(EN) Peru, here we come!

I've been pretty lazy in giving news lately, moving from one place to another every 2 or 3 days, enjoying a 35 degrees weather, the ocean, the mountains, the jungle etc.

So, here's our story in Peru. As we've been here for more than 3 weeks now, there's quite a lot to tell, so I'll probably write different messages to let you enjoy our adventures without having too much to read in a row ;)

We arrived in Peru on Tuesday the 5th, early morning. We took a night bus from Ecuador, passed the border at 3am, showed our passport, filled in forms, got attacked by lots of monster-like insects on the way (= my view of bugs bigger than the ones you find in Western Europe... ;) ), then got back into the bus and arrived at 6am in Peru: Piura town.

As Piura was not our final destination, we decided to quickly take another bus to flee that noisy town and have the opportunity to finish our night. So, we followed the west coast, Piura-Chiclayo-Trujillo-Huanchaco, 4 buses in total, but it was worth it. We stopped at Huanchaco, a small sea resort full of backpackers.

All the way down to Huanchaco, the scenery was the same (and will be like this all along the coast): desert, desert and desert again, long dusty roads, no villages for kilometers, a heat that would kill any inuits instantly ;)

So, Huanchaco was a relief, it smelt the ocean, smelt the real relaxing holidays everybody dreams of. We HAD to stay a few days there, there was no other option ;) and 1 day quickly turned into 3 days... 3 days of sunbathing, swimming in the Pacific Ocean, eating, reading, meeting plenty of foreigners and local people. Chilling out like this was great! :D

Then we left on a rainy Friday evening (I guess it was a sign it was time to go) and headed to Huaraz (3052m), a town in the "Cordillera Blanca" in the centre of the country. At the bus station, we were buying some food when a guy stole Alicia's small backpack in no time, leaving us speechless and pretty much desperate. After cancelling credit cards and traveller cheques and realizing how much she lost (all the valuables she brought with her), we caught our bus and tried our best to fall asleep. Obviously, we barely slept...

Finally in Huaraz, we went to the Police Station to get a statement, called the Belgium Embassy for a new passport, then spent the rest of the day trying to avoid the subject. The 2 following days, we went trekking in the "Cordillera Blanca" and saw lovely sceneries: blue lagunas, snowcapped mountains.

Ali and Cath got madly bitten by "leech-mosquitoes" (the kind of mosquitoe that doesn't want to let go and remains stuck on your legs if you don't pull it yourself, as you'd remove a leech with your fingers). Cath had a bad reaction on her foot and ankle, all swollen, and had to take some antibiotics to cure it.

Anyway, after 2 days of trek, we left cold Huaraz to noisy and contaminated Lima. Also, Lima being along the coast, it's at the same time roasting and humid... lovely.

In Lima (154m) on Tuesday the 12th, we sorted out all the admin stuff (embassy etc.), then went on a visit around town. We didn't feel unsafe until we asked policemen and security guards for directions... They all told us to be careful as in Lima they attacked and robbed tourists very quickly, and they advised us to use cabs as much as possible. And even some taxi drivers asked us to lock the doors... just in case. All very reassuring you might say...

So, we decided to hang out into the nearly only area where you might feel safer than in any other areas of Lima: Miraflores, south of the city. Very nice area, quite posh, shops selling products as expensive as in a European country...

So, we spent the afternoon and the evening in this "magic bubble", far from any signs of poverty, with cinemas, clothes shops, Starbucks. But the view was great as Miraflores is situated on top of a rock above the ocean, a little "Peruvian Monaco" so to speak ;)

We watched a movie then went back to our hostel to leave it the morning after, Wednesday 13th.

Here are 3 links to check some pics of Peru:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cath.blanchard/Peru?authkey=RWs-FricL_s
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603940293627/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypic/sets/72157603975531738/

As Cath and Alicia updated their pics storage much quicker than I wrote my blog, some pics does not correspond to any story I told you yet... ;) But you can still enjoy Arequipa, the Colca Canyon, Machu Picchu (some more pics will come later), the jungle, the Lake Titicaca.

I've also attached a map of Peru with our itinerary, up to Cusco. On my last message, I'll add a picture of the full itinerary.

Enjoy guys! and I can't wait to read your comments :)

(la version francaise est au stade de traduction, elle arrive bientot ;) )