Saturday, January 4 Lima tohiafaz We got up at 5:15 and left the ship before 5.45 and found our luggage outside, although we had to battle a horde of porters who wanted to wear it the next few yards. We then had great difficulty finding the shuttle bus and was assured by someone that there was not a shuttle But in the end we found it and the 6 o’clock shuttle bus left at 5:50 with just four of us aboard. This went to the Plaza San Rosa and here we found after a few minutes our car and driver, Felix. Our guide, Dante arrived a few minutes later and we headed north out of Lima. It took some time to clear the favelas of the city, but then we were out into the desert. We stopped at a petrol station for a restrooms and then carried on for another hour or so arriving soon after 10:30 am at the archeological site of Caral. This claimed to be the civilisation of people 5000 years ago the second oldest after Mesopotamia. We saw several temples and the pictures of bone instruments that had been found there. A Peruvian Indian guide showed us round with Dante and we tried just to follow her Spanish but she did not take prisoners. It was very hot in the baking midday sun here. We then carried on to Barranca where we had lunch beside the sea there was plenty of surf and families were enjoying a Saturday on the beach. We had some home-made lemonade which was very enjoyable and then some steamed fish which was fine. Then we headed back inland and reached up to 4000 m before descending slightly to the town of Haurez, Which was where both Felix and Dante lived and where our hotels Patio de Monterrey, was situated 5 km outside. By this time it was raining quite consistently. We had to carry the suitcases down several steps to reception which was not brilliant either. We quickly sorted ourselves out in room 14 which was very damp but we thought we could cure it with the fire which David eventually managed to get going. We then had supper of broad bean soup and some spaghetti with chicken, nothing gourmet but very welcome. Returning to the room, it was still cold and I discovered that the sheets and pillows were really damp so I went to reception to ask for some hot water bottles. The night Porter , as he seemed to be to me , said they did not have these and that the sheets nor the towels were damp at all. But the end he did give us another electric heater for the room so I then spent an hour or so trying to warm up each pillow each towel and get the sheets as dry as possible. We will see whether we want to stay here for the second night tomorrow morning.
Sunday, January 5 Huaraz 27 and back. We breakfasted in the sunshine on the patio soon after 7 am and we’re off with Dante and a new driver at 8 am. We stopped in the Plaza de Alma of a small town en route where there was a spectacular plant that only flowered once in a lifetime: must ask Maria. The square was also beautifully decorated for Christmas . Then on into the mountains and an alta plana desert called Buenos Aires. We stopped at a lake for restrooms but these were non-existent and we had to wait until we got to the museum in Chavin. The scenery was quite spectacular, but I did not fully appreciate it As I had had a bad night sleep yet again probably due to altitude sickness: although the hotel was only at 3100 m During the journey we were at 4200 m but Chavin itself was back down at 3100 metres. We enjoyed the museum there after we had finally managed to get rid of Dante and let David read what was there a far more profitable way of finding out about the site. Dante’s command of English was proving to be less and less all the time. After this we went to the archaeological site walking round and seeing the various temples underwater channels. And I decided not to go down to the underground galleries and this proved to be a wise choice as they were really difficult. We then went to a restaurant where I fancied just a plate of fresh fruit but this was unavailable so I just had a fizzy water and a little of David’s rice plus a few grated carrots. But after this Dante did stop at the market and buy me some bananas and tangerines. The roads in the area were really bad and we got back to the hotel about 5:30 pm. We then had a very short wonder round the grounds of the hotel. The room was cozy and we read for a while before going over to the restaurant for a very small supper of cheese, olives and a crepe with a caramel sauce. But the best part of the meal was David’s Pisco sour. Back in the room a very nice girl came over and apologised effusively for the state of the room when we had arrived the previous day and offered us our supper as a goodwill gesture.
Monday, January 6.Huaraz two Trujillo. We got up early but still had a rush to be ready by 8 am as my porridge order failed to appear. Once again we breakfasted on the patio which was very pleasant. And the hotel tried hard to make amends for our damp room on arrival. We headed west ascending The Hills that’s surrounded the city and it was a really pleasant drive. We passed the old Inca Trail several times and got to the pass at 4200 m. Then down lots of hairpin bends through the alto Plano . Around 11 am, we arrived at Sihanouk . And were told that we could enter this site although officially it was closed on Mondays. David sensed a scam . Dante thought he had achieved access by presenting the Guardian with a red T-shirt. We enjoyed the half hour guided Tour of the site which was a temple with decorated walls of about three meter height showing victors and the poor enemy decapitated and without heads. But at the end David was asked to give 80.soles to the Guardian and was really angry with Dante for having left us in this position. So lunch soon afterwards was somewhat strained but we did enjoy our grilled sole but could not touch the mountain of rice and chips that accompanied it. We left the café for 2 am and then journeyed up the coast through the desert, passing vast swathes of agriculture near the rivers that we passed. Otherwise it was complete desert. We arrived at the Costa del Sol, Trujillo, Hotel at 5 pm. A pleasant room there overlooking its swimming pool and I had a swim just before six which was its closure hour. We opened a bottle of wine and enjoyed this with biscuits that have been left in the room for us . Then at 7:30, we went down to the hotels café/bar and enjoyed a free Pisco sour and a toasted avocado and egg on toast . Just before this we had walked out into the square, the Plaza Del Armas, and being amazed by the multitude of people there and the number of vendor door is selling balloons, Doritos, candy floss, toffee apples et cetera. All the Christmas decorations were still there and it was obviously a special evening for the local people. After supper we went back out to take some photos of this event.
Tuesday, January 7,, 2025. Trujillo. A leisurely day , a reasonable breakfast and then a meeting with our new guide, Yvette, at 9 am . We visited the cathedral right next door to the hotel and she explained lots of things about the paintings and the construction of the church. There were a few people in it and we spent half an hour or so there We then went into the archbishop’s house next door where there was an impressive chapel. After this we walked to the statue of Simon Bolivar in the centre of the square and Yvette explained where this had come from (Germany)and the meaning of all the statues around it. this was followed by a visit to a colonial Casa where Simon Boulevard was reputed to have stayed for one night, but there was scant proof of this, just a soup tureen with some words on it that implied it came from a high powered member of the revolutionary elite. Then a walk of a few blocks to the anthropological museum this had some very interesting pieces in it but was not ventilated so I found it somewhat draining. Then a visit to an ATM to get some money before returning to the hotel by 1230. We had a lovely afternoon. I had a swim but there was still some sunshine on the pool after we had had lunch in the room. Then we went out again to search for another museum supposedly quite nearby but we never found this. So we took a walk along the pedestrian Street where Yvette had said we would find some cafés at the end. We never found these, but that was one halfway where we stopped on the way back and had a Maracua fruit drink and a strawberry mousse. Back at the hotel I had a bath and read. We went out again at 7:15 with a walk around the square which was not nearly so busy as the previous night then back to the hotel for a Pisco sour and two snacks: one the same egg and avocado toast that we had had the previous night and the chimichangi, a local speciality. Another walk round the outside of the square before back to the room to do the diario and read a little longer.
Wednesday, January 8, 225. Trujillo to Casa Maa. We enjoyed our breakfast alone in the somewhat somber restaurant and were ready for the off at 8 am with Yvette and Ruben. There was a 90 minute drive to El Bruja where we had a two hour tour of this archaeological site Where the lady of Cao had been found in 2005. This mummy dated back to around 400 A.D. and still had skin and tattoos to be seen. We started off walking round the site where she had been found with various pictures of victors and losers shown on the temple sides: these were not quite so clear. at those at the Huaka del Sol but were still impressive. The whole site had been covered with a state of the art roof and was privately run by the Wiese family. We were shown where she had been discovered. Then we went into the very modern museum where we saw pottery that had been found in the tombs in a very good state. Next to our lady there had been four other bodies who had obviously been sacrificed on her death. The climax of the museum was the mummy itself that this had been preserved behind mirrors and was hardly visible. However after this we saw a reproduction of the mummy and this made things much clearer. On checking out of the hotel we had a to do with the receptionist who spoke very very poor English and the fact that they had ring fenced 200 soles is from our account and this would not be paid back for another month. We left Bruno around 12 and headed off up the Pan American Road for a while before turning north west towards Kabaka where we were going to stop for lunch, but just before this we encountered roadworks that held us up for about an hour , so we decided to skip lunch and just snack in the car. We had little conversation from Yvette during this journey and I was slightly perturbed by the high volume of very fast conversation going on between Yvette and Ruben which distracted from my enjoyment. We eventually got to Cajamaka at 6:30 pm in the dark and gloom. The check-in at the Costa del Sol hotel there was very poor and took a long time. Then we found our room was an interior room with curtain windows just onto a corridor. Also the lighting was not very good in it and it only had one chair that at the desk. We sorted ourselves out and went down to the bar for our free pisco sour and ordered a very acceptable bruschetta, sitting and looking out at the plazaBack in the room we enjoyed some of our gingerbread and a rum and Coke.
Thursday, January 9. Kaha Waka. We had an early breakfast and we’re ready at 8 am for Andy our new guide. We told him about our room which did not have any exterior windows and he arranged with reception for us to be moved to another room once we got back from our excursion We then set off to Cumbe Mayo , about 10 km to the south-west of the city . The roads were not good but we got there after about an hour and had beaten the crowds We walked for 90 minutes at least, along undulating pathways with a bit of mud thrown in, passing a ceremonial Cave and until we got to a fantastic aqueduct system that run for 9 km in the past. This was thought to have been constructed around 1000 BC, but David was very dubious about this as no metal tools existed in those days and all would have to have been just cut out with stronger stone tools. The aqueduct carved this way through huge boulders at times. Only about 1 km of it was still in action today. There were fantastic volcanic rock formations. I found the whole journey quite taxing but this might’ve been because of the altitude of about 3000 meters. We got back to the hotel about midday and had some rolls for lunch and then I had a siesta before we walked around the de Arma. There was a very impressive the carved cathedral and also the church of San Francisco. We also saw the outside of the house of Acapulco with his ransom room which was in the process of being restored. Soon after three, we went out again with Andy and went to the Ventanillas de Otuzco 6 km from the city. The walk up to these also challenged me. this was a limestone cliff full of niches where a secondary burial had taken place once the copse had decomposed during six months or so. It was surprisingly busy with Peruvian visitors some of them having arrived there on coaches. The descent was comparatively easy so I can only conclude that the altitude made climbing particularly difficult for me. We then went to the Banos de la Incas, a thermal resort. This was surprisingly well presented and we were very glad we had come here. Once back at the hotel I had a sauna which was part of our new room and then we went out after 7 pm to an Italian restaurant. But once we got there, it was like a very loud disco so we backtracked to the hotel and had a Pisco sour and a very good trout ceviche in the bar there.
Friday, January 10. Cajamarca to Leymibamba. We were all packed and ready to go at 8 am outside the hotel when we received a message that our new driver was stuck with his car, locked in by another car. Eventually our new guide, Julio, arrived with Alfredo at 8:15 am.. his English seemed really good and we were soon quite at ease as we drove north east of the city on the nine hour drive to our next destination. The scenery in these mountainous ranges was quite magnificent although the sky could’ve been bluer. We are assented to 3600 m during the course of the journey and had views on either side from the very zigzag road which deteriorated after a couple of hours. We stopped for a short walk on the ridge between two valleys and then stopped for lunch at 2 pm in a mountain restaurant where we had trout, beans and rice. Then I was surprised to find that it was only two hours more to our lodge hotel,Kentimumba,, A short way outside the town of Leymibamba This was a home of a lodge with just two Log cabins and said to be the home of many humming birds. I struggled to get up the ascending path to our cabin. This being much further than we thought and the altitude was obviously having an effect on my lungs. The cabin was quite delightful inside, but the view from the balcony could have been improved by cutting down some of the trees and there was no sign of any hummingbirds Having arrived at 4:15 pm. We were invited to go up to the main house at 5 pm: this we did, but we’re not quite sure for what reason. Anyway we sat there by the fire for 20 minutes or so and got connected to the Internet, then returning to sit on the balcony covered in blankets as it was quite cold. At 6:50 pm prompt we were again in the main house as ordered but just sat by the fire ignored for at least 10 minutes!. eventually we were served a glass of wine and called to the table at the same time where some appetising canapés appeared. As soon as we had finished these a plate of trout and pumpkin and potato accompaniment followed. David’s plate was removed as soon as he had finished and a mango moose appeared for him, even though I was still eating the salad on my plate: the moment I put down my fork my mango moose was also there. A really eerie dinner in many ways. Back in the cabin we kept ourselves warm by reading in bed till as late as possible, but this was unlikely to be after 9 pm as dinner had finished before 7:45 pm. At this time there was constant barking by a large number of dogs , so we wonder what will happen during the night
Saturday, January 11 full stopleymeramns to Chillo We had a pleasant breakfast of the fresh mangoes, but no conversation with the Chica of the house once again. This was after a disturbed night due to all the local dogs howling every 15 minutes or so. We packed up and went down to the gate by 9 am, only to find the museum just opposite did not open until 9:30 am . So we sat in the café with hummingbirds there for half an hour and eventually the museum condescended to open by 9:40 am. This was a very well laid out museum showing all the things that had been found with the discovery of 200 mummies in the cliffs about 11 hours walk from the town. Some of them had been split open by robbers who hoped to find gold inside them. The mummies had been discovered in 1996 and the museum opened by 2001 with a lot of help from the local community and also money from the British museum. It was very well laid out and the climax was the temperature controlled sealed room with all the mummies in. We met the Museum director, Sonia, there was somewhat in despair as to the number of visitors she was receiving together with the fact that the British museum was cutting off its funding. So when we have finished our tour we had a 20 minute chat with her, David giving her advice on websites and social media sites which might provide her with more people. By this time it was raining hard but we had already decided that I was not up to the 2 1/2 hour walk to see some funeral houses in the cliffs, so we drove round to the other side of the valley and set up a telescope, through which David was able to see the houses and he also got some photos of them too. And I managed just to make them out with my left eye looking through the telescope, odd. After a packed lunch here we drove back across the river to Chiloe where we arrived at 2 pm at the Donna Lola guest house which had just four rooms and supposedly friendly owner that we saw none of this friendliness. 3 pm we went and sat with our iPads in a little gazebo, managed to get the Wi-Fi connected and I had a cup of tea. Then we went for a walk with Julio for about an hour and this was very pleasant walking along the river and then through a small village. He was very knowledgeable about the plants and the birds. Back at the guest house we read some more and I had a cold shower and sat outside again before retreating due to insect bites. Then dinner at 7 pm in a somewhat dismal dining room Together with Julio: a reasonable meal but gain served a break next speed. Then back to the room for more reading.
Sunday, January 12. Donna Lola‘s to Chachapoyas The restaurant seemed much nicer at breakfast then it had the previous evening .This been due to being on a larger table with colourful placemats and not a pub table. Breakfast was simple and the juice was very good. We had to wait for Alfredo for a few minutes and then proceeded the 20 minutes to the cable car depot: this was a very impressive building, seemingly ahead of its time. From here we boarded a bus for a three minute ride to the cable car start. We had a cabin to ourselves and really enjoyed the 20 minute ride over to the Kuellap ruins. Then a half hour track or so along a paved path with quite a few steps to the actual ruins. I found this quite tiring and had to stop for breath several times. The site had suffered an earthquake in 2021 and the majority of it had been closed to the public. But there were still a significant amount to see. It was a shame the Peruvian government had announced that there was only 5% to see and of course a dramatic fall in visitor numbers resulted . this site was a temple for the Chachapoyas. People who predated the Incas. The Spaniards reached her too and lived peacefully with this tribe but the site was abandoned about 400 years ago, seemingly burnt. Only the nobility lived around the temple, the common people being outside the area. All the houses were around, some with an outside kitchen building. Having spent an hour or so walking round the site we then retraced our steps and got the cable car back at about 1:30 pm. This time it had stopped drizzling and we got better views of the wondrous valleys below And of the rainforest that we went over. We then had a five minute drive to Tingo where we had a lovely lunch beside the river with good weather. After this, we made our way towards Chachapoyas, Stopping to look at some sarcophagi way up high above the river using a telescope. I was amazed that I could see through this with my left eye better than with my right eye. We arrived at the.Xalca Hotel soon after four this was a charming Spanish colonial building very well kept and with exquisite Gardens and seating area inside the courtyard. But unfortunately it did not have a bar or café. We rested in the room for a while and then went for a walk up to the plaza and the pedestrian main Street finding a café that Julio had recommended: we intended to visit this later on in the evening. But back in the room we felt lazy and just had some gingerbread and Satsuma’s and drank some rum and tonic having obtained some ice from reception. A really enjoyable day.
Monday, January 13. Chachapoyas to Gocta Falls. We had a reasonable breakfast in a lovely setting and left soon after 8:30 am to see a fantastic canyon . There was a lookout tower and the views down to the river and waterfalls was truely wondrous. Then we made our way to the sarcophagi atKarajia. I had been in two minds as to whether to try to walk to these as Julio had said it was long steep climb , but we had read on the Internet that it did not seem quite so bad. However, at the last moment I said I would try as it and was not nearly so difficult as I had thought. There was a long walk down to get below the sarcophagi. Julio had bought his telescope and I was able to see six sarcophagi in great detail through it. He then proceeded further along a more difficult track to see these from another angle. Then the long haul upwards back to the village, but there were several seats along the way, and I was able to manage this without too much trouble. The sarcophagi themselves were truly wondrous and you could see how they were made from sticks of sugarcane covered in plaster. Two of them had skulls fixed over their heads. Then we made our way back to a village where Julio had ordered chicken soup for lunch saying that they made it themselves to a high standard. It was indeed good but the huge lump of chicken contained within it was absolutely tasteless compared to the vegetables in it. By this time it was past four and we then made our way to the Gocta Lodge Hotel where we arrived soon after five. We were shown to a super room with a view of the Falls: I reckoned it was the best room for a view in the hotel but it turned out that we had very noisy neighbours. I went for a swim in the pool, which was partly indoors and partly outdoors at a fairly cold temperature which claim to be 26°. Then we went for our free drink over in the hotel which was separate: this turned out to be a Pisco with passion fruit juice , very acceptable. So we sat outside in the café enjoying this as it got dark. Later we went down to dinner in the same place and had an enjoyable meal although the service was somewhat eccentric.
Qq Tuesday, January 14.Gocta Falls. A less energetic day than usual we had a leisurely breakfast and then read in the room and on the balcony until 11 am when we met up with Julio. We then went 2 km along the track to the waterfall which was still quite demanding, but at the lower altitude did not exhaust me nearly so much as previous treks. We stopped at a café where we had fresh cane juice and a better view of the waterfall. Then back to the town where David and I shared an omelette and wonderful fresh mango juice. In the afternoon I enjoyed another swim and read many instalments of the Pitcern scandal podcast We enjoyed a rum and Coke and later went over to the café and had a Pisco sour. Then back to the room before a pleasant but far too large dinner.
Wednesday, January 15. Gocta Falls to Chiclayo. We breakfasted at 7 am and we’re ready before 8 am to be picked up for a nine hour journey. But as we had said to Julio the night before, Alfredo was once again late this time by 15 minutes and we were not amused. So we left after 8:15 am and then had a long journey but fairly interesting scenery for 3/4 of the way going up and down the ridges of the Andes. The only options for lunch were at 11 am or to wait until 3 pm and we chose the latter. So we lunched in a Spanish colonial house at 3 pm, just 15 minutes away from our destination. We thoroughly enjoyed this lunch of rice with duck, sharing a platter between us and the passionfruit juice was delicious. We took our farewell from Julio and David reminded him of the 32 Soles that he owed him: was this a memory mistake or a scam? La Casa Andina hotel was very large and still in the town, not what I had expected. But we had a junior suite on the top floor, a tad faded, but quite spacious and agreeable. I went for a swim in the round swimming pool that was viewable from our window. We then had a rum and Coke in the room and later went down for a Pisco sour at 7:30. This we sat outside the restaurant with a noisy Spanish group rather too close to us but we really enjoyed it and had a pizza too.
Thursday, January 17.Sipan and Tucams We breakfasted on a coffee table outside the restaurant in order to gain more light and well then picked up at the civilised hour of 9 am by Orlando, our new guide. We drove the hour or so toSipan, Where we walked around the pyramids that had been excavated for an hour. In these were shown reproductions of what had been found there, quite amazing. The remains of our Lord of.Sipan Had been found in the 1980s and then two years later an earlier ancestor, called the old man ofSipan, Had then been unearthed with even more wondrous treasures in his tomb. We then walked round the museum there which just contained any later goods discovered, as a villages did not want a museum there in the first place. We had to drive for an hour to Lamborghini to see what it been on earth in the first place: land had been donated in this town for the archaeologist to construct a spacious museum. It was very dark inside, but I was still able to see most of the treasures using my binoculars at a distance. After this we went for lunch in a very crowded noisy restaurant, but we were taken upstairs in this where there was only one other couple. Orlando gave our order and then said he would meet us in an hour. We waited for half an hour before we got any food and that was then a little fish soup which we did not think we had ordered. But then our main course just one between the two of us arrived so we assumed the fish soup had been what we had ordered for starters five minutes later our starter arrived. Even though we only had one main course between us, we left over half of it but David thought the chips were good and I enjoyed the rice with the sauce, the beef being as tough as old boots next By this time it was getting on for 4 pm and we drove to Tukaway where we visited more pyramids and a small museum. Back at the hotel I had a swim and then we walked to an ATM machine. After this. We enjoyed a rum and Coke in the room with some rolls. Once it was dark, we went down for a Piscoe sour, returning to the room for the remains of our pizza of the previous night.
Friday, January 17, Chicago to the Bear Sanctuary. We left Chiclayo at 8 am and it was an hour and 3/4 to the outskirts of this sanctuary where we picked up Johanna the local guide. It then turned out to be another whole hour on terrible roads through River beds et cetera to the sanctuary. Chappari. We went on a 3 hour walk to see the Spectacled bears. Joanna showed us many other things too and the bear themselves were behind a fence with electric wire. Orlando had brought fruit on en route to feed his animals and they stood on their legs to receive it, but it was still difficult to take photographs without the electric wire. We also saw a fox in the open and various animals like honey badgers and snakes. 1:30 pm we stopped for lunch which was the same beef rice and chips that we had had the previous day but this time the beef was tender. We spent an hour for lunch in a very pleasant setting and then set off back to pick up our car. The journey back once again difficult that they had sent a new car for us as the one we took going there had no seatbelts and no air-conditioning the last and first hour of this journey were particularly bumpy but it was better with the new car which was so 4x4. We arrive back in Chiclayo around 5:30 pm and I had a siesta and then washed my hair. We have a snack and a rum and tonic before going down to the bar for yet another Pisco sour. Then back to the room for another snack before turning in for the night.
Saturday, January 18. Chicago to Lima We packed up for the return journey had breakfast and met up with Orlando at 9 am We then drove to a handicraft shop where I was hoping to buy a local sweater at a reasonable price but it was closed anyway so we continued on to another archaeological site, X, which was obviously only rarely visited it was a large site and a lot of excavations had been carried on there in the past, but none for the last few years as the government had expelled the archaeologist whose chief interest it was on some dubious grounds. Meanwhile, I was pissed starting to feel quite ill but we went back to the handcraft shop which was now open but there was nothing in it that we wanted at all. So we arrived at the airport by 1140 for our flight at 2:50. All that Endo helped us to use the self check-in which was quite a task, but then we had to sit for an hour Before we were allowed to go through to the departure lounge. The plane was in delayed by an hour more so it was a long painful weight. The flight itself was uneventful and we got a Uber to the Lima country club, a small luxury hotel. Unfortunately, we could not enjoy this to the full as I immediately Climbed into bed in a feverish state and David had to look after himself for the night.
Sunday, January 19. Lima to Moraira. I was slightly better in the morning but unable to face food so we went without breakfast and got an Uber at 9 am to the airport. Here we were able to check in efficiently and had a wait in the business lounge, But this was a fairly dismal place anyway. The Iberia flight to Madrid was also delayed by almost an hour but once we had boarded and we were very pleased with our seats there although they were one behind the other. I picked at my mail had a little carver and went to sleep very soon waking up after about five hours but still dozing for the rest of the way as we got off David also had the bug. It was OD 3° at Madrid but we did not have to stay out in the cold for long and connect quite quickly with our 735 flight to Ali Cante. Here it was only 8° but we were soon in our warm car and speeding home to a very cold house in Myra, as the heating control approved to be broken as we had left the house in mid December we sleep early sorted ourselves out and awaited the arrival of the window changes on the Tuesday morning.