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1994

Peru (North) - South America

Bec
2004-09-20 16:29:15

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be enjoying Christmas dinner with his family, including any potential mugger!

Chimbote
The road from Trujillo to Chimbote reminded me of the Sahara with the Pacific Ocean on the right replacing the occasional oasis.

Chimbote is one of Peru's largest ports (fish, iron ore and steel). Fishing, fishmeal plants and steel mills are the main industries here. The smell of rotting fish is so overpowering that even the strongest winds can not dissipate it.

Apart from the smell, I did not particularly care for Chimbote for my sensitive psychic antennas were telling me that I was not welcome there. I stayed at the Los Angeles Hotel for only 4 $. It was a dive but the manager was friendly and he told me to watch out for thieves as I went out for dinner. Nothing happened and I came back late after having a few drinks in the local bar.

That night, two plain-clothes policemen knocked on my door at around 1 a.m. asking to check my passport. I told them to wait for me to get dressed and to get the manager for I would not open without the presence of a witness. The manager and his wife both came, I showed my papers and the policemen left.

To this day, I don't know whether they were bona fide policemen doing their job or real but corrupt policeman attempting a scam or just crooks. I guess I will never know but the experience gave me the willies about personal safety in Peru.

The next morning, I boarded a bus for what was to be one of the highlights of my South America adventure, the spectacular 200 km drive up this canyon to Caraz and Huaraz.

Cańon del Pato
It was just fabulous, the scenery was fantastic all way and the road was hair raising here and there.

The bus did not stop so I had to stick my hand out of the window and aim my camera as best I could without looking through the viewer. I call that shooting from the hip!

At one point the road was blocked by a rock slide and everyone had to get out to clear a way for the bus.

We lost a couple of hours doing this and by the time we had finished, the bus doing the same route in the other direction arrived. Instead of switching passengers with each bus returning where it came from, both drivers insisted in crossing in spite of the real risk of destabilising the rock pile or of tipping into the canyon on the right in this photo. Of course, no one but the drivers dared to stay on the busses. If you are a mountain bus driver in Peru you've got to have cojones enough for all of your passengers!

There were many tunnels and the road had been literally carved out of the cliff face in many places. A magnificent road indeed, it kept your bum muscles tight most of the time as you can see below!

Carhuaz
The Plaza de Armas of Carhuaz at 3000 metres is a convenient meeting place for hikers crossing the Cordillera Blanca by the Quebrada Honda Trail at the foot of the 6768 metre Huascarán.

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