So the Nariz del Diablo was a bit of a letdown. After busing to Alausi from Riobamba, we caught the 11am train hoping to see some hair-raising railway action. The train ended up going no faster than 40kph and on a smooth, gentle track with only two switchbacks. I, myself was expecting sheer cliffs with 5 or 6 switchbacks, rocks falling around me and cloud hindering the conductor's view. But we got a clear day, a wimpy little hill and a camcorder rudely shoved in our faces by some dude who was clamouring over seats to get a better shot out the window.
Nevertheless, we came back in one piece (which was the main objective) and jumped on the first bus we could heading to Cuenca. An uneventful four hours later, we hopped off the bus and got talking to a nice girl from Liverpool called Jayne, who shared a taxi with us and eventually a dorm, when she decided to stay at the hostel we had booked into. That night saw Ilona cook up a great satay using yoghurt as a substitute in the sauce instead of coconut cream, which was a whopping US$3.79 (ludicrously overpriced, even by New Zealand standards). One thing that I quite like about supermarkets here in South America is that you can purchase bottles of spirits for very little (not that we have...). You can even buy a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label that is locked away in a cabinet for around US$300. For some reason, I have developed a great desire to acquire a bottle of the said variety, but alas, the little angel on my shoulder advises me otherwise, as does our dwindling bank balance.
The valley of longevity was our next destination, after a quick night's rest. Vilcabamba is a tiny little town in the south of Ecuador that has a large expat population and is famous for it's long-living residents. We stayed at a very luxurious hostel (more like a resort) called Hosteria Izhcayluma, where we had planned on staying two nights to relax, take things slow and prepare for a full week's travelling ahead. Riding on the back of a pickup truck between the bus station and the hostel, we got talking to an Irish fella who advised us that our current border crossing plan was inefficient and not worth the time. Another route to a different border crossing would be longer in distance, but shorter in time and would place us in a better position to continue our travels down to Lima at a faster rate. So we took his advice and booked another bus for two days time.
That night, we discovered that the room we had been given, which contained two single beds, didn't in fact contain two beds at all. One was, it seemed, a section of the floor that was raised and disguised as a bed, with the other not being much softer. Ilona could not find any sleep, so came over to my bed and climbed in, beginning a night of restlessness and little sleep(due to the hard bed and little space, not the other thing). The next morning, we asked to be switched to another room and were given a much more comfortable double bed that was conveniently located in the room next door. We had planned on going for a walk, however the rest of the day was spent lounging around in a half-asleep stupor, complaining of our back problems and fatigue, saying that all we needed was rest.
Massages were on offer at this hostel (or resort) for US$12, so Ilona immediately signed up for one on the first day we arrived for the morning of our departure, convincing me to do the same. I agreed due to the cheap price and the fact that we are on holiday after all, and carrying massive packs on our shoulders all the time was beginning to take it's toll. These massages proved to be quite nice for us both, but all of the masseuse's hard work was undone by our 8 hour bus ride straight afterwards. On a bus that took f o r e v e r to get to it's destination (according to me at least), we both developed upset tummies and further back problems, but managed to cross the border OK and end up in the Peruvian town of Piura at around 9.30pm. The town is in the middle of the desert and very hot, which didn't impress us one bit that we were back in the oppressive heat.
Our next day started early, with numerous rides on rickshaw-like mototaxis, which are basically motorbikes with a cab at the end. We booked an overnight bus to Lima, which is 15 hours away so we needed to kill 7 and a half hours in a town that offered little to tourists, especially since all of the churches (some of the only real sights) were closed. We did, however, visit a nearby town called Catacaos where we read that the largest crafts market in Peru was situated. This was still quite small, so we returned to Piura still needing to kill 4 and a half hours. It was lunchtime, so we headed to a restaurant that was recommended to us by our guidebook so that I could try a local delicacy called cabrito, which is baby goat - YUM! Ilona was craving fresh fruit, which is surprisingly hard to find in any place to eat in South America, as they just seem to concentrate on serving meat, carbohydrates and more carbohydrates. Salads or veggies are not high on restaurant's priority lists. Anyway, Ilona's cravings directed us to a cafe across the street whic was also recommended by our guidebook as a good place to get fruit salads, and it didn't disappoint!
With 3 hours or so still left to waste, we went back to our hostel to pick up our stuff and bum about for as long as we could, checking emails, facebook etc until 5pm finally rolled around. A short taxi ride later and we were at the bus station. Our bus was the most luxurious bus we had been in yet. We decided to treat ourselves with an executive bus as we were getting very tired of long bus trips and the executive bus was also leaving at a time that better suited us anyway. Where regular tour buses fit four seats in a row, this bus could only seat three as the leather seats were so wide. I could easily fit into one width wise, but due to the design, I couldn't extend my legs under the seat in front of me, denying me of an opportunity I had hoped to take of being able to extend my legs completely. Nevertheless, it was extremely comfortable (for a bus) and Ilona and I got the best bus-sleep we had ever had, albeit for a guy behind us who snored extremely loudly and sounded like he was choking most of the time. We even received dinner and breakfast on this bus, though Ilona found them both difficult to eat as they were both just like airplane food.
We reached Lima half an hour head of schedule, so we ended up arriving at our hostel at 9am; well before the designated check in time. Thankfully, our entire dorm was free so we could come in and settle straight away. We are at a eco-friendly hostel in the Miraflores district called The Red Psycho Llama that has half bath tubs as seats in some places and recycled cOKe bottles as chandeliers, which is quite cool. Our day today has been spent exploring our surrounding area, which is the metropolitan/touristy area of Lima and is very nice to walk around. We had lunch and dinners at nice restaurants, spending a bit more than what we should have, but that's OK as the food was very good. Lima is on the ocean, so there is a huge seafood dining scene here, which is reported to be some of America's best. New Zealand seafood is better in my opinion though! At least better than what we tasted today, which was at quite a nice restaurant on top of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific.
Mid afternoon saw us take in an ancient ruin from the pre-Incan civilisation (Incans built their stuff in and around the 14th to 16th centuries, whereas the pre-Incans were more like the 4th century AD) which was situated right in the centre of town, creating a very interesting contrast between the new and the old.
We are currently trying to sort our transport to Cuzco, so don't have any concrete plans as of yet, but we are needing to be there by thursday, so here's hoping that all works out.
Until next time.....
Mike.
Thanks Mike - another lovely account.
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