Towns that begin with the letter 'H'

We took an overnight bus from Mancora to Trujillo on Tuesday night and arrived about 7:30am Wednesday morning. The next bus to Huaraz wasn't until Wednesday at 9pm so we had some time to kill. We had been advised to spend it at the nearby beach town of Haunchaco instead of in the City of Trujillo and so we checked our baggage at the bus depot and headed out to Huanchaco by taxi.

Huanchaco is a beach town operating mostly on tourism and fishing if I had to guess. The waves in the open water were the biggest I have ever seen. Rolling in one after the other with ridiculous force and power! Even the smaller waves, in what i would call the surfing area for the semi-sane people, were massive in comparison to Mancora and the water was wetsuit-cold. However, neither of these factors were enough to deter Troy from renting a surfboard and a wetsuit and heading out into the ocean. The sea was angry that day my friends...but Troy put up a valiant effort!

We headed back into Trujillo at about 8pm and made it in plenty of time for the bus but just barely alive after riding with a maniac taxi driver. I seriously considered asking to be let out on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

We arrived in Huaraz at about 7am this morning (Thursday) and spent the day getting our bearings in this new City and resting up since we are now back at altitude and spent a sleepless night on the bus. Exploring a town and getting my bearings and the feel of a place is one of my favorite things to do upon arriving in a new location. We found the important things first, grocery store, fresh food market, and mountain bike shop.

The only thing more traumatizing to Troy in the fresh food market than the whole guinea pigs sliced open and displayed on their backs in all their hairless glory were the fuzzy little guinea pigs, eyes open and alert, sharing a potato sack with 8 of their buddies. We almost acquired pet guinea pigs. I had to explain to Troy that we couldn't save them all.

It is great to once again be surrounded by mountains and snowy peaks. Three mountain ranges surround Huaraz, the Cordillera Blanca, the Cordillera Negro, and the Cordillera Huayhuash. The first day feeling of this new place is that it's a keeper.