Lima and Trujillo: February 2015
Did I mention we were busing our way through Peru?? We had started at the Chile border, and were continuing all the way up the coast to the Ecuador boarder. So, while the stop in Lima was planned, the stop in Trujillo was simply to break up the never-ending bus ride.
AT Punto Azul. Con Eliana, Armando y Gonzalo.
Javier has a favorite restaurant in Lima. It’s called Punto Azul. He loves this restaurant so much, he picked a hotel based on it’s proximity to said restaurant- literally a 3 minute walk. The only reason we didn’t eat here every day, was because we spent one day at the beach. But out of three days, we ate there for two. Not too shabby.
A la playa con Divapati y la familia de Chulpy.
We met with Javier’s friends Divapati, Chulpy and her two kids. We met at a central location, and Chulpy picked us up and made the hour drive to the beach. Chulpy is incredible. Not only is she smart and successful, but took her 3.5 year-old boy, 1.5 year-old girl to the beach, and is 6 months pregnant! We picked an umbrella, ordered some snacks and drinks, and enjoyed the beach. The beach is nearly a shore break, so there would be no swimming, just playing in the whitewash. Chulpy’s son Cristobal loved the water, and tio Javier played with him for most of the day. Chulpy’s daughter, Daniela, is a doll and an absolute angel. Cristobal is almost 4, and has the energy of an almost-4-yr-old boy. Daniela sat in her little pool quietly the ENTIRE DAY. We ate choros a la chalaca, which are mussels covered in fresh onions, tomatoes, aji (hot peppers), choclo (big corn), and cilantro, all covered in lime juice. I don’t like mussels, but I LOVE choros a la chalaca.
With Daniela at the food truck spot.
When it started approaching dinner time, we loaded back in the car, and went to a food truck gathering. One of their friends runs a food truck, but unfortunately wasn’t there, so we ate elsewhere and returned afterward to say hi. It was a long day, and Cristobal slept the entire way back. Javier and I commented on that this was our first beach experience with kids. While it was very different for us, the kids made it very enjoyable.
We met with another friend, Mauricio, the following day for lunch. It wasn’t Punto Azul, but very yummy, and a nice opportunity to sit and catch up. I had met Mauricio one other time- 4 years earlier in Lima. It was a party night, and let’s just say, it was really nice to get to know Mauricio during the daylight hours over lunch 🙂
Laundry day.
At this point, we hadn’t done laundry for almost a month- I know, I know…gross, and TMI, so we spent the rest of the day at the laundry mat washing EVERYTHING. Javier was tempted to take off the shorts he was wearing so they too could be washed, but decided that waiting around in his boxer briefs wasn’t a good look.
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We met with Javier’s family for lunch, and my friend Ben for coffee. I hadn’t seen Ben since 2012 when we were housemates in Cusco. I had told him months earlier that we’d be passing through Lima, and time flew by. Before I knew it, we were already in Lima! He was able to make time for us, and it was so nice to be able to sit and catch up.
Larcomar, Lima
We had met at Larcomar, an outdoor shopping center. Ben had to leave to pick up his daughter, so Javier and I stayed and met with his cousin and friends. We walked back to the hotel and the boys went out for one last hurrah.
It was back on the bus the following morning. All 10 hours to Trujillo. We decided to check out some ruins since we were in the area. After breakfast, we were walking back to the room, and we spotted a familiar face in the lobby. We met Andre in Cusco at a night out. We saw him again at Starbucks and had a chat, and here he was, sitting in the lobby in Trujillo. And the truly coincidental part is that we were staying on the outskirts of town. What ARE the chances? We told him our plans for the day and invited him along. He was traveling with a friend, who wasn’t feeling too good, so Javier and I took off on our own.
Like fishing nets. Chan Chan. Peru
We visited Chan Chan, the largest pre-colombian city in South America. We weren’t sure about going, but in the end were so glad we did. The area is huge. They were a fishing people, so the whole place is made of adobe walls in the pattern of fishing nets. Originally, everything was brightly painted. The history of these people is pretty fascinating. They have a king, and those in his kingdom have to pay taxes. When he dies, those in his kingdom continue to pay taxes to him, and the money is managed by the ruling priests. When a new king is elected, he does not inherit the kingdom, instead, he has to go out and conquer new lands, and those conquered people have to pay him taxes. Kind of an interesting system. It ensured that the kingdom continually grew…that is, until the Incas came around and took over.
Trujillo, Peru.
Anyway, we concluded our tour with a trip to the plaza de armas, which was very anticlimactic, and ate typical northern food. Well, at least Javier did- I’m not a big fan of lamb or duck. We went home and relaxed until dinner which we shared with our new friends.
Resort life.
Our bus was leaving the following day at midnight, so we checked out and spent the day by the pool. We walked to the mall for dinner and to buy snacks before taking a cab to the bus station where we waited over an hour for the bus to arrive.
To see more pictures of Peru, click HERE.