Back in Lima

Day 19
2011-01-27
Arrival in Lima

It felt so good to be back in Lima after 3 weeks. After reaching the Cruz Del Sur bus terminal we took a taxi and drove to our hostal - the one we were staying in at the beginning of our trip. It was almost like coming home. Our room wasn't ready yet - so we had breakfast and moved into our room afterwards.

Then we drove to the historical centre of Lima and spent the day shopping, having coffee, lunch, coffee again, walked the whole centre, took photos and laughed A LOT.

Honestly - I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard for a whole three weeks. It was simply magical! That evening we went to a restaurant across the street of our hotel. They served typical Peruvian food and were lucky because there was a guy playing live on his guitar. It was amazing...the food was great the music was awesome and the conversations really profound.

More rockfalls - arrival in Ayacucho & departure to Lima

Day 18
2011-01-26
Another night on a bus - in the mountains

Only two hours later we were on our way - finally. Ok - I'm kidding. I the middle of the night we were - again - standing still in the Andes and there was no back or forth. So we spent another night in the mountains. Honestly - when I think about it now I see why this happened to us. One very important thing I learned is patience. Sometimes you can' t change things - so there's no need to freak out or get nervous. And another thing we experienced were the magnificent sunrises in the mountains. We could have never experienced that if we didn't stop for the night in the bus. Words can't describe how I felt on the edge of that mountain road...so I better add a photo.

After the sun had set we were back on our route and reached Ayacucho at around 11 am. We were supposed to be there the evening before...but hey - we were alive. ;-)

We had a reservation at a beautiful hostal in the centre of the city but due to all the delays we weren't able to check in for the night. We had to take the bus to Lima the same evening at 10 pm. The owner of the hostal was REALLY awesome. She gave us a room for the day to get some rest and take a (much needed) shower after that 38 hour trip. And she even gave it to us for half the price. :-)

The shower was awesomeness and much fresher we started to explore the town. The weather was amazing and we had a great lunch at the hotel. After that we went to walk the area. Ayacucho is an amazing town with lots of arts and crafts...very traditional people and beautiful colours. After a nap in the afternoon we went to have dinner which was awesome. Then we packed our stuff and headed towards the bus terminal. The last route to Lima was on a really comfortable bus with folding seats and catering. We boarded the us, cuddled up n our blankets, had another snack and watched a movie before falling asleep. 9 hours later we woke up realising that we were in Lima. The ride raced by and we felt great!

The world ends at the edge of a road

Day 17
2011-01-25
Rockfalls, avalanches and floods - Andahuaylas 

Only two hours later the bus stopped without further notice. We were in the middle of nowhere - in the Andes, on a dark muddy road. We waited for a couple of minutes hoping that the ride would continue...but nothing happened. I left the bus to see what's going on and I noticed that the s driver were talking about something in spanish. The road was obviously blocked and after a while the drivers started to get ready for a sleep - yes, you heard right: they were getting out mattresses to set up their beds. I went back into the bus to tell Chris about it and we resigned to the situation and tried to sleep a bit. It was a short night. When the morning dawned I woke up and left the bus again. The drivers were already trying to free the road. A rock avalanche went down the night before and the road was completely covered in all sizes of rocks. After 2 hours we were finally able to continue our trip and drove on. 

Only half an hour later the next obstacle hit our way: a mud avalanche blocking the road for a second time. After another hour we were able to go on. Believe me or not...there was another surprise waiting for us. Just a few miles later the road was completely under water and we had to wait again. 

We finally reached Andahuaylas in the early evening. Our scheduled connection to Ayacucho was already gone but the bus company was trying to arrange something. We were told that our bus to Ayacucho has been rescheduled 2 hours after our arrival. 

This gave us the time to visit the city centre and have a decent meal. We hadn't had a big thing to eat since our departure 16 hours before. 

After a nice lunch and a walk in town we headed back to the bus terminal where we waited for the boarding process. But guess what - nothing happened. We were told that no bus would go to Ayacucho this evening because the office was told that the road in the mountains was blocked due to rainfalls. After checking on our options we headed towards the city centre to find a travel agency to get tickets for a flight to Ayacucho. We were just outside the bus terminal when a fellow passenger approached us saying that they had organised a bus that would leave that evening and they were almost boarding. We thought about it and I decided to go back and take our chance because I wanted to leave already. Chris wasn't so happy about that but he joined. 25 minutes later we were sitting on the bus and leaving Andahuaylas. Another 11 hours were laying in front of us and we prepared for the night in an uncomfortable bus seat. We literally JUST left Andahuaylas as the bus stopped. It was raining outside at that point and we couldn't see much. Suffice to say, Chris was furious after following me on my decision to board that bus and not take the airplane. Anyhow - we were stuck because a truck in front of us had turned sideways because of the mud on the road. 

Start of an odyssey

Day 16
2011-01-24
Start of an odyssey

It was planned to go to one last city before going back to Lima: Ayacucho. The city in the Andes is a cultural center for Peruvian arts and crafts but since it is very remote not many tourists go there. The busride to Ayacucho was supposed to last 22 hours in total…The first leg of the route would last 11 hours and stop in Andahuaylas and then go on to Ayacucho.

We knew that this was a long ride, but we wanted to see the city and so we took the adventure. I must add that it was the rainy season which can sometimes cause some minor problems along the way…but more about that later.

We got our tickets – surprisingly cheap compared to the other tickets we got – and we boarded the bus for a ride through the night. Departure time was 10 pm. We left Cusco and headed the Andes direction Andahuaylas. We could not imagine what this ride would bring.

Cusco - the cultural belly button of Perú

Day 15
2011-01-23
Cusco

The next morning after a wonderful breakfast at Jacks bar we started walking the neighborhood again. 

Cusco has the oldest Peruvian University and is a tourist magnet. But it’s not as bad as it sounds. The very modern city is a great place where many young people, tourists and locals come together to make it a unique mixture of pulsating nightlife, entertainment areas, shopping and cultural activities at the same time. Cusco is just beautiful and fun! Walking around the streets during the day gives you the chance to see locals in their traditional costumes. If you walk out of the city center you can find amazing traditional markets where people sell almost everything starting from food to kitchen equipment. Everything happens on the streets and sometimes it can appear a bit strange to us. 

Our discovery of the day was The Muse – a nice Lounge/Bar/Restaurant with great staff, amazing music and awesome drinks! We loved this place and after a snack at lunchtime we decided to come back for dinner. At night Cusco awakes to a lively pool of bars, restaurants and clubs that vary in style and price of course. People love to go out and the younger ones hang out on the streets having chats or goofing around. 

We went to The Muse as planned and had a nice and relaxed time with snacks and good drinks listening to amazing music and observing people. We really had a great time and laughed so hard – mostly about each other.