Trips
December was our first time traveling beyond the small Andean towns. Because the Andean School was closed for several weeks, we had a great opportunity to explore the North coast of Peru and spend Christmas and New Years with our friends Lucho and Lisa in the city of Trujillo. We left Huancayo on December 13th heading for the small town of Mancora in the far north of Peru near the Ecuadorian border. We stopped in Lima for a few days to renew our Passports and then took an 18 hour bus ride to Mancora. The town of Mancora is very small with a transient population of bohemians and many beautiful beaches. We stayed there for a week to relax, go horseback riding, swim and eat seafood. The most typical food in Mancora, as well as the rest of the Peruvian coast, is “Cebiche” which is made from small pieces of raw fish that are sautéed in lemon juice and vinegar and served cold (for us not a favorite). The method of transportation around Mancora is to take moto-taxis which are motorcycles that are modified to have two wheels and a seat for two or three people. Our best friends in Mancora were the thousands of little sand crabs that live on the beach—they would poke their heads out of their sand holes to say hello and we had fun chasing them into the water and catching them until one pinched Alison’s finger!

After Mancora, we took a three hour bus trip to a town called Piura. The town of Piura is located about 50 km east of the Peruvian coast line and is roughly the same size of Huancayo. Piura is known for its pottery and basket weaving along with its beautiful Spanish colonial architecture. We were in Piura for two days before Christmas and experienced the mayhem of busy streets filled with people buying gifts and preparing for their large family fiestas. Hot, pretty, filled with trees and art, our time here was short but worthwhile (if not for the many mosquito bites!).

We left Piura on Christmas Eve and took a seven hour bus ride south to Trujillo, the third largest city in Peru, to meet our friends Lucho, Lisa, and their family. Lucho grew up in Trujillo, but currently lives in Tokyo with his wife Lisa who is from Alaska. We arrived at their house, were introduced to Lucho’s family, and then quickly went to Uncle Carlos’s house for the big family Christmas Eve party. With us were Lucho’s Mom (Mama Fredi), his sister (Gaby), and his three nieces (Stefi, Marie, and Alejandra). At the family fiesta, there were 45 members of Lucho’s family. At midnight we toasted, embraced for “Feliz Navidad”, drinking wine and hot chocolate accompanied by the traditional Christmas dinner.

The rest of the week we spent in Trujillo was a fascinating journey learning much about the ancienct cultures on the coast. We were very fortunate that Lucho and Lisa invited us on guided tours, they had arranged, to many of the local Archeological sites of the Mochica and Chimu cultures. We visited a beautiful museum in Chiclayo (3 hours north of Trujillo) to learn about the “Lord of Sipan”—one of the most immaculate sites ever uncovered, boasting a large collection of gold and the original corpses of the kings. We also visited Huaca de la Luna (temple of the moon), and the ancient city of “Chan Chan” in Huanchaco, both outside of Trujillo. We learned about the way of life, the art, the customs, and the religion of some of Peru’s most ancient civilizations, dating as far back at 1000 BC. We also visited Huanchaco, a beach just outside of Trujillo, were the local fishermen still make kayaks, called “caballitos”, out of reed grass.

We spent New Years Eve at a country club in Trujillo with Lucho and his family where we learned about the tradition to drink “Johnny Walker Black Label” whiskey and learned to dance Peruvian style! We counted down the New Year and embraced for a happy and healthy New Year. We all wore yellow lais (the traditional color for luck) and Alison held lentil beans in her hand as the clock stuck midnight, which is the Peruvian tradition to bring luck and wealth in the coming year. Let’s hope it works!

Our entire experience in Trujillo was truly amazing and we send our sincere gratitude to Lucho, Lisa, and their entire family in Trujillo.

We left Trujillo at 10:30 pm on New Years Day for a nine hour bus trip to Lima. After one day in Lima, running errands and eating our last McDonald’s, we left for Huancayo happy to be returning to the comforts of something familiar, our home and work.

Flat Tire

When we arrived in Mancora, we were approached by almost 40 moto-taxi drivers that wanted to give us a ride. We retrieved our bags and hired one of the drivers to us to our hotel which was about 15 minutes away. We loaded our bags onto the back, tied them up with twine and then hit the road! We quickly met a dirt road that we needed to take to get to our hotel. Due to all the bumps in the road, the bags began falling off the cart which Terry reached back and grabbed to keep them from escaping. When the driver noticed the situation, he stopped to inspect the problem—then noticing that the moto-taxi had a flat tire—“you need another taxi” he told us in Spanish! That was not that easy considering we were in the middle of nowhere on a lightly traveled dirt road. He told us we could walk the 1km more—not a great option considering the size of our packs! Luckily a truck came along quickly and picked us up and he graciously took us to our destination!

Riding on the back of the moto-taxi

We met up with some friends from Huancayo who happened to be in Mancora at the same time as us, and we decided to have a seafood dinner. After dinner, we wanted to take a moto-taxi to find some dessert. These taxis only fit two people, so we had to get creative with a group of four. Alison and the two other girls decided to squeeze into the backseat of the cab, while Terry stood on the back bumper of the taxi and held on tight to the roof as the taxi sped down the street! What a ride!