Huánuco to Lima – Thursday, October 13, 2016

Today we spent almost eleven hours on a bus going from Huánuco to Lima. Altitudes again – Huánuco is at around 6,000 ft. We went up to over 14,000 feet and the down to sea level at Lima.  We caught the bus in Huánuco at 8:30 this morning. The big seats downstairs were already booked when we bought our tickets so we were upstairs. The seats look like they have a lot of leg room until the seat in front of you reclines into your lap! It was a tiring day. I listened to almost all of season two of the podcast Serial. 



The scenery was stunning and interesting. 


Traffic in Lima was horrible but we finally got to our hotel around 8 tonight.   Boy did the hamburgers and beer for dinner taste good. 

Huánuco Day 2 – Wednesday, October 12, 2016

We arrived in Huánuco around five last night after several busy traveling and site seeing days. So we decided to spend two days here and rest and recuperate. This morning we went out and bought bus tickets for our trip to Lima tomorrow. We also dropped off our laundry.
While we were out we got to enjoy a mini parade promoting earthquake preparedness. There was a band, ambulances, an excavator, and lots of kids and people in costume. All the kids had on t-shirts saying that there would be a night time earthquake drill tomorrow night.



We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing plus Duke went out and got a shave.

Dinner was pasta and sangria at a good Italian place. Then we went to pick up our laundry. The guy behind the counter was eager to practice his English. He asked us if we are Republicans or Democrats. Then we chatted a bit about our strong opinions about the candidates. We shook hands and said good bye. It was one of those memorable fun exchanges. It is a bit surprising to me how few Peruvians have asked us about the election.

Chavín to La Union – Monday, October 10, 2016

We are in another small hotel without Internet tonight so again this won’t be posted until later. 

After talking to the lady at the tourist office in Chavín this morning we decided that the best way to get to our next stop would be to go back to Huaraz and get a bus to La Union from there. La Union is on our itinerary because Duke remembers being particularly impressed by the beauty of the ruins outside of town. 

So we back tracked to Huaraz. Huaraz is a climbing center so it has a lot of foreigners. We had a 90 minute layover which we spent at a very nice restaurant where we had hamburgers, fries and beer! My first hamburger in over a month. 



The bus ride from Huaraz to La Union was another stunning ride. I’m sure you are getting really sick of my quoting our altitudes. I can’t help it I am addicted! Today the bus went over a 15,320 ft (4,670 m) pass. 

We arrived in La Union without any idea where we would stay. I sat on a street corner surrounded by our bags while Duke checked out accommodations. I had a nice conversation with the lady who owned the shop I was sitting in front of. Duke returned to lead me to the place we were staying. We have a very basic, clean room, my primary complaint is that there is no toilet seat!

Huaraz to Chavín – Sunday, October 9, 2016

This morning we caught an 8:30 bus to Chavín. The chickens in the picture were loaded into the luggage compartment of the bus. 

The road went up over a 14,500 pass and the trip took about two and a half hours. We are staying in a small hotel called Chavín Turístico. It is quite pleasant but we have no internet so this post won’t be posted until we have Internet again. 

This afternoon we toured the Chavín de Huántar ruins. The site is huge. It has underground passages, platforms and a big main square. It was all built by the Chavín, one of Peru’s first civilizations. The ruins date back to 1500 BC. At one point on the tour we went down into a big chamber that contains the Lanzón de Chavín. It is a 14 foot high verticals carving that looks like a big knife. 


Llanganuco Mountain Lodge to Huaraz – Saturday, October 8, 2016

This morning we had our last breakfast at Llanganuco Mountain Lodge. It was another beautiful sunny morning. After packing we sat and read on the terrace until our taxi picked us up at 11. The taxi took us back down to Yungay where we caught a collectivo to the town of Huaraz where we are staying tonight. 

Way back in Cajamarca we met a couple from Quincy, California and had a great time sharing drinks and stories with them. Today not ten minutes after we arrived in Huaraz who should we run into in the square but Kim and Pete from Quincy! It was great fun catching up. 

We are staying at the Hotel Churup here in Huaraz. It is very, nice, bright and relaxing. They only had one room left when we got here so we were lucky to get it. 

While I caught up on blog posts this afternoon Duke bought our bus tickets for 8 am tomorrow to Chavín to see the ruins there. 

For dinner we had really delicious curry from a restaurant called Chili Heaven



Walking to dinner we saw a German man that Duke sat next to on the bus to Kuélap. We’ve seen him in a couple of different towns singing for money. Tonight he was singing right next to several indigenous woman who had their hand knit woolens laid out on the sidewalk to sell. All the women were knitting while they minded their wares. 

Duke said that if we run short of money he doesn’t plan to sing in the street. Instead he says he will just set me to knitting!!