mannerisms from the monkeys, and really weren´t quite ready for civilization. We packed up again and caught the bus out to Parque Nacional Las Cajas outside the town of Cuenca, a little visited Andean reserve cluttered with small lakes and streams. The park was incredible and we had nearly the whole place to ourselves, passing only two other hikers during our 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip. The trail wound past a plethora of lakes and I was able to stop and try my luck with some trout fishing at a few. Unfortunately my luck turned out to be complete crap, because after catching my only fish (a whopping 4¨) I slipped trying to release the creature and nearly fell in. Luckily I caught myself with the fingernail of my right index finger, tearing it about halfway off and cutting up the neighboring digits in the process. After an evening of pain followed by a night of blissful pain-killer induced sleep we continued on, and the trip once again became beautiful and serene as we hiked passed Incan ruins and wild llamas on our way through the canyon. We popped out onto the road late in the afternoon and hitchhiked back to Cuenca, fully aware that we were behind schedule and needed to make haste to Perú.
My streak of good health continued when I found myself with a fever and horrible stomach ache in the deservingly unheard of border town of Huaquillas. We spent 2 nights there recovering and listening to the horrendous sounds of the local festival, where about 30 drunken adults pack into a little play locomotive for children and scream while the latest reggaeton masterpieces are played on the trains loudspeakers. Finally we crossed the border and my spirits improved when we hit the coastal town of Máncora for some surfing and ceviche. The waves were perfect for a perpetual beginner like me, and Viviana was able to get a one-on-one lesson that got her hooked immediately. We spent a few days riding the waves and avoiding the odd looking Peruvian hairless dogs before continuing south to Chiclayo to catch up on some culture.
This time it was Vivianas turn. I woke up our first morining in Chiclayo to the sound of Viviana releasing last nights ceviche back into the wild. The situation did not look good, so we went straight to the ER of the local hospital. After hooking up an IV and a little more reverse swallowing, we were able to spend the day getting an inside look at the Peruvian health care system. We spent the whole day waiting for results and information while we watched car accident victims, elderly patients, and a young woman that seemed to have completely lost her mind flow through the room. Eventually Viviana got a little ciproflaxin pick-me-up and we headed home. Finally we were both feeling better and we began our tour of the ancient adobe civilizations, the Mochica and Chimú people. North of Chiclayo we saw the pyramid complex of Túcume, an impressive set of pyramids and other buildings all made of adobe. We also stopped by the Museo de Sipán, which houses the findings of the tomb of the Lord of Sipán, who must have been the Jay-Z of the 9th century based on the immense collection of intricate golden necklaces, nose rings, crowns, and other jewelry removed from his tomb. After Chiclayo we made our way down to our current location, Trujillo, and continued the culture course with the Mochica city of Chan-Chan and the massive complexs of Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol. Chan-Chan is an impressive labyrinth of walls, tombs, and ponds that have been restored to their previous splendor. While I found the ancient city to be thoroughly inspiring, the local school children on their field trip seemed to think that a dirty blonde kid
with a red beard was a far rarer sight and I was soon overwhelmed with children wanting to pose with me in their photos. My look must really be perfected now as I also had some yelling out ´Chuck Norris!´ from across the street the other day. But this story is really about the Mochica, and the next buildings we saw were the Temples of the Sun and the Moon. The Temple of the Moon is an old religous center that was continually built up, layer upon layer, for centuries. The outer layers, along with a giant pile of sand, helped protect the intricate details and vibrant colors on the inner layers and these have in turn helped reveal a lot about their unique culture of sacrifices and religious rituals. In times of drought, a bloody gladiator style fight would be held and the loser of the battle would be beheaded, with his blood collected in a cup. The cup would then be brought up to the top of a large stadium and tossed out in front of 10,000 spectators.
The stories of Peruvian history go on, but this one needs to come to an end so I can get out of this internet cafe blasting the Billboard Top 100. Tomorrow we plan to head up to the Cordillera Blanca for some more camping and exploring. The Cordillera Blanca is supposed to be the second largest mountain range in the world, so it should have something for us. It will be a nice change to have less excitement in the Peruvian bathrooms, and more adventure out in the mountains and woods of the Andes.
