October 9, 2005
Day 11
After waking up late today, I had to get all of my stuff together in preparation for leaving Huaraz. I had been in the area for over a week, so naturally everything of mine was in a big mess, and getting it organized took a few hours. Next, I finally got around to reading the magazines I had brought with me on the plane when I started my trip. Then, I got some lunch and attempted to upload some pictures onto my website. This failed miserably as the Internet connections around here tend to be much slower than what I'm used to back home.
Having gotten nothing major accomplished all day, I decided to get my ticket out of town. I met up with Morad, and we started walking to the bus stations. The good thing about traveling around Peru is that buses are always available, no matter where you want to go. The bad thing is that there are several bus companies, each company has its own station, and they aren't necessarily close to each other. We quickly found out that nearly every bus going to Lima that night was booked solid. After checking with several companies, we finally found an overnight bus for $10, which is medium-priced for the 200 mile trip.
While buying the ticket, we ran into some people we met last night (Huaraz is small enough that this has actually happened several times already). Tania decided to show us the land she is going to buy outside of town. It's a quiet piece of property that feels like the middle of nowhere, even though it's only ten minutes by bus from the center of town.
We also visited a nearby trout farm. There were ponds for trouts of every size, and the trouts that are the perfect size for eating go for about 30 cents each, so stop by and bring a bucket if you are in the area and hungry. The old lady running the joint showed us how she feeds the biggest trout. I knew that trout was a popular dish in this area, but now I know where the town's supply comes from!
After the visit to the boonies, I tried one last time in vain to get some work done on my website. I know I'm falling behind, but hopefully I'll be able to catch up in Pisco. Traveling in the third world isn't always convenient, but that's where the adventure comes in.
Morad and I left town at 10:15 PM to go to Lima. The bus actually left on time and there were no people trying to sell me stuff, so I'm glad I forked over the extra $3 for a decent bus. After arriving in Lima, we'll try to get a bus ticket to Pisco.
