The Vagrant Gypsy Life

Day 228 – 230 Fri 15/4 – Sun 17/4 Vilcabamba

Vilcabamba is in a beautiful valley and is small and restful. The valley is known for the longevity of life and this, in addition to the peace and quiet has attracted a lot of foreigners to the town, including a large population of USA-ians and Canadians, most of whom own property here. I didnt quite get the feeling that the locals took much to us foreigners and I found the folks to be not very friendly.

I had a restful 2.5 day stay there, with a lot of small hikes, the longest one being about 3 hours to the top of Cerro Mandango. There are also a few good restaurants and I enjoyed my meals. The Friday and Sat night were enlivened by some music on the streets. I rested well and was more than happy to leave on Monday! I am not sure that I could live here, even if it meant I would live to be 100; or maybe I should say, especially if it meant that! Give me a city any day with short visits to places like Vilcabamba.

Day 227 Thu 14/4 Bus/ Loja

Long bus ride. Crossed border at La Tina. The bus driver and his helper seemed quite disorganised as were the folks at the border. All things went pretty smoothly luckily and I finally made it into my 16th country, 5th in the last 8 months. Yes, I do keep score – an old dream being able to make to at least 30 and if I am lucky, 40.

The drive was through some pretty regions once we got into Ecuador. The bus was the least comfortable one I had been on these 7.5 months! My body was aching by the time we got to Loja, a good 8 hours after we left Piura!

Loja is a tiny town surrounded by hills and while the town itself is not very pretty, the surroundings make it worthwhile to spend 3-4 hours there. I spent the night in a cheap hotel with no frills, but the room and the bathroom were clean and hot water available. I fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Day 217 Mon 4/4 - D218 Tue 5/4 Chachapoyas Chachapoyas, the capital of Amazonas, is a lovely little town in the mountains. It is starting tp get a lot of tourism these days, thanks to the discovery of Kuelap, an ... [Continue reading this entry]

Day 224 Mon 11/4 - D 225 Tue 12/4 Chiclayo is much bigger than I had expected. It didnt strike me as charming at all. The folks were friendly enough. The first day was spent visiting arqueological ruins of Sipan and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Day 226 Wed 13/4 My sojourn in Peru comes to an end. I have enjoyed my stay here and liked Peru. Peruvian people have also been very friendly, and I have also met some really nice fellow travellers on the road ... [Continue reading this entry]

Trujillo Huaca de la Luna y Sol Huanchaco Chan Chan Day 212-213 Wed 30/3 and Thu 31/3 Trujillo Arrived in Trujillo after 8 hours. The semi cama was surprisingly comfortable despite my neighbour being an idiot - he insited on playing ... [Continue reading this entry]