Christmas in Huaraz

As of 6am this morning, am back in the Andes, which strangely feels like going home a bit, I think because I spent so long in Cusco, and then Quito as well. After meeting Irene in Chiclayo, we had a 3 hour bus to Trujillo, which was MUCH nicer, and quite modern. Our hostel was a little sketch, pretty grungy around the edges, but we only stayed there one night, and most of the day since they kept our laundry hostage about twice as long as they promised it would take.

From there, it was only a short, but hilarious (due to our awkwardly large and bulky backpacks, Irene´s medecine bottles falling out of the grocery bags and rolling down the aisles, hitting people in the face with our luggage, etc) colectivo bus ride to Huanchaco, back on the coast. Actually one of the nicer beach towns, (although freezing cold, there are some HUGE waves) definitely much nicer than Máncora- although this assessment might be slightly elevated by the fact that on our first night there, I managed to find a coffeeshop that a)serves actual cafe, not the instant kind and b) serves delicious, warm brownie with ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce that almost made me forget how disappointing all other desserts have been for the past 2 months.

Then on Saturday Irene and I, plus our Norwegian roommate Matteus, took a few colectivos and found a guide to show us around Chan Chan, which is one of these huge walled cities in the middle of the desert. Only one of the palaces (the royal one) is open to the public, and only parts of it, but the place is huge, with tombs, a giant well/pond, etc. In all, there are 13 of these palaces, and they make up over 25 km square of cities, all in and around Trujillo. Plus they keep finding more all the time, even in the ones which they thought had been fully excavated and partially restored. There are a bunch of other sites you can see, and I especially wanted to get to Huaca de la Luna, but by the time we were making our way over there, it was too late in the afternoon and we were told we´d basically be stranded i nthe middle of the desert with no way to get a ride back. And then Sunday (yesterday?) it was closed, so only got to see Chan Chan unfortunately, but that was still pretty cool.

So then a night bus last night to Huaraz, and we´re staying at a pretty cool family place with a bunch of other backpackers. Very friendly and everything is decorated for Christmas, and we´re actually having a midnight Christmas meal tonight, so that should be really nice. And then tomorrow possibly some mountain biking (you can hitch a ride on a bus that takes you up the mountain and then you can just coast down, which is definitely my idea of exercise, especially since I am having a little bit of headaches and fatigue from coming back to high altitude). And then probably find another restaurant or something for a second Christmas dinner tomorrow night, so it feels like I´m eating leftovers for a week, just like at home. After that I think we´re leaving the town and going up to this lodge that was recommended to us, where you can do some great hikes, and even though it´s a lot colder (the town I´m at is right beside the second highest peak in south america) they have a hot tub, and a sauna room, etc. so I think I´ll be able to endure it. Barely. And then it´s to Lima for New Year!!

So that´s about it for now, although I hope you all have a great Christmas and new Year and miss all of you sooo much!! Hope you´re enjoying the great food and I´ll let you know how everything goes here soon!!

Love, Sarah