After more than 26 hours of travelling we arrived at Lima airport around midnight. Immigration went smooth and even our luggage had made it through New York and Fort Lauderdale to here: what a promising start! A taxi took us from the airport into the neighborhood of Miraflores, where our hotel was situated. During the ride of approximately one hour through the megacity (Lima has around 10 million inhabitants) the taxi driver gave us a comprehensive summary about Peru's history and all sights worth seeing. He was kind enough to do so by slowly speaking Spanish, so that we could understand. The following four days we acted as the tourists we are and discovered the sights of Lima. Unfortunately, now in the transition season from winter to summer, the city is usually wrapped into dense fog (called "la garúa"), which made everything appear grey. Otherwise we for once enjoyed being in a city that is completely different to what we had experienced during the last months in North America. We walked within the masses of people in central, colonial Lima, rode on the public traffic and enjoyed the delicious, fresh food. All small restaurants offer a daily menu during lunchtime, which is limited in choice but includes two to three courses for not more than 10 Soles (approximately 3 CHF). We love this fantastic offer and used it daily. It is usually safe to eat in these restaurants... In some establishments it can be a bit of a gamble; we suspect this is also the reason why we had to take a down-day and can now write this blog post ;-). After Lima, we decided to head north into the Andes and travelled by overland bus to Huaraz. Huaraz is situated on 3050 m and the base for many hikes in Cordillera Blanca. The town itself - being the capital of the Ancash region - is quite big, counting 120'000 inhabitants, and has a pleasant but busy feeling. Our hotel was located directly in the market neighbourhood and it was fantastic to see all indigenous women in their traditional clothes selling their goods in the streets. We perceived the daily life in Huaraz more authentic than what we had seen in Lima and we enjoyed it a lot. The Peruvians were extremely friendly and hospitable towards us and showed great patience, when we tried to explain ourselves in Spanish. We were also very impressed by the natural pride the indigenous people show, even when the means are very basic. Some scenes - especially concerning traffic - did remind us vividly of India, however poverty is shown much less and a certain level of privacy is maintained under all circumstances. From Huaraz we undertook two day hikes in order to acclimatise to the high altitude. The first hike led us to a viewpoint, called Rataquenua, overlooking the town and the most prominent mountain Huascarán and led us back through a Canyon, called Puca Ventana. It was perfect for a first hike, as even when we were only climbing 600 m our hearts were heavily pounding and our bodies still needed to adapt. The next day we trekked to Laguna Churup on 4450 m. In order to get to the trailhead, we had to take a colectivo (a van that serves as shared taxi) from central Huaraz, taking us through small peasant villages to the portals of the Huascarán National Park in Pitek. The trek to Laguna Churup was very impressive. At first it ascended fairly on a very well laid path, then we had to climb with the help of ropes before reaching the lake. The lagoon itself was marvelous and the water crystal clear! After eating our lunch we soon descended as the weather turned and we even got some hail and rain on the last part of the descent. Nothing could spoil this nice day hike, though, even if we felt very tired afterwards back at the hotel; probably because of the altitude difference. Now we felt ready to undertake the Santa Cruz Trek in the coming days. After studying various guided offers and reading blogs from fellow travellers, we decided to trek it independently in four days and trying to add the Laguna 69 hike on the last day. We therefore went to do our shopping for four days' food in Huaraz; not a very easy undertaking to find all your necessary - and not too heavy - staple food! We managed and excitedly took a colectivo (there is no bus connection) to the town of Caraz further north. This colectivo ride was full of adrenaline shots :-). We were the only "gringos" in the van but made friends quickly by handing out a round of "caramelitos" to all passengers. Once more we thought it is amazing, how many people fit into the van! The ride was a fast one - our driver constantly tried to overtake the colectivo in front of us in order to be the first at the stops and collect even more passengers - and a few times we had to close our eyes and confide when he rode on the opposite lane... However, we made it safe and sound to Caraz! In Caraz we visited the town and the nearby archeological site Tumshukayko, feeling as about the only tourists around. We actually planned to start the Santa Cruz Trek from Cashapampa early today, but unfortunately Fabienne didn’t feel well. Therefore we took a day of rest and will start tomorrow. Mañana, mañana,...
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Before starting the second part of our Panamericana journey, i.e. backpacking in Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, we decided to take a break from the long distance bike tour in North America.
We started our holiday with a few days in Honolulu City and around. After strolling around downtown, we dipped our toes into the Pacific Ocean at Waikiki Beach while watching rainbows and a colorful sunset. Both, rainbows and sunsets, we should see many more during our vacation on the island. And now we also knew, why there is a rainbow on the Hawaiian license plate :-). From Hawaii Kai we climbed the old railway trails uphill to Koko Head and enjoyed a fantastic view back to the city and onto Hanauma Bay, where snorkeling was simply amazing. Unfortunately, we didn’t own a water-proof camera to show you the underwater beauty.
While being in the historic centre of Honolulu, we took the chance to visit Iolani Palace, the residency of the Hawaiian Royal Family built in 1882. We learnt that the Hawaiian people early established trading relationships and maintained friendship with European and Asian countries and that Iolani Palace was used as the capitol after the annexation of Hawaii by the US in 1898.
After all - as any other tourists - we were in Hawaii for the beaches, to relax and to profit as much from the warmth and sun as possible! In our rental car we drove around Oahu counterclockwise. We mostly stayed at Airbnb accommodations, but also tried camping. The latter obliged us to diligently follow reservation procedures online up to a month ahead, in order to obtain permits. Sadly, it was only to find out while being at the campgrounds that nobody cared, nor were the parks in any welcoming condition. Therefore, we would not recommend this, but hey, we were in Hawaii and the nature was beautiful, so we decided to make the most out of it and went for a challenging hike in the tropical forest. Translate tropical to multiple intense rain showers per day (after all that's why it's called rainforest...) and you can see where the mud came from! Frankly, we did not realise from the beginning on, what a tropical climate Oahu is experiencing. To us, it made the destination even more interesting!
At the North Shore, the high waves are legendary and a paradise for surfers. We didn't dare to throw ourselves into the pipelines, but were lucky to observe sea turtles from the beach! And on the calmer, less touristy West Coast, a sea turtle even came close by while we were snorkeling on Makua Beach. The day after on the same beach, we could swim with a school of dolphins which came very close to the shore. This was definitely one of the highlights! In terms of animal encounters and seclusion, the region around Waianae was our favourite.
Mahalo Oahu! After these two relaxing weeks, we are ready for backpacking in South America and are looking forward to start this experience in Lima, Peru.
Welcome to the second part of our Panamericana journey! On this blog page we will soon post our stories and pictures from our backpacking adventures.
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