Huaraz

I'm in Huaraz now, which means leg 1 of my 6 part homeward journey is now complete. I don't have any pictures of Huaraz, but it is very nice and mountainy. Instead, here are some pictures of me looking cool with surfboards.

Last Day in Trujillo

Today begins our long journey home. We are spending a night on the way in Huaraz, a mountain town that is supposed to have good hiking. We'll see if we can escape altitude sickness a second time. But either way it's going to be four long days of traveling. It turns out that only one of the next four nights will be in a hotel. Two are on buses and one is in LAX.

But more importantly, this is my last day in Trujillo. I'm not sure whether or not I liked Trujillo. I enjoyed my time here, at least. Here's what the Plaza de Armas looks like.

If it seems really pretty, well, a lot of things look good at night with the right lighting. Doesn't mean you'd want to wake up and see them during the day.

Alto Trujillo

With only about a week left, it's probably time to post some photos. So here's some from the school, Alto Trujillo.

A Promise

There have been requests in some quarters for pictures lately, and these calls have not gone unheard, nor will they remain unanswered. Several involved parties have promised to put up the pictures on Facebook in "just a little bit," and from there I can add them to the blog.

In other news, Mancora has no waves in September, it turns out. Something to do with the direction of the swells-- in Huanchaco, where we normally go, the waves roll in from the Southeast, but the Mancora coast runs parallel to that direction. Anyway, we had a good time anyway. We made friends right away with an absolutely giant dog we named John-Claude Van Damme, and a smaller one we called Jet Li. We spent a lot of the rest of the time naming all the dogs after action heroes, except for the labs, which we named after wines.

The Exit

Like a ninja or the ocean, Peru can kill you in a thousand ways. My pick, if I had to make one (and let's hope I don't) is to go out in a propane motorcycle crash.

Peru doesn't have gas lines, so everyone uses propane tanks that you can get delivered. They are carried by motorcycles with a rack behind the seat (where your biker chick would normally go). The racks can hold up to three tanks, which means the bike could power several dozen barbecues or one very large explosion. Every day on the way to school we are one lane change away from an action movie trailer.

Market

During most of the Food Network restaurant shows, there's a scene where the host goes to the market and talks about how this restaurant sends some guy here every morning to get the freshest fish, or beef, or chives or whatever. It's supposed to be kind of impressive, but I never really imagined that these places just sent guys to the supermarket when they needed flour.

I was thinking about that while I was getting breakfast this morning. On weekends we don't have food provided in the apartment, so we have to go out. A few weeks ago I found out that there are a lot of little food counters in the big market nearby that are open early, so I've been eating there. The one I go to is run by an old Peruvian woman and will sell you eggs, avocado, cheese, and something called Quaker (like a runny porridge slurry) for about two dollars.

It's kind of a neat place--all very chaotic and echoey. For some reason the vendors like to yell at you what they are selling, even though it's usually pretty clear that the guy with the fruit cart isn't selling cologne. Adding to the ambiance are the inside-out pigs and placards with bubonic plague prevention tips nearby.