Time: 3am
Place: Piura,
Peru
Why: good
question…
I arrived in
Trujillo at 7:30 this morning and, wanting to assure my trip to Tumbes, I
bought a ticket straight away. Happy with ticket in hand, I was taken back to Movil Tours by Freddy (my taxi driver
and ending up being my chauffeur for the day) where we waited for the next bus
from Huaraz carrying potential tourists who would want to tour with us to Huaca
del Sol/Luna and all the different sites in Chan
Chan, the mud/adobe village. After a bit of waiting around, we were
summoned to a hostel where there was a Japanese-Brazilian woman who wanted to
go to El Brujo, a site from over 5000
years ago, but also about an hour out of Trujillo.
After a lot of
back-and-forth, I was agreeable and said that we could go to El Brujo, and then Iliana could be on
her way by the afternoon to her next destination, and I could continue onto
Chan Chan on my own.
El Brujo had a pretty nice museum featuring, at the end, la Señora
Cao, a woman of 20-25 years old who ruled there at about 300/400 BC. The mummy
itself was in great shape (you could still see the tattoos on her arm) though
she was displayed a little far away for viewing pleasure.
Iliana and I then
headed outside to the most excavated mound (the peeps would bury the temple
once one government died along with the governor & co and then would build
on top of it, literally ruling on the grounds of their ancestors) which was
pretty ok to see, but a little lacking on the things we could actually see.
Iliana said Huaca de la Luna had been more impressive with its brilliant color,
but we have to remind ourselves, 5000+ years old!
At the very
least, the trip gave me the opportunity to chat with a fellow traveler, get
tips, give tips (she’ll be going to Ecuador in a few days).
[mmmm…I fell
asleep for 2 hours across 3 chairs. Great way to pass the time. It’s now 5:30
and I don’t know where the rooster is, but he’s definitely announcing
the morning…hahaha…I see him sitting on one of the chairs. I guess that’s one
way to bring your alarm clock.]
I then went to
Chan Chan, the largest adobe-mud-brick city of its time and the oldest existing
one in the world. It was ok, but 1) I was hungry, 2) I was tired, 3) I was
convinced that many parts were false, that they have been more recently carved… So it was an ok adventure, but I was relieved
to escape Freddy and go internetting awhile.
It was while I
was internetting that I started reading more about Tumbes boarder-crossing and
how it’s pretty shady, and that it’s better to cross at Mancorá. There was some
confusion on my part because I was confusing “Macará” (Peru) for “Mancorá”
(Ecuador), but I got a ticket 10 minutes before the 8pm bus was supposed to
leave for Piura…
…and that would
be how I ended up in a bus terminal in Piura at 2:30am.
It’s now 6:47 in the morning and
I’m waiting until 7:30 to taxi to Transportes
Loja which is apparently in a busy, pickpocket-ridden area. I called yesterday to reserve a ticket (Piura to Loja, Ecuador) and they just took my
first name, so I do hope there is a seat for me. From Loja I should be able to
find a bus to Quito, but lord only know how long that ride will be. “Lord” or
maybe even my guidebook…
* * *
I got to the Transportes Loja station to buy my
“reserved” ticket. I think the guy thinks I’m a little overboard because at the
time I bought the ticket today, I think I was the first. I asked if I needed to
reserve a ticket Loja à Qiuto,
and he just looked at me like “really? No.” He also said it was 12 hours from
Loja to Quito. Que barbaridad.
I am
relieved to be getting to Ecuador. My 8-hour bus ride for today cost $10.
* * *
Boarder crossing!
Yay! The Ecuador stamp does have a bit of artistic flair lacking, but they were
very kind in using pages in the back of my passport that I had though were
useless, so that was nice.
Even more rad,
though, is seeing Ecuador stamp “August 23, 2007” and then flipping back a few
pages, Ecuador stamp “August 23, 2010”
* * *
The bus driver
doesn’t appear to have the same will to live as I do – I guess when we arrive
in Loja on time/early I’ll be thankful for his hasty driving…?
