cusco

Given that I found my initial trip to Cusco too short-lived, it was always on the cards that I would return. Particularly as it would help stagger the journey as I made my way south into Chile. I hadn't reckoned on taking company with me but my time in Trujillo was an enjoyable so I figured why not! Jacky adds to my enjoyment when traveling around. Language and all. But I was tiring of long bus journeys by this time so after a little investigation figured I would fly there. Beats a 26 hour 'tour de force' of a coach trip! Also, the prices were pretty reasonable. In a flurry of excitement I booked another flight from there to another favourite, Arequipa. From there I would continue south to new places.

Mind you it was one of the worst flights of my life. As the flight makes its way over the Andes and one looks down, it's hard not to think of the film 'Alive' and the prospect of eating frozen human flesh. This thought is particularly vivid when the plane is bouncing around on air pockets that lift one's ar*e high off the seat. And for prolonged periods of time with hands violently grasping the arm rests. It certainly didn´t help reading the inflight magazine either. One page proudly boasted of welcoming 50 new pilots into service after completion of their three month training programme. I wasn't at all inspired that each had completed a mere 35 hours flying time! And they looked so young!! My deepest regret in those horrible moments was having told no one back home that I was flying. The flight path into Cusco is hazardous too. Plenty of mid-air turning and positioning to get steady for the runway. I'm not at all used to it. When you find yourself sitting at a right angle to the seat you soon apprecite an uneventful flight. I was extremely happy to land. So much so that I committed myself in a night of relieved drunkeness.

Cusco, as mentioned before, is a lovely place and this time I got to see the full range of tourist attractions and sights. All at a nice leisurely pace too. At one point I even thought another trip to Machu Picchu was in order. But I nearly had a stroke when I realised a train ticket would cost $105. So I packed Jacky off to see it alone.....Peruvians pay $9! Other things that I missed out on the first time around were the cultural performances. Dance, etc. I was particularly fond of a kind of high tempo salsa dance popularly found in Lima. It involved a guy and girl dancing with one of them frantically wriggling their ar*e. Attached to said ar*e is a paper hankerchief. The other dancer holds a candle to the hankerchief ( which is waved from side to side with the use of ar*se wriggle) attempts to set it alight. Naturally the professionals failed to get the cloth ablaze when dancing with one another. But the foolhardy tourists who accepted the invitation to the stage soon found their ar*e on fire!

Cusco remains a personal favourite.

trujillo

After three weeks of being in one place I suppose there would come a time when another bus journey was in order. This time an overnight stint. Trujillo is north of Lima and about ten hours away. It was a particularly uncomfortable trip. The AC did not work and we sweltered the whole way there. Not nice. But then again, my preparation was hardly ideal.......several pisco sours!

We arrived in Trujillo and made our way to a hotel I had identified using the Lonely Planet as a nice hotel. It was far from it. So we quickly changed. Trujillo is a small, quaint little historical colonial city and one of the most populous in Peru. It is noteable for being the named in honour of Francisco Pizarro's birthplace of Trujillo in Spain. The great revolutionary, Simon Bolivar had a house on the main plaza. But of more importance to me is the city's closeness to the sites where the Moche and Chimu civilisations began, flourished and finally disappeared.

The Chimu built the incredible mud city of Chan Chan. Made entirely of adobe bricks (sun dried mud bricks) and covering an area of 20 sq km. Some of the walls reached 20 metres in height. Must have been an amazing place to see when the Chimu were there. Now, apart from some restored sections, it is easy to see the extent of their work but probably not the majesty. There is the Moche ruins too of Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la luna. The Moche civilisation built these massive adobe temples resembling pyramids. Now significantly eroded. At the time, they were the largest man made structures in South America.

Around these sites can be found an unusual Peruvian hairless dog. It is indigeous to the area. Their body tempertaure is higher than that of all other dogs. They look weird. The folk here are fond of dancing horses too. I went to see a show with a couple of them prancing about to music. later in the performance a barefooted senorita in a big frilly dress dances with them while waving a white handkerchief about. I can't say it was my cup of tea but the crowd seemed to like.

Apart from the tourist things most of the rest of the time was spent in company of Jacky's family. Cousins, nephews, Auts, Grandmother. Given my appalling Spanish that wasn't great but they were all very pleasant. It was good to do as the locals do, whether that was a night where the locals go out dancing or taking part in the international pastime of karoke. I belted out my standard fare of a few Frank Sinatra numbers after downing a large number of Cuba Libres! Not sure what they thought about my redentions.