VALPARAISO

06. March – 07. March 2011

I arrived in Valparaiso early in the morning and unfortunately I had not written down the name of the hostel where to meet Micha. I waited until the first cafe opened to check the internet before taking a taxi to the hostel, that I thought was the right one. Luckily, it was the correct hostel. Micha was still sleeping when I got there but I got some breakfast while waiting. After a nice, hot shower (that was necessary after two nights in buses), Micha and me walked through town. Valparaiso is a city at the Chilean coast build on several hills. There are many small streets and some houses (like the hostel) are only accessible by stairs. Many houses are painted in bright colors are have wall paintings. It was very nice to walk around with a good view of the harbor and the houses. Later in the evening we went for a short harbor tour to get the view of the city from the water. We had dinner in a small fast food restaurant where most of the customers where older single man, enjoying a beer while watching soccer.

The next morning I went for another short walk before taking the bus to Santiago in the afternoon.

GETTING FROM ARICA TO VALPARAISO

03. March – 06. March 2011

After arriving in Arica, Chile and finding a hostel (where I was welcomed with cookies and tea), I went to the nearby market. There were a lot of stands selling fruits and vegetables. I bought veggies for a big salad - great after weeks of rice, chicken and fish and not a lot of greens. I also went for a walk at the beach and watched the sunset. I was used to watch the sunset every day at the beach in Canoa but it didn't feel the same here...

Arica didn't have a lot to offer and I decided to leave the next day. I just wasn't sure where I wanted to go to. In a few days I was going to meet Micha and Rudi in Santiago and it was a long way to get there. I didn't want to take a 28 hours direct bus to Valparaiso to meet Micha there, nor did I want to go to another city for one or two days. So, I took a night bus to a small town Chanaral, hang out there during the day (the town didn't have anything interesting and I spent most time walking up and down the main road and at the internet cafe) and then took another night bus to Valparaiso.

The landscape in northern Chile was similar to the coastal area in Peru. Mostly dry desertland with a few (more or less) green valleys.

FOUR DAYS IN PERU

27. February - 2. March 2011

After a great time in Canoa and a few nice days in Guayaquil it was time to leave Ecuador for the third time. Since I was going to meet Micha and Ruediger in a few days in Santiago de Chile there was a long way to go by bus. First 6 hours from Guayaquil to Tumbes in Peru. This time the border crossing went very smooth and fast and wasn't anything new to me. Unfortunately there was no more bus going to Lima that night and I had to stay overnight in Tumbes. There is nothing to do in Tumbes and I was happy when I finally got on the bus to Lima the next afternoon. After 22 hours I arrived in Lima where I only spent two hours waiting for the next bus. In five hours I got to Ica where I was staying in the nearby village / oasis Huacachina for a day. The place is amazingly beautiful with a small lake surrounded by huge sand dunes. It's a very quiet and relaxed place with only a few hostels and restaurants. Just after I arrived in the evening, I went to a local winery for some wine and pisco tasting. The next morning I spent walking around town and buying a bus ticket to Tacna (which wasn't as easy as I thought and therefore took a few hours). In the afternoon I went on a tour with a sand buggy through the dunes. The driver was going like crazy with some jumps and spins in the sand. A lot of fun. We also stopped a few times for sandboarding – sliding down the hill lying on a snowboard.

After that it was time for another night in the bus. Within 19 hours I got to Tacna, just north of the Chilean border. From there I took a colectivo taxi (a taxi shared by as many people as possible) to Chile. Without any problems at the border, I am finally in Chile.

WATCHING MOVIES IN GUAYAQUIL

23. February - 27. February 2011 

Before leaving Ecuador I went with Carlos to Guayaquil - the largest city in Ecuador - for a few days.

The first two nights we stayed with a friend, Jimmy. His apartment is in the same street as the presidents house and is good western standard with paintings and a lot of glassware. But the best thing in the apartment was the huge TV. For the last months I haven't watched many films and not been to the cinema once. Luckily DVD's are very cheap in Ecuador (pirate copies sold everywhere for 1$) and we bought more than one movie to take advantage of the TV. Jimmy – Muchas gracias for letting us stay at your place. We also went to the IMAX cinema twice and once to the cinema. I had only been to an IMAX cinema once before (more than ten years ago in Stockholm) and really enjoyed it.

Besides watching movies we spent a lot of time walking along the Malecon 2000 – Guayaquil’s riverfront walk. It's a nice area with parks, shopping center, museum, restaurants… I enjoyed walking along the river a lot. It was nice, clean and safe. We also went on a very touristy boats tour on the river. Although the beer was very expensive, it was relaxing and fun. And it was nice to see the city from the river. 

We also went to the historical neighborhood of Las Penas, which is located on a small hill. Stairs are leading up to the top and along the stairs are bars, little shops and clubs. During the day there were tourists climbing the stairs to get to the lighthouse and enjoy the view over the city. At night there were a lot of people enjoying a night out. It's a very nice neighborhood and I liked the atmosphere.

If you read or hear about Guayaquil, the first thing mentioned is, that it is a dangerous city. Well, I never felt unsafe and actually liked the city. At least the parts that I saw.

After four days it was time to take the bus to Peru and to say good bye to Carlos. Gracias por muy bien tiempo en Guayaquil y mucho mas. Te extrano.

REEF CLASSIC SURF COMPETITION IN MONTANITA

30. January - 3. February 2011

Leo (Carlos' brother) was competing in Montanita in national and international surf competitions with the longboard and we decided to go there to cheer for him. And I was curious to see Montanita anyways because everyone in Ecuador is talking about the beach town. Well, the beach and the landscape was nice but there are far more tourists than in Canoa and it's very crowded. There are a lot more bars and party as well.

Unfortunately, Leo wasn't as successful as he had hoped. He finished 2nd in the national competition (good job Leo!!) but didn't manage to get to the second round in the international contest.

We went out at night and hang out at the beach, watched the surf competitions during the day and had a few nice, relaxed days.

I also enjoyed the international food and the delicious fresh mango juice. For some reasons this time it was difficult to buy mango in Canoa (which was a big disappointment) but were sold everywhere in Montanita.

CANOA, Part 3

26. January – 23. February 2011

 
After a very long journey on buses I finally arrived in Canoa. This time I did not feel like a tourist at all. And I didn't live like a tourist either.

There is not too much to write about these four weeks in Canoa. Usually days were spend with walks at the beach, hanging around, talking to friends, watching the sunset and the occasional fiesta.

Aside from the sunset we also watched the moon set one night. While we walked to the bar around 10 pm, we saw something light over the sea and it took a moment to realize that it's the moon. Quite an amazing and unusual sight.

I had a great time and enjoyed being in Canoa a lot. Read below what's worth special mentioning:

Walking to San Vicente

One day we decided to walk along the beach to San Vicente, 15 km south of Canoa. It was very nice – walking along the beach without people around. Just water, sand, shells and palm trees. And a huge jellyfish. I also enjoyed the quietness -the only sound was from the waves, no cars, no music,..

After four hours of walking barefoot my feet were sore and I was glad when we finally got to San Vicente. After we had a good lunch there, we took the bus back to Canoa. Everyone thought we were crazy – walking 15 km along the beach just for fun. But I liked it.

Montanita

A few days after I arrived we went to Montanita, the most famous Ecuadorian beach town for a few days.

Surfing

Since almost everyone in Canoa is surfing, I had to try it again and went “surfing” with three different boards. First I went together with Carlos on Manuel's windsurfing board. It's a very long and stable board and it's fairly easy to stand up. Anyways, the first wave threw me of the board – while lying down. But after that I managed to stand a few waves. More or less. The next time I went with Carlos' short little board. Well, I didn't even try to stand up, since lying on the board was difficult enough. It's interesting how unstable these boards are and how difficult it is to keep the balance. The day before I left, I went surfing on a fun board – a typical beginners board. There were not many waves and only small ones. So, I spent a lot of time just lying and sitting on the board - training balance. It was great and the first wave I stood all the way to the beach. It was fun. After swimming all the way back out I was quite exhausted and the next waves weren't that successful. But I wish I would have had that experience earlier. It was a lot of fun and I probably would have practiced surfing more often.

Birthday

As on most days, not much happened during the day. In the evening we enjoyed a bottle of wine under palms at the beach, had a great dinner and a few drinks with friends. And I got some nice birthday presents as well.

After more than four weeks it was time to get on the traveling–road again and say “Good Bye” to Canoa for now - yet another time.
GRACIAS a todos!! Yo extrano Canoa!

But before leaving Ecuador to travel further south I went to Guayaquil with Carlos for some sightseeing and shopping.

TRAVELING BY BUS FROM AREQUIPA TO CANOA

I missed Canoa, Carlos and the beach and decided to go back to Ecuador for a while. Unfortunately I was quite far away from Canoa. The distance between Arequipa and Canoa is app. 2000 km / 1250 miles (as the crow flies) - and I traveled all of it by bus.

Saturday afternoon at 4 pm I stared the trip in Arequipa after saying good bye to Micha. In 15 hours I would travel from Arequipa to Lima. Since the bus was very comfortable the trip was quite nice. A few minutes after we got on the bus, the movie started and I got chips and Inka Cola (which tastes like liquid bubble gum). We got fairly good food, had nice blankets, pillows, comfortable seats … and WIFI. And the bus was going direct to Lima, meaning it didn't stop at all in between. I slept well and was relaxed when I got to Lima at 8 am Sunday morning. As in most cities early Sunday morning, almost everything was closed and there were not many people walking around. I was very disappointed when I realized that Dunkin Donuts in Lima doesn't have bagels. But I did get a muffin at Starbucks where I spent most of the time waiting for the bus north at 3 pm. My bus ticket was all the way to Guayaquil in Ecuador (a 24+ hour busride) but I wasn't sure if I would be allowed to enter the country. With the tourist visa it is allowed to spend 90 days in Ecuador. And I had already used all 90 days. But there were rumors that it is possible to extend the visa. The busride was quite boring. The landscape was very dry – I felt like driving through a desert for days – which I actually did. I didn't think Peru is soo dry with most of the country along the coast being a desert. The bus wasn't as good as the first one but still had food (although not very good food) and went - more or less – direct. Unfortunately when I got to to the border Monday around noon, I wasn't allowed to enter Ecuador. But the officer told me that I could get another tourist visa at the consulate in Tumbes, 20 km south of the border. So – again – I took a taxi to the border, walked over the bridge, took a taxi to the migration office of Peru (where I entered the country only 30 minutes after I left it) and than got to Tumbes by Taxi. After a few minutes the driver asked me to pay. I refused to pay before getting to Tumbes but paid part of the fare. The driver then bought some gas at a “gas station” - which actually was a little shack that sold gasoline out of plastic bottles. The consulate in Tumbes has the very convenient opening hours from 8 am – 2 pm. Of course, I got there at 2.30 pm. Well, at least I could enjoy a shower (which felt very good after two days in buses) in a hostel because I had to stay a night in Tumbes. Tuesday morning at 8 am I was at the consulate. Of course - this is not Europe or the US - I should not have expected the office to be open on time. After around 20 minutes, the doors finally opened and I could talk to someone. There were two officers at the consulate. One officer was reading the newspaper, watching a movie and sometimes making copies of some documents. The other handled all the visa questions. She explained that it is possible to get another tourist visa for 90 days. All I needed was a credit card, two fotos, a bus ticket leaving Ecuador and 60 $. So, after waiting and sitting in front of her desk for a while, I went to the bus station, bought a 2$ bus ticket from the Ecuadorian to the Peruvian border town. Then I paid the 60 $ at the bank (it only took two minutes to pay but I did have to wait in line for over 30 minutes). When I got back to the consulate the consul just arrived at her office (at 10 am) and after waiting a little more she signed my visa. THANKS! The next bus to Guayaquil was supposed to leave at 12pm, but -of course- it was an hour late. The comfort of the bus was another step down from the previous bus (no food, no movie, no stewardess) and the bus stopped very often. This time the border crossing went without any problems. I showed my brand new visa to the officer and was allowed to enter Ecuador. YEAH – finally. After hours of driving along banana plantations in Ecuadors south the bus arrived around 8 pm in Guayaquil. Only one more bus to get to Canoa. Luckily the bus station in Guayaquil is big, new and clean (and has a McDonalds) and it was not too bad to wait until midnight for the bus. This bus was yet more basic than the bus before and didn't even have a bathroom. The bus stopped often in the middle of the night to let people on and of the bus. But finally after too many hours on buses I arrived in Canoa Wednesday morning at 7 am just in time for Carlos' birthday.

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HIKING IN THE COLCA CANYON

18. January - 21. January 2011
We got picked up by the bus in the middle of the night - at 3 am. It was a little more than a three hour drive to the first stop where we had breakfast in Chivay before driving on to the “Cruz del Condor” lookout. Here we had a first glimpse of the amazing Canon del Colca – apparently the second deepest canyon in the world, 3191 m deep.

We were very lucky to spot three condors just after we got off the bus. Later we saw another condor flying by very close. This birds are amazingly huge and the way they glide through the air is impressive. Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough to take a picture of the condor close by.

Once we arrived in Cabanaconde we went for a walk through town, had lunch and then finally started our 4 day hike in the canyon. Our hiking group consisted only of Micha, me and our guide Roy.

First we walked along fields of corn before hiking down the canyon. For a few hours we hiked downhill (nice and easy hiking) and had a great view before crossing the river to get to the other side of the canyon. After crossing a little river in a side-canyon it was time for some uphill walking to get to the hostel. There we enjoyed tea with fresh lemon gras and relaxed for a while. To get more than rice and carrots for dinner we went down to the river (scrambling through a field of cactus in the dark) to fish. Roy catched about 10 trout fishing with a net while we only watched. After dinner we relaxed in the hot springs near the river. Great after a good hike.

The second day we got up early for a long day of hiking along the side-canyon. We walked into the canyon for a few hours and had awesome views. For a while we walked along a small water canal and the trail (that wasn't really a trail) was very narrow. To the right of the canal was the canyon and I would not have liked to loose my balance. Around lunch time we arrived in a little village with a beautiful, very high waterfall. While I relaxed in the sun, Micha and Roy hiked to another waterfall. After lunch we started hiking again. The sun was shining and there was no shade which made hiking quite exhausting. Luckily clouds came up after an hour hiking. We walked along cactus and a rather dry landscape but always had a great view of the canyon with all the different colors. After a long day of hiking we arrived at the oasis Sangalle – a beautiful place with palm trees and pools. We relaxed and Roy prepared a delicious dinner.

We next morning we spent relaxing, swimming in the pool and enjoying the sun. In the afternoon we had to hike out of the canyon. Three hours (for me, only 1.5 hours 1 hour and 20 minutes for Micha) hiking uphill. At the hostel I enjoyed a very nice hot shower before dinner. Later at night we checked out the local bar scene and went to a cozy little bar with good music for some beer and pisco sour.

The last morning we went for a stroll through town and up a little hill with a good view over the area. Roy explained us some of the history of the area and some small town gossip. THANKS ROY for being a great guide, delicious meals, the hiking poles and walking slowly with me.

On the way back to Arequipa we stopped at some hot springs. It was raining and the water was extremely hot. All along the way back to Arequipa the view of the canyon and landscape was amazing.