My travels through Peru.

Making a Run for the Border

September 1, 2007
Day 703

I looked at my map and figured I'd easily make it to Vilcabamba, Ecuador today. How wrong I turned out to be.

Early in the morning I easily found a colectivo to Bagua Grande, which only took a few hours, but it was a slow trip on the unpaved… Read More »

The Third Biggest Controversy in the World

August 31, 2007
Day 702

The article I read yesterday about Gokta Falls made it sound like an adventure only suitable for Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, or possibly Craig Martin. It talked about Gokta being the "third highest" in the world, and only having been "discovered" a year ago. In reality, it has been… Read More »

A Deep Canyon Viewpoint

August 30, 2007
Day 701

Today I took a colectivo up a large hill outsisde of Chachapoyas to a little village called Huanca. From the plaza in the center, it was about a ten minute walk to a lighthouse-looking building that served as a lookout point to a massive Read More »

A Huge Bloody Fortress

August 29, 2007
Day 700

This morning I walked with the Americans from Tingo up to the ruins of Kuelap. The path covered 10 KM horizontally and climbed 1200 meters, but it wasn't too hard and only took about 2.5 hours to make it to the top.

As soon as I reached Kuelap, I… Read More »

I See Dead People!

August 28, 2007
Day 699

I went to the main departure point for trucks going to Chachapoyas early this morning. When I got there, I met Ben and Liz, an American couple who beat me there, but had yet to get lucky and find a ride out. They have been traveling over a year… Read More »

Tonight I'm a Rock 'N Roll Star

August 27, 2007
Day 698

The next place I wanted to go to was Chachapoyas, a small city in a remote part of Northern Peru that several people have recommended. The problem was that the first few people I asked how to get there told me to go Chiclayo first. That city's on the… Read More »

How I Came Down With a Bad Case of Pareidolia

August 26, 2007
Day 697

Today I signed up for a tour to Cumbe Mayo, the main pre-Inca settlement in the area. The ruins were far above the city, and on the bus ride to the top, our guide told lots of fantastic stories. For example, he said that before the Europeans arrived, the… Read More »

Getting in Touch With My Inner Patrician

August 25, 2007
Day 696

When I left my hotel this morning, the city of Cajamarca looked like any other city in Peru with lots of hustle and bustle, but little to draw my attention, so I decided to check out somewhere else for the day. I took a bus to the next town… Read More »

Traveling to Cajamarca

August 24, 2007
Day 695

I rode a bus all night to Trujillo. I had already been there, so I immediately bought another ticket to Cajamarca. I had a few hours to kill, so I meandered the city's streets until I got to the Plaza de Armas in the center. The city… Read More »

Hot Springs and Meat Markets

August 23, 2007
Day 694

I found out that the only buses to Trujillo left at night, so I had all day to kill. I did a lot of walking around town and eventually ran into the local meat market. It's definitely not for the squeamish with dead chickens hanging from their necks,… Read More »