Huarez 2

On our last day before taking the bus to Lima, we decided to take a tour to a lake in a national park up in the mountains. As with most tours there are always stops along the way that you have to put up with before getting to the place that you want to see. This resulted in a looooong day tour. The main excitement occurred high in the mountains within the national park, when the road was blocked by a dumptruck being loaded with dirt by a crew of men. Although he was tempted the bus driver did not try to go by and we were off-loaded and had to walk the last 20 minutes (up-hill, Fred). Apparently the driver of the truck had left the vehicle to go to the little restaurente by the lake. I learned some new Spanish words!
One observation of a difference between the coast and the mountains in Peru is the variation in cabs. Along the coast most cabs were moto-taxis or a very short and yellow vehicle (think shortened Ford Festiva). In Huarez, the cabs were almost all white toyota station wagons and much easier to handle for 2 larger folks with packs.
On Friday we took a 0930 bus for Lima. Most of the better buses went at night and we wanted to see the views. And the views were worth it. In the high country there was a desolate landscape with no trees, although very green with a short grass and many cattle and sheep. The down-hill went on for at least and hour and a half switching back and forth with a convoy of five gasoline trucks behind us. There is a real art to passing slower traffic on this kind of road! In Lima, a quick taxi ride got us to our favourite hostal in Lima; Hostal España. Not much has changed from the old art to the skulls from indigeous graves, that meet you in the lobby. What had changed was the lovely 20 something young lady at the desk happily feeding her 2 year old while signing us in.
Jim