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| Iquitos with Jose |
Wed 09/04/03 |
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Spent the morning looking around town by myself and buying some breakfast at the local supermarket and worked on my webpage before meeting up with Jose in afternoon for another walk around town, which was curtailed by a rain shower.
Used the poor weather as an excuse to spend the afternoon in internet cafe, reading various news sources on the war on Irak that seemingly was drawing to a close with the allied forces taking control of Bagdad.
In the evening went out to "El Zorrito", the same restaurant which we had visited the evening before, serving local specialities on tables set up on the pavement. (see Food & Lodging) Then continued on for a beer at different Video Pub but didn't want to stay up too long as a mass demonstration had been called for the next day against the inactivity of the government in improving the poverty and situation of many young people in the region. This protest, similar to the one I had witnessed in the Jujuy province in Northern Argentina, included burning rubber tires in the middle of all major roads and glass from broken bottles being spread out around the main intersections, in effect bringing the mototaxi driven town to standstill.
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Hospedaje Florentina -
Jr. Huallaga 212
Iquitos - Ph: (094) 233591 - 35 Sols |
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El Zorrito
Faning No 355, Iquitos
Ph: 23-1966
Good variety chicken and fish for 6-12 Sol |
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| City Jungle |
Thu 10/04/03 |
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After a fairly short night, during which I had to get up several times as I had finally succumbed to the inevitable diarrhea, I started walking towards the airport at 6am carrying all my stuff. Whilst wandering along I encountered many roadblocks but felt quite safe as there were police practically everywhere, quite in contrast to the very few mototaxis, none of which were willing to take foreigners.
I had walked for more than an hour when I ended up getting a ride for the last 2km and arrived at the airport at 7:30, where I managed to change my flight which had accidentally been booked for the following day.
The Urbanito shuttle bus (Ph: (01) 424 3650) which I caught into town from Lima airport for 15 Sol proved to be a very good choice, with its reasonable price and very friendly service. They also do pickups from hotels all around town at pretty much any hour if you wish to use them for a ride to the airport.
I had been dropped off at the Cruz del Sur Terminal where I bought a ticket on the nightly Semi-Cama bus to Huaraz (38 Sol) and then with almost 10 hours to spare I set out to explore the city centre of Lima.
The beautiful Plaza de Armas with its original 1640 fountain, the magnificent cathedral and Palaico del Gobierno were my starting point from where I headed around the pedestrian area to Plaza San Martin with it's bronze figure of the Liberador General Jose de San Martin.
I was longing for a visit to the cinema, as I had not seen a film for over a month, so choose "Daredevil" after I had failed to resist ordering a taylor made suit (I am getting old) which I would be able to pick up on Monday evening. (The company delivered on time and left an extremely professional impression - Confecciones "Robert's", Jr. Carabaya 550, Lima, Fax: (01) 428 8159 - US$120)
Headed back to the Bus station in the evening and caught the 10pm bus to Huaraz with the usually good company Cruz del Sur. However on this particular service the leg room turned out to be rather tight and didn't allow for much sleep apart from the last 1.5 hours of the journey.
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Cruz del Sur Bus to Huaraz |
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| Plaza San Miguel |
Iglesia de la Merced |
Catedral |
Plaza de Armas |
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| Huaraz - The Switzerland of Peru |
Fri 11/04/03 |
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With hardly and sleep and a dodgy stomach I was hanging around the bus terminal in Huaraz, when I met a Spanish/Pais Basco guy called Alex who recommended me staying at La Casa de Zarela, and following my instincts I decided to take up that recommendation - a very wise and lucky decision as it turned out.
The weather was dismal, fairly cold and raining practically all day with the exception of a few hours around lunchtime, so I spent most of the day at the hostal, venturing into town only to book a tour to the ruins of Chavin for the following day at a company called "EuroInka" which made an alright impression but I am sure there are better outfits out there.
The laziness culminated in me not even venturing out into the city at night, as my stomach had deteriorated and I was in no mood for drinks or dancing.
| The Ruins of Chavin |
Sat 12/04/03 |
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After almost an hours waiting in front of the hostal I had practically given up on the prospects of going on the tour and was ready to head into town when the tour bus finally arrived. The ride was rather short as the first police control post established the lack of a valid insurance and was going to impound the vehicle. After more than an hour of discussions, and the lack of a similar sized alternative vehicle the police let us proceed and would impound the bus on our return.
The Laguna Querococha was our second stop on this eventful and longer than usual journey to the Ruins of Chavin, a major pre-Inca culture which ruled large parts of Peru from 1300 BC - 200 BC. The already very poor road, which seemed to be in a bad condition due to plentiful rain, proved to be too much for one of the tires and prompted a second involuntary stop en route (the third in total of course).
We finally reached the village at almost 3pm and after a short lunch break made our way to the ruins in the rain. The temple which formed the centre of the Chavin culture had an elaborate underground tunnel system that served many purposes, one being the living quarter of the resident priests. As the male priests believed that if one can master living in the dark, living in the light would pose no challenge, the rooms inside the pyramid were without any light or windows, spare some ventillation ducts. The many stone carvings that exist from their reign depict feline motives (their principal deity), as well as lesser gods such as condor, snake and human.
Due to delays with the repair of the broken tyre we didn't start our journey back until almost 7:30pm and made good time on the return journey arriving back in Huaraz at 11:30 about 3.5 hours late!
| The no Hike Day |
Sun 13/04/03 |
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I had originally planned to walk up to one of the lagunas high above Huaraz with Antonio our guide from the day before, with whom I had gotten on very well. However due to further worsening of my stomach I decided against a strenuous hike, especially as I had hardly eaten anything the day before.
So ended up spending most of the day doing research on the internet and working on the computer, which was quite productive and considering the pouring rain outside not such a waste of time.
After I had had a chat with the host family about my stomach aliment they recommended I should take an antibiotic to help in the fight against the infection, which I promptly went out and bought. (It worked too)
In the evening met up again with Antonio and said my good-byes before getting on the Movil Tours cama bus to Lima, which proved to be the far better option than the Cruz del Sur and at 40 Sol only 2 Sol more expensive. (Movil Tours, Jr. Simon Bolivar 452, Huaraz, Ph: (44) 722555).
As I mentioned before I was very pleased with our guide Antonio Palacios, so if you are heading to Huaraz drop him a line a week or so in advance and he'll be of assistance in your trekking and travel needs.
A few last words of advice, Huaraz is not a very good place to be in the rainy season, unless you're into bad weather hiking in clouds, and in contrast to the Alps the bad weather really seems predictably bad for several months.
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Casa de Zarela, Jr. Julio Arguedas 1263
Huaraz, Ph: (44) 721694 |
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La Casa de Zarela
Jr. Julio Arguedas 1263, Huaraz
Ph: (44) 721694
Extremely friendly and helpful - 15 Sol
Very popular in high season - book ahead |
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| Laguna Querococha |
Ruinas de Chavin |
"Ruinas de Chavin |
Piramida Trunca |
Dentro de las Ruinas |
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| Dios Guhari (Lanzon de Chavin) |
Habitacion del Alto Sacerdote |
Vista de Huascaran (almost) |
Plaza de Armas |
City Map |
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| One Last Day in Lima |
Mon 14/04/03 |
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Actually had managed to sleep quite a bit when the Movil Tours cama bus arrived into Lima at around 6am, so quickly caught a taxi to "Homeperu" a brand new hostel in an old mansion in Miraflores that had been recommended to me in Huaraz by the Casa de Zarela.
The very nice, clean and tastefully decorated hostal is a good deal for US$10 incl. breakfast and since it had only been open for 3 weeks I got a whole dormitory to myself. Whilst I was having breakfast there I was thinking that this place will become quite popular fairly soon as it truly is a great hostal.
Shared a taxi into town with two other guests from England and paid the tailor a visit for the fitting of the suit and then walked to the Museo del Tribunal de la Santa Inquisicion. It is situated in the same historic building dating back to the 1570s which was used by the Spanish inquisition from 1570 to 1820. Some of the interior dates back from that period, the most remarkable of which is the wooden ceiling in the main courtroom that is held together only by wooden joints. (photo)
My second stop was the Monasterio de San Francisco, which is famous for its catacombs which served as the first public cemetary in Lima for almost 300 years between 1540 and 1840. The approximately 70.000 people that are buried there were kept in special chambers until the decay process had left only the skeleton which was subsequently stored in the vast underground vaults.
On this day of culture I then made my way out of town to the Museo de Oro del Peru which is housed in the same building as the Museo de Armas (upstairs). As the museum is private (owned by H. Stern) the entrance fee of 30 Sol is incredibly steep but the museum is probably worth the money. The upstairs collection of firearms, swords, shields and uniforms, just to name a few types of exhibits, comprises almost all cultural realms, covering (among others) Moroccan, Turkish, Indian, Malay, Japanese, North and South American to European arms. The whole place is totally cramped and has little explanations on the displays, so be prepared to just wander and be overwhelmed by the sheer number of collected items in this somewhat unusual museum. Downstairs houses the collection of gold and silver jewelery and artefacts as well as pieces of clothing, ceramics, semi-precious stones and several mummies. Be prepared to spend at least half a day there if you want to get a good look at everything.
Got a taxi-ride back into town in an old VW built in 1964 which had more than 2 million km's on it's original petrol engine!
Picked up my finished suit and bought some dinner, which resembled real food for a change before heading back to Homeperu for a relaxing and early evening, as I would be going to the airport at 4:15 the following morning. At that point I felt a bit sad as I had not even seen Miraflores and could have spent some more time in the city that had gotten off to such a bad start with me.
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HomePeru, Arequipa Av. 4501
Miraflores - Ph: (01) 241 9898 - 35 Sol |
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| Gobernemiento Adelante |
Gobernemiento Detras |
Museo del Tribunal de la Santa Inquisicion - Techo |
Iglesia San Franciso |
Iglesia San Franciso |
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| Catacombas San Francisco |
Catacombas San Francisco |
Monasterio San Francisco |
Iglesia San Francisco - Interior |
Palacio de Justicia - Noche |
Read more about Cusco and Machu Pichu in part III
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