and foreigners. We have noticed specifically in Peru that the foreigner rate is usually double or triple the cost of what a local pays, and while this may be frustrating, we are happy to support the local economy with our tourist dollars. For this museum we paid triple what a local would pay (30 soles for us). This museum had many artifacts, pieces of pottery, and tools from around this area.

Our favourite part was definitely the mummies that had been discovered near Laguna de los Condores. Some were wrapped in cloth, some were in a crouched position, and some had the bones organized in a unique display which looked like an artistic sculpture. This museum was definitely worth the stop, and felt more academic than the mummy museum we had been to in Guanajuato, Mexico.

After visiting the museum, we were feeling a bit peckish and Paul remembered seeing a cake shop on the drive to the museum.  Sure, enough there was a small shop selling the best tres leche cake we have had on this trip! We also tried another cake, Torta Helada which was cake surrounded by layers of flavoured jello, and Marcianos that tasted just like a yogurt/gogurt tube that had been frozen. After enjoying our snacks, we hit the road towards Calla Calla Mountain Pass. At 3600 metres above sea level a gravel pit with stunning views of the valley below which would be our campsite for the night.  Tomorrow we will make our way to the town of Cajamarca where we need to shower (it’s been 4 day since we’ve showered but a week since we’ve had a hot/warm shower) and we need to clean our clothes.

 

August 30- Is this even a highway?

We were rocked all night by the winds at Calla Calla pas, but enjoyed watching the clouds roll in around us.  Today is going to be a long day of driving on “Highway 8B”. This highway is unlike any highway we’ve ever driven, and we have driven a lot of roads and highways, but this one was unique. To call it a highway is a complete stretch for our North American standards.  While this road was mostly paved (with some potholes), it was mostly a single lane road. Not to be confused with single lane in each direction, this highway had parts that were barely wide enough for just our vehicle. This went from a novelty to extremely stressful when we would encounter other vehicles and had to inch towards either the side of a mountain of a cliff.  Another challenge of this drive was that it went up and down numerous mountains and hills. While some countries build tunnels through the mountains, Peru has taken a more scenic approach, meaning we encountered switchback after switchback to get to the top of the mountain to then drive down the other side. It was a scenic drive, but it was a long drive. 

When we were outside of the town of Cedelin it was time to stop for a local treat, Dulce Queso/Queso con Miel.  We were served a small round of soft cheese doused in honey (most likely made from corn).  Here Miel translates to honey but we have had corn miel and bee miel and sugar cane miel, so its more of a syrup than honey.  It wasn’t our favourite snack, but we are glad we tried it.  Next we needed to get some gas and Kendra wanted to stop at a chocolate shop.  Once we picked up the essentials, it was time to leave this town. Thanks to a community event (the feast day of Santa Rosa de Lima), leaving was harder than we thought because roads were shut down and stages were set up.

After hitting the highway again (after 30 minutes of driving down back roads) we were relieved to see that the highway was a north American style highway (i.e. 1-2 lanes/direction of traffic and speeds above 30 km/h).  We made our way to a beautiful mosaic church and 20 minutes later we were outside the city of Cajamarca ready to camp for the night. Now we get in a bad habit of only spending one night in a place, but with hot showers, wifi and a washing machine we knew we would be staying here longer.

 

 

We stayed at El Patron finca which has a hotel and a place where roosters are raised for cock fighting.  We did have some concerns staying here, mostly revolving around Rupert at the roosters (since they are free range).  These fears were increased when we watched the owners dog attack another dog right outside of the gate, but thankfully Rupert and the dog who did the attacking got along just fine.

 

August 31- Getting stuff done!

With access to wifi we were able to get caught up on the world and with a washing machine we did our laundry! There are not too many exciting things to report for today.

We did travel to the Ventanillas de Otuzco, which is a cliffside where there are old tombs. They found adults and kids in the tombs prepared in the traditional burial. While we seem to be visiting a lot of tombs lately, these ones were some of our least favourite.  Next we went into Cajamarca and tried to get a prescription filled for Rupert.  Sadly, we were unsuccessful because the drug is not made for dogs in Peru and is “extremely expensive” according to the vet to get it for humans.  The vet did write us a prescription but our vet in Canada said Rupert may not require this medication anymore so we didn’t fill it.

After that we headed for the mall to do a big grocery shop. We can’t remember the last time we were in a traditional grocery store (usually we just go to markets) or the last time we were in such desperate need for so many things you can’t purchase at markets (Macaroni and cheese and some other comforts of home).  We even found windshield washer fluid; however, we could only find a 1 litre container which seemed small for what we needed.  However after doing a bit more reading but it turns out you dilute it yourself and now we are hoping this container will last us until the end of the trip!

Since we had loaded up the pantry the next stop may surprise you.  We had a hankering for pizza so got some local Cajamarca pizza. The potatoes pizza had potatoes and hot dogs on it while the Dori pizza had Kraft Singles cheese, hotdogs, and Doritos.  While it didn’t scratch the itch for pizza, we are glad we tried it!

 

September 1- Another hot spring experience

Today we ventured 10 minutes away from our camp spot to the community of Banos del Inca. Since we love hot springs we decided to check them out. Getting the tickets was a very confusing ordeal since we just wanted tickets to the hot pools, but get on being told we had to pick a specific pool for 30 minutes.  We finally just asked the ticket seller to sell us a ticket for what he recommended and headed inside. Once we entered we realized where our confusion was.  These hot springs were unlike any hot springs we had experienced before. Our tickets got us each a private room for 30 minutes where you filled a giant tub with the spring water to the temperature you wanted and then soaked (naked!).

Kendra finished before Paul (she made him wait for a room) and got to see some of the delegates for Mister Inca Universe Peru (this may not be the actual name).  Unsurprisingly Kendra had no problem watching the chiseled men in traditional outfits (shirtless) walk around the traditional pools, while waiting for Paul to finish his bath.

Our next stop was to buy beer and cheese.  The brewery was closed but  the cheese was exactly what we wanted.  We got a brick of herbed cheese and a brick of Gouda.  It was been a really long time since we have gotten hard cheese and we feasted on it.

Since we were already out of the campsite we decided to wander around Cajamarca. We enjoyed walking the streets and looking into the little shops and wandering past the churches.

 

September 2- Heading for the Coast

Since it had been a while since we had been to the ocean it was time for us to head back to the coast.  We had heard from numerous travellers before us that Peru’s coast is dirty; that it is full of garbage, and the beaches aren’t that nice. We believed it was time for us to find out for ourselves. 

First we had to stop for lunch at a cute restaurant on the side of the highway called EL Choy.  The waitress was friendly, the food was amazing (it’s still some of the best ceviche we’ve had) and I’m sure our faces will be on their social media account as she was very persistent to get a photo with us.  The next stop was for some cogollito a corn based liquor typically homemade purchased in an old 1.5 litre Coca-Cola bottle. 

Our first impressions of the coast were that the highways are better than in the mountains and that there is garbage everywhere. We don’t mean this in a judgemental sense, but garbage is just dumped and thrown from vehicles onto the side of the road. People have said that they can’t believe Mexico’s garbage problem, but Peru’s has Mexico beat hands down!   We also found that there is toll on the roads near the coast which Paul decided to try to bypass.  This is not a task we will ever do again as it took us through people’s backyards (where they had to move their laundry) and sandy garbage filled areas.  There were many times we didn’t know if we’d be able to get back to the highway.

We finally arrived to the small town of Puerto Malabrigo, a cute surf town where we had planned to camp on the beach.  Sadly, we were told that camping on the beach was not an option, so we found a beautiful cliffside to camp on and watch the ocean from above. What we didn’t know at the time was that this place, known as Playa Chicama, is a world renowned surfing destination because it has the longest left wave (which still doesn’t mean much to us as non-surfers).  We spent hours watching surfers hire a boat from the main beach to around where we were camping so they could back to the main beach (about a kilometer away) on the same wave!

We sat on the cliff side overlooking the ocean and surfers and sunset. While it was a bit breezy, it was the perfect place to unwind and enjoy our new corn based liquor.

 

September 3- The 7 Year Itch

Today marked our 7 year wedding anniversary! While we had ideas of grandeur of how we could spend our time, we decided to have a “do nothing day”. We walked along the cliff edge, sat reminiscing and laughing about the last 7 years, our wedding and even the last few months. While I’m sure you’re thinking “don’t you spend enough time together, especially living in a minivan”, we do spend almost every waking hour in each other’s presence, but it is nice to spend time where we intentionally are doing nothing. Some people use the term soulmates or best friends, and we don’t know how we would label ourselves, but we do enjoy spending time in each other’s company.

The unfortunate thing about today was that we lost the lid to our kettle. While we were exploring the cliffs we had left our kettle out and returned to the kettle without a lid. We searched all around for it even hiking down the cliffside to retire a cup that the wind had also swept away, but the kettle lid was never found, it’s time to get creative with a rock and some foil.

 

September 4- Going South Still

Today we left our little cliffside oasis and headed south along the coast. We had a few errands to do before Paul left Kendra to go to Edmonton for his friend, Ben’s wedding. We picked up some money since the town Kendra was staying in doesn’t really have an ATM and battled our way (drove) through the city of Trujillo. One thing that we are finding in Peru is that the drivers are crazy and no one knows how to properly use a traffic circle or their signal. We got the oil changed in the van (thank goodness we have our own filters) and tried to check out a craft brewery (which was closed).

We spent the night at a little campsite in the town of Huanchaco, another surf town and Kendra’s new home for the next 10 days. We had some ceviche for dinner (the chef/restaurant owner left half way through preparing our food on a quad to then return with some more ingredients) and had a quiet night in the van.

 

September 5- Paul’s departure

We woke up this morning and packed our respective bags that we would need for our time apart.  Kendra was going to stay with Rupert at a hostel while leaving the van parked, since Peruvian drivers are more crazy and more confident than they should be.  We had a quick breakfast and then checked Kendra and Rupert into the hostel.  Kendra will be learning Spanish while Paul is gone so she met her instructor, Manuel, and had her first lesson while Paul unhooked our solar panel and battery and took the tire, propane, and jerry can off the roof of the van so it would fit in the garage. After Kendra’s lesson we went back to Trujillo to get a bit more money and to go to a craft brewery. Lucky for us this brewery was open, had delicious beer, and also served burgers! 

After the delicious meal we went back to Huanchaco to relax until Paul’s flight. Kendra got the privilege of driving Paul to the airport and driving back to the hostel alone without a navigator.  After parking the van for the night, her and Rupert settled in.

 

September 6-13 – Distance between us

Not a lot of exciting things happened for Kendra and Rupert during this time.  She worked on learning Spanish, took a surf lesson, and tried to get caught up on the Instagram posts, since we’re still in Colombia according to Instagram. However, her favourite thing to do was to walk to the beach and just sit for a few hours watching the waves go by. Huanchaco is trying to keep their beach clean, but it would still be considered dirty to the average north American.

After a few days she went on a quest to find the best carrot cake and overall, she enjoyed trying some of the restaurants in the town.  Her favourite food in Peru is patrones, which are orange (due to sweet potatoe flour) deep fried dough served with a sweet syrup, with some cinnamon and cloves in it.  While she stayed at a hostel to hopefully meet other people, it seems like slow season is upon the town.  There were some surfers from California, a Chilean man who worked remotely and surfed, and John the American who has seen so many different corners and places in the world and had spent time in Huanchaco during COVID, so he knew his way around town. Kendra is now starting to understand more Spanish and needs more time to practice her conversation skills and learning new words.

After a long day of flying (almost 24 hours) Paul arrived in Edmonton to stay at a room share accommodations in Nisku that he later learned doubled as a Homeless shelter.  While at the airport he picked up his compact economy car which due to lack of availability turned into a large red pickup.  Like so many first days in a new country Paul grabbed a SIM card for Canada and some food (pizza) for dinner where he accidently geared down the truck increasing the RPM exponentially then frantically increased the gears to where the truck sounded like it was going to stall.  Because this was all done on Highway 2 he was yelled at by a couple drivers!

He spent the days leading up to the wedding at after the wedding visiting with friends and his in-laws making sure to minimize moments alone.  The wedding itself was amazing and so much fun if not for the by donation bar which go the better of Paul.  Thankfully Graham Rix saved him from himself and put him to bed.

It was a great trip and Paul enjoyed it and will treasure his time but unfortunately before he knew it, it was time to go back to the airport where he was heavily questioned by a US immigration agent in Edmonton.  After another 24 hours Paul returned back to Trujillo where he finally slept beside Kendra.