Peru Travel Report 2: From Lima to Barranca.

Initially I had planned to go directly from Lima to Huaraz. But in fact I arrived with some kind of paranoia in Peru: I normally don't read the travel guide's safety advices, as they always seem extremely exaggerated to me. But then I talked to a German friend who had also lots of travel experience and who also planned to go to Peru. She told me so many disturbing things... And so I did read the safety advices and *boom* had the imagination that it was more or less sure to be assaulted / robbed / killed in a car accident or due to food poisoning / kidnapped... when in Peru.

So, I found myself in the ridiculous situation to consider Mexico oh so safe compared to this threatening place named Peru. While in Mexico I always take overnight busses, I opted against this option in Peru. (Supposedly) too dangerous. As a result, I didn't make too long travels. Lima - Huaraz in one sitting? No way. I browsed the map and found "Barranca", boasting the nearby archeological site of Caral. Just a 3 hour (ehem... Latin American time...) ride from Lima, this seemed a good option.

Distances in Peru look so small on the map, but the extremely mountainous and more or less surfaced streets always make it a long trip. 3 hours can easily become 5. But it was my first experience on the Panamerican Highway, so kind of interesting. Yet, I was kind of disillusioned to see the very monotonous landscape - rocks, hills, sands, no plants. This was exactly how I knew it from pictures and videos I had seen it, but now I feared that this would be the landscape for the whole month in Peru. Thankfully this fear turned out to be unfounded.

I was so paranoid that I didn't even dare to take a proper picture, but only hiding my camera so that nobody could see it

Most of the trip I was snoozing, because I was still pretty groggy from a terrible cold which I had caught directly after my arrival in Lima. But the rest of the time I spoke to a US American who worked in the microfinance industry and who was on his way to an on-site visit. This was interesting, because I wanted to use my Peru trip also to explore the potential for microfinance in this country which is rated number one regarding its microfinance climate and performance. Yet, this guy worked for a Christian society and I didn't understand why people had to be converted to an extremely fundamental Christian belief in order to be helped... I made no secret of how I thought about their mission and soon the conversation waned.

All in all, my first bus experience in Peru was surprisingly good. I especially enjoyed the silence in the car. In Mexico you will be treated with any kind of "music" on maximum volume. Yesterday I had dinner with a German friend who had just said goodbye to his father and sister who had visited him for 2 weeks. He told me that they were really glad to leave Mexico and they especially complained about their severe stomach problems they had to suffer from all the time - and the unbearable noise pollution you are exposed to 24/7 in Mexico...

From the "bus terminal" I caught a mini taxi (resembling a Thai tuk-tuk) to the city centre. It felt so strange to just flag down any taxi from the street. In Mexico you should never ever do this, unless you are seriously keen on being robbed or kidnapped. But when I had asked in Lima for the phone number of a safe taxi company, they just stared at me and asked me, why I would call a taxi considered that there were plenty of them on the streets. Ya, but Peru of course is soooo much more dangerous than Mexico... Well, it has something positive to live in a country where crime and corruption are rampant: Wherever you will go outside you will feel so safe compared to your country of residence. Hey, you should see the positive side, right?...

Barranca is so off the beaten track that you won't find a backpacker's hostel, so I checked in a hotel and therefore had my own TV. The program was really strange, though...

Hitler parody... funny?!

Also the outlook from my hotel's window was not exactly what you would call "mind-blowing"...

These houses were inhabited... Peru was very notably much poorer than Mexico

The next day I headed to Caral, the most ancient city of the Americas
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When you arrive you will think "How did these guys survice in this desert?!"... and then you climb the hill and spot the lush valley. Impressive!

I also came across a new fruit I had never eaten before. This is one of the things I love most: Savouring unknown food. This one was called "pepino", which in other Spanish-speaking countries would be understood as "cucumber". But in Peru, "pepino" can also refer to this tree melon. It did remind me of cucumber (due to the high water content), but apart it was also sweet and really delish. The also common name "pepino dulce" (sweet cucumber) really fits.

Returning to the city of Barranca was kind of tricky. As Caral is a bit remote, you have to be lucky to find some transport. Fortunately, there was another family who left at the same time like me. They came from Argentina and when they saw me, walking along the road alone, hoping to find a share taxi in the next village, they stopped and asked if they could give me a ride. They were on their way back to Lima, so they couldn't take me back directly to Barranca. But every kilometre was welcome. It was just a bit strange to be dropped off on the Panamerican Highway at dawn, temperatures dropping rapidly, all windy... and trucks rushing by without noticing you (and I wouldn't have hitchhiked in a truck...). But well, finally a share taxi stopped and I returned home safely.

The next stop was then Huaraz. Stay tuned.