Photo Journalism

Earlier this year I shared photos and experiences from Cusco and Cajamarca, but lately I've been slacking off. I’ve been fortunate to use several vacation days in these last few months to explore different parts of Peru… all I can say is, what an amazing country.

Maybe someday I'll have time to write about all of these places. Today, I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Machu Picchu!

Lago 69 - Cordillera Blanca

Huaraz

Playa Máncora

Pisac

Playa Pimentel

Parque de Los Enamorados, Miraflores

Tembladera

Pacasmayo

Ollantaytambo

Lima

Cuzco, Perú

Dear avid followers, (ha, ha), so sorry about the several week blogging absence! I’ve just returned from an incredible vacation with family to southern Peru. I had a great time playing tourist for a few weeks and feel so lucky to have these opportunities!

It’s hard to sum up the entire trip at once so I’ll do it little by little… beginning with Cuzco. Cuzco is the gateway to Machu Picchu and seems most known for its’ high altitude, coca leaf tea, alpaca products and abundance of backpackers.

Coca leaf tea

People often just dash through this town en route to the “main event,” but I think it was well deserving of a few days stay. The vendors and sheer volume of tourists were a bit overwhelming in certain parts, but all in all it’s a quaint, vibrant town full of beautiful cobblestone streets to explore.

Calle San Blas

The Plaza de Armas and Catedral were especially beautiful, both day and night. The Cathedral is known for it’s painting of the last supper that features the Peruvian dish cuy (guinea pig). We were lured in at mass time and thus didn’t pay the usual fee!

Plaza de Armas

We came across a colorful Anniversary Parade in the city center. One of my favorite things about Peru – there’s always something random to stumble upon!

Anniversary Parade

 

To see the main Cuzco area sites you are forced to buy a wide-encompassing tourist pass, but it’s worth it. Highlights in town include Sacsayhuaman and the once gold-covered Qorikancha Inka Ruins next to Iglesia Santo Domingo.

In addition to ruins and museums, the pass gives you access to the Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo, where you can check out regional dances.

Don’t miss Mercado San Pedro – where you can buy slabs of meat, clothing, hand-woven crafts, agricultural products, flower bouquets, ceviche, and live frogs, (amidst other things) all in one stop!

Mercado San Pedro

Speaking of meat, if you’re looking for some American comfort food, check out Jack’s café. Nice big juicy cheeseburger I’ve been dreaming about for the last 6 months, plus the best French toast I’ve ever had! (Yes, went there twice).

Fortunately nobody came down with major altitude sickness, although at elevation 3,326 meters we were definitely huffing and puffing around. Tried running on day 4, which - aside from the gaping stares from the locals and burning cough attacks - was a pleasant and scenic experience.
All in all, I would say on the 0-10 scale, Cuzco coasts in with a solid 8.5!

Sandboarding and Surfing!

Sandboarding at Duna Pur Pur

Longboard Championship - Huanchaco Beach

My time here in Perú is definitely not all work... I try to reserve my Sundays for a little R+R. I’ve explored 2 of Perú’s popular tourist adventure sports, and I have to say that I’m pretty hooked on both! Huanchaco is about 30 minutes away from Trujillo and is a popular surf town. Rocky, small beach space and many little local surfer kids who make fun of my (lack of) surfing abilities in Spanish – but still a pleasant surfing experience. I’ve heard the surf is great up north around Mancora but haven’t made it there yet.

Stick around Huanchaco to catch a gorgeous sunset

I highly recommend sand-boarding, although if you are not with a bunch of locals you may want to go with an official company – there have been lots of reports of tourists getting robbed at gunpoint on the sand dunes if they go alone. There are tourist operations for sand-boarding all over Perú (the most popular being down south of Lima in Ica), but of course it’s a lot cheaper to do it on your own.

We rented sand-boards for 15 soles (5 dollars) for the day in El Centro (Trujillo). Hopped on a bus (Santa Cruz station) toward Viru for 3.50 soles one-way ($1.25) and 40 minutes later were dropped off on a dirt road in the country-side, right after the road that turns to Puerto Morin. We walked down the road until we ran into a man with a giant gun, who told us he thought the area we were heading was “forbidden.” That did not deter my host sisters and cousins, so we continued on until we came to a big gate. After 5 minutes of bribing the guy at the door, he let us in (for the price of 5 soles for all of us).

We walked through the farm until we arrived at a giant sand dune surrounded by green farms and with a view of the ocean. It was pretty incredible. I learned a few things very quickly, 1) sand-boarding is pretty slow, you need to find a very steep spot to get any sort of momentum and 2) if you try to turn the board like a snowboard, you will inevitably eat it – just plan to go straight. We had a wonderful time and cooled off with ice cream at Playa Puerto Morin afterward- which is a nice, local-vibes non-touristy beach spot. I’m still digging sand out of my ears, but it was definitely worth it!

Chan Chan and Las Huacas

Trujillo has a very interesting history, and I decided that it’s about time I touch on this part of the culture (especially since I visited the pictured sites over a month ago!)

The overall history of Peru is fascinating (even for someone who has a short attention span like me) and you can spend hours upon hours reading about it. I’ll spare you the complete details as I’m sure Wikipedia (and my Lonely Planet book) do a much better job. But, some little signs of history you catch in daily life here include
1) The Spanish influence - Spain occupied Peru for several hundred years, beginning in the 1500’s. A significant amount of the food and certain customs/architecture decorating the city of Trujillo reflect this bit of history.
2) Chifa - Chinese food/restaurants everywhere! This is due to a historical immigration and influx of workers, and the food today is more of a hybrid combination of Chinese with the Peruvian and Spanish substitution for some ingredients.
3) Ruinas – Every day that I work at the school, I walk by two different walled in areas that almost blend in with the homes of the residential area. Turns out they are ancient archaelogical sites from the Chimú era- and well preserved too! It’s common to see historical ruins interspersed within close proximity to the more modern culture around Trujillo.

Last month, I got to be a tourist for a day thanks to Shana, Hailey and Marcelle who were visiting.

Our first stop was at the Huacas del sol/de la luna outside of Trujillo. These structures belonged to the Moche, a coastal society of northern Peru who inhabited the land from AD 100-800. The Moche are noted for exquisite pottery and large temple mounds (‘huacas’ or pyramids), and they are still being excavated. While the climate and El Niño have reportedly done quite a bit of damage to these sites, we were still able to enjoy the mural paintings that remain in Huaca de la luna with an interesting guided tour.

Check out the local wild dog that hangs out around the Huacas. It’s called "biringo" – a native Peruvian hairless dog. Traditionally used as body warmer for people with arthritis, this dog has a higher body temp. than average!

Our second stop was at Chan Chan, which was built around AD 1300, covers 36 km, and is the largest adobe city in world and largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas. The 60,000+ inhabitants were from the Chimú empire and were known for gold, silver, and ceramics prior to looting. The sheer size of Chan Chan is incredible. It once consisted of 9 major compounds or cities (but only part of 1 accessible by tourists). It’s a barren area, but with a little imagination and exploration it grows on you.

We ran out of time at the end and didn’t even make it to the other sites that Trujillo has to offer, so there’s definitely more to see – If planning a trip, may want to allow for a few days in the area just to see the historical attractions.

Exploring Trujillo and Peru Mission

I’d made a few short trips into the “big city” before this past weekend, but they were usually for a quick meal with someone, so I hadn’t really gotten a good feel for Trujillo yet. Saturday I met my friend Jose in town and he gave me a fantastic walking tour, beginning at the Plaza de Armas (picture below). 

Jose works for an organization called “Peru Mission” (www.perumission.org), a facilitator of Christian community development here in Peru. The programs in Trujillo range from group Bible studies, music and medical mission work in clinics to economic development including a microfinance program and a locally-run woodshop.  He gave me a tour of the woodshop and I was completely enthralled by the whole process. They use wood that’s already been cut down for other reasons to create these absolutely incredible looking modern works of art.

 

We also wandered through the large marketplace and shopping area in downtown Trujillo, and Jose helped me get my bearings as many streets look alike here. Trujillo definitely feels a lot more clean, modern, European and safer than La Esperanza, though only 15 minutes away. The big city ambiance is quite the contrast from the outer-lying poor communities- clean paved streets and brightly colored buildings with a mixture of architectural styles, some areas reminisce of the Spanish historical influence in Peru. Trujillo also boasts a lot of modern amenities- hot showers, fancy apartments and restaurants, 2 malls, and even gyms and lap swimming pools! Though we wandered around the “tourist area,” I haven’t seen a single other American here, aside from my friends in Chimbote and Jose.

The highlight of the afternoon, of course, revolved around food. We stopped in at Jose’s favorite place to get a sandwich de pollo- shredded chicken in a bun with sauce and vegetables piled on- fantastic! And then had some dessert – my first taste of Peruvian helado. It had to be the best ice cream I’ve ever had. I’m trying to pace myself with the food for fear of stomach problems but it’s really hard to hold myself back!