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| Intricate adobe bricks in Chan Chan |
This past week was test week for my students which meant a four day work week for me. I took the opportunity to meet my Dad in Trujillo, a city roughly 9 hours from Talara by bus. Being my first solo bus ride, I was a little weary taking an overnight bus. I've heard rumours of robbers piling rocks in the middle of the road, forcing the driver to stop. The robbers then board the bus and rob and sometimes attack the passengers. With this delightful story playing on repeat in the back of my mind, I had a hard time falling asleep. Imagine my fear when at roughly 3am, while all of the other passengers were blissfully asleep, the bus pulled over in the middle of the desert and stopped. My imagination ran wild on me and I started planning out a pepper spray attack strategy. Thankfully, it appeared to be nothing more than a pee break for our driver, but I still didn't manage to get too much shut eye before we rolled into the Trujillo bus terminal in the wee hours of the morning. The hostel that my Dad and I had planned to meet at was closed (I had no idea that hostels close!!) so I asked the taxi driver to take me to the plaza de armas (the main square) where I waited and walked around for a few hours until my Dad arrived. It was interesting to watch the city wake up, something I'm usually not awake early enough to see!
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| Our newfound loves. Nice shoes, Dad! |
It was wonderful to see my Dad again. He had so many exciting stories to share about his time in the jungle. We spent a lot of time discussing how quickly time had flown by and our mixed feelings about returning to "the real world", as this weekend marked the halfway point of my trip and the second last week of his. After an evening of meandering through the streets of Trujillo, we decided to visit the Moche/Chimu civilization of Chan Chan the next day. It's the largest mud city in the world and was actually quite impressive. Following a morning of "ruin hopping", we decided to travel to a neighbouring beach town called Huanchaco. This tiny surfing town is home to the famous caballitos de totora, or traditional reed fishing boats that have been used for over a thousand years. Huanchaco was clean, modern and charming and I found myself wishing we had more time to spend there.
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| Gorgeous sunset in Huanchaco framed by the reed fishing boats |
My Dad and I had been tossing around the idea of trying surfing from the time he first arrived in Lima. Seeing as we were in a surf town with an abundance of surf schools, we decided to seize the opportunity and give it a whirl. I doubted I'd be able to stand on the board and pictured gag-reel worthy wipe outs on my part, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could indeed stand and even ride the waves with a little help from the teacher. We spent most of the day out on the water, freezing despite our wetsuits, but unwilling to abandon our newfound love. Eventually when we could no longer feel our body, we enjoyed a delicious ceviche (the national dish of Peru) and chaufa (Peruvian-Chinese food) dinner with local Trujillo beer. And, as if an amazing day of surfing and delicious food wasn't enough, we stumbled across an organic chocolate cafe! Truly a match made in heaven! After a glorious weekend, we hopped aboard a bus bound for Talara. The clock has begun to tick. I only have one more month with my wonderful students and amazing Peruvian family. Where is time going?!
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