a Paz to Cuzco
It was finally time to leave Bolivia, an intersting but challenging place.
Pablo, Jules, Grant and I arrived at the bus station in La Paz to catch our bus. We were extremely pleased to find that our bus was luxurious and clean, unlike our other Bolivia bus experiences! We settle into our fully reclining seats and prepare for a great journey.
However, the bus stalls, and stalls again, the engine just will not catch and it seems that this jounrey will not be as we expeceted. Eventually all 50 passengers get out and after many many attempts we manage to get the bus to start from rolling.
We make it through the night with just a few more mishaps but in the morning it all goes wrong when the bus breaks down and will not start again. Unfortuantely to make matters worse we are now in the middle of a flooded road with water streaming off the hills and slowly pushing the whole bus towards a large ditch. The bus driver tells us all to stay where we are but one older Peruvian gentleman is freaking out and is desperately trying to get off the bus before we tip over the edge. Eventually the bus driver lets us off as the bus slowly vibrates towards the edge. The water is icy cold, up past my knees and flowing really strongly, I hold onto Jules, properly worried that I am also going to be swept away! We grab our backpacks from underneath the bus and struggle to get out of the flooded area, loosing shoes as we go.
Once we’re out of the danger area, it turns out that our bus has gone over the edge of the ditch. Pablo goes back to help people whon are desperately trying to save things from their homes. He saves someones dog and by the time he gets back our lift onto Cuenca has been organised.
One of the police or military guys that is trying to organise the traffic had flagged a dump truck (literally one of the trucks with a huge bucket on the back) to take all of the passengers onto Cuzco, which is a couple of hours away. We clamber in, some Brazilian guys help everyone to get their bags on and we are off!
Cuzco
So we arrive in Cuzco to find that the floods that we have seen all over the roads are not just an exception, everywhere is flooded. All out plans need to be changed as Machu Pichu, Cochequira, all the places we wanted to go to are unreachable. We are potentially stuck and there is nothing to see. Everyday we see helicopters flying over to collect people who are stranded in the town next to Machu Pichu. We hear from people who returned that hotels and restaurants there all doubled their prices and the police were taking bribes to allow people onto the helicopters. Completely different to the dump truck driver who took us to Cuzco. He had refused any form of payment, telling us that he hoped that if any of his family were in the same situation somone would help them.
We decide to stay until after Australia day and we enjoy the lovely city that Cuzco is. It’s expensive but with good food and drink promos we manage to enjoy ourselves, and Jules collects a new friend on the way!
As we cannot do any of the activities we’d planned we decide it’s time to head to the beach, Jules and I are dying for some sun! As Grant is running out of time he decides to take a flight so he can catch up with the friends that he started out with in South America.
The three of us catch a bus from Cusco to Lima. Unfortuantely more bus disasters await us as the bus that we catch quickly breaks down, we pull into a bus station where they try to replace our luxury bus with a smaller, crappier one but the passengers are extremely unhappy so we have to wait until they can find a suitable replacement. Eventually we’re on the road again and after some time we are driving through a city street lined with trees. I hear Pablo say, “that’s a big tree branch…” then BANG the tree hits the front of the bus and smashes the front window, we’re a few seats back and luckily the guy in front throws himself in front if his girlfriend so they’re ok. It is now time for a third bus which they promptly fill with drunk Peruvians and after just 31 hours we arrive in Lima.
Lima
Lima is actually a very nice city and it’s warm! We immediately head out into the sun and spend a really nice day just enjoying the town.
From Lima it is definitely time to head to the beach. We get on the bus to Trujillo full of trepidation, waiting for crashes, break downs, naturual disasters, drunks or other mishaps but actually it is completely safe and comfortable. I spend the second half of the journey with my head poking out of the window sniffing the sea air like a puppy.
Huanchaco
We arrive in Trujillo then onto Huanchaco. Huanchaco is surfing town, the weather is gorgeous, there are loads of places to eat for all the surf tourists although the nightlife is generally quiet. The first thing that we do is head to the beach. The sun is amazing and I can’t believe that this is the first time I’ve properly enjoyed it in South America. As we have spent so mcuh time in cities or at altitude this is probably the first time that we have been able to enjoy the beach. It’s amazing, all three of us are so happy!
We quickly settle into the lifestyle here, it is so chilled. We generally get up, have a healthy breakfast of musli, fruit and yogurt then head off for a surf. Time for more food then a wee nap then if we feel up to it a second surf.
After the first couple of lessons we rent boards for two weeks so we can go as often as we like. Pablo can’t go for the first couple of days as he is recovering from a car accident (someone opened a car door onto his leg when he was running in Cuzco) but soon he and one of our friends Jonas (awesome Swedish guy) are able to take lessons too and of course Pablo is a total natural! I try hard but of course am rubbish so I have a couple of extra lessons to try to imrove as I feel myself getting grumpy when P and Jules are effortlessly catching waves!
Surfing is loads of fun and although I spend loads of time falling in I feel like I’m slowly improving. The other people like to laugh at me though as when I fall in, I hold my nose! The waves are quite small in Huanchaco so we need to paddle hard to get onto waves so it is hard work. The guys at our surf rental place are great and I would totally recommend Huamanchaco surf place to anyone!
While we’re in Huanchaco we meet loads of great people, including a guy called Gregor from near Stonehaven who knows some of the same people as me! His wife is a gorgeous, entertaining American called Judith. Stranger still, we all lived in Edinburgh at the same time and went to the same gym! Small world and we have fun all hanging out together. Although the nightlife is quiet we meet really great people and we’re feeling sad that it’s nearly time to go and start our course. We mange to catch up briefly with Grant and Sam and Lydia and Glen and others and we meet loads of great people, too many to name here but we hope to catch up with folks again. Huanchaco has treated us well except for one wee incident when some sneaky fecker stole my bag on a night out!
I’m particularly sad about leaving Jules as after over a month traveling together we’re all really close and she has become a great friend. Have loads in common, including most of our wardrobne and we have an uncanny knack of appearing in the same outfits! She is heading home soon after we leave to see all the family and her beloved in Australia. When we separate it is with firm plans to meet again in Australia or New Zealand next year.
We leave and after a wee stop in Mancora, another surf town we head into Ecuador
