On the 15th, I met Judith in the Loja bus station. We decided to take the 1pm Loja-Macará-Piura bus, then take the night busses over to Cajamarca. So here´s how the adventure went...

The Loja-Piura bus trip took about 8 hours. The border crossing was very easy, I was so happy. It was like it was too easy! :) So, 8 hours on the bus, Judith and I talked most of the way. No problem!

Then we got to Piura at around 9pm. Piura..mmmm...culture shock? Once in Piura, I just felt it was so different than Ecuador! We headed for the bus terminal that had busses boutn for Chiclayo/Trujillo. We decided to catch a midnight bus to Chiclayo. So we had to wait...

We were sitting in the front row of seats facing the ticket counter, minding our own business. A boy, about 8-10 years old, sits 2 seats over. He´s watching TV. Judith gets her toothbrush and toothpaste out of her bag, and the boy is staring intently into her bag!! Real obvious, so we were like..um..this kid is really suspicious! We hold on to our bags tighter. The boy asks me where I´m from, so I tell him. Where is she from, so I tell him. Give me a tip. No way! So then I ignore the kid. He moves next to me. I grip on to my stuff harder, move my stuff to an upright position...something just doesn´t seem right about this kid. Anyways, he eventually left us alone to bother another bus traveller.

We got to Chiclayo around 4am. Got hassled by a taxi driver who wanted to take us to a hotel, but we wanted to go to the bus station. He finally took us to the bus station, and we find that the Cajamarca busses don´t leave till 6:15am..so we play the waiting game again.

Get to Cajamarca around noon, and learn that we have to go on a bus to Trujillo at 4pm, so we only have a few hours in Cajamarca! Ack!

Cajamarca is a neat town nestled high in the Andes. It is where Atahualpa was captured by the Spaniards, and where they demanded the room filled with gold.

We walked up the Santa Apollonia hill, a series of steps leading to a small church, that overlooks the city. Great views :)

Then we went to the Cuarto de Rescate - the place where Atahualpa was held captive - only to learn that it opens at 3pm!! So went to the markets, bought some fruits, and went to the Cuarto at 3, after that, headed on the busses to Trujillo.

The bus to Trujillo was an adventure itself! The bus was so crappy - like a retired Greyhound bus from the 1950s (judging by the decor). It was supposed to be a 6 hour trip, but ended up being 8 hours because the bus broke down twice, making funny noises every time it started up, and we stopped for long periods of time. The company had oversold tickets, so the bus was full and people were coming on, saying that others were in their seat, and one lady had an argument with the bus driver.

Anyways...finally get to Trujillo around midnight to 1am on the 17th! Yay! We can have a nice hot shower! Not quite...

We caught a cab, and went down the list of hostels in Trujillo..the first, we could not find, the second, was fully booked, so they referred us to another hostel..which was fully booked. Then went to another and another! We got to one, and got a room. Shower time! It´s frikking cold water, and a little stream! Ugh. Heading to the beach the next day..yeah!