The bus from Lima dropped us here in the morning (btw we had Presidential Service which although it was only semi-cama, had been great with snacks, coffee and breakfast). We caught a mototaxi (made me feel back in Iquitos with all the mototaxis we'd seen there) to another bus company and before long were on another bus to Mancora.

We stayed in a hostal close to the Bus terminal since we had to catch a bus at 7am. Got up at 6am, onto the bus and arrived in Piura at around 3pm. Not much time to do anything other than look for the next bus to take.

Coming from Lima we were on a TEPSA bus with Presidential Service which was pretty good actually but it was only semi-cama and I wanted something busscama this time. We found Flores Buses which at the same price as TEPSA (70 soles) gave us a 1st level cama seat. Each row is only 3 seats wide instead of the usual 4 so the seats are wider and look kinda like airplane business class seats. They also lean way further back to go almost flat so I felt I was going to sleep well on this trip. However there was a problem with the aircon which made it quite hot and stuff which didn't give Nicole much peace. There was also someone snoring quite loudly which annoyed me and I feared might keep me awake but I fell asleep pretty soon and didn't wake up until breakfast time. Best bus sleep I've had so far and no stiff neck when I woke up in the morning. I think busscama is the way to go.

Quick stop in Piura before having to continue onward . . .

Fortunately we managed to catch a ride as far as here. We took a quick break for lunch, and then were back on our way. Well, so we thought!!

When we got to an area where we thought would be a good place to continue hitchhiking, we stopped and started trying to get a ride. To our surprise, a trucker pulled up shortly after, but . . . ready for this?! These Peruvians who were standing near us nabbed our ride!! The nerve of them! I was so furious, but there was nothing we could do!

After that it was hopeless. We couldn't stop a vehicle for the life of us! So we ended up having to catch a bus to take us to Lima . . . to be continued . . .

OK so Ecuador is done and dusted and it was a hell of a three weeks with more ups and downs than Debbie does Doncaster (The Deluxe Double D Edition). I´ll do a separate entry for some of the things I´ve missed out previously, but for now, safely over the border in Peru, I thought I´d write about the splendid buses we´ve been leaping on and off for the last three weeks. And so I give you:  

The 10 Commandments of Bus Travel in Ecuador:

1. Thou shalt have lots of leg room. At least until the person in front reclines their seat to the max and squashes you like the gringo bug you are.

2. Thou shalt watch terrible, terrible (and always violent) films with terrible, terrible Spanish dubbing. "Walking Tall", "Armageddon" and "Tears of the Sun" please stand up.

3. Thou shalt listen to music with a beat that sounds like a 3-legged mule clippety-clopping along. This will be intersperced with soppy ballads in Spanish that mention "love", "hearts" and "forever" and not much else. Very occasionally thou shalt have Rick Astley, Bonnie Tyler or something equally incongruous instead.  

4. Thou shalt chat broken Spanglish with randoms including a 50 year-old bloke with a peg leg and a penchant for communism - Castro style. 

5. Thou shalt not have a toilet break, even if the trip is eight hours long - tough luck gringo; we must vamos!

6. At the commencement of your journey, thou shalt be forced to listen to a bloke at the front of the bus flogging weed killer, vitamin supplements, Christmas cards or something equally random in a live 15 minute infomercial format.  

7. Thou shalt buy cheese empanadas (thin pastries) for 25 cents  that don´t taste like cheese from the flocks of vendors who charge on and off the bus selling all kinds of weird and wonderful food items.       

8. If thou art not getting onto the bus at the station then thou shalt be rushed onto the bus by the conductor - quick! quick! quick! Vamos Gringo! As soon as thou art on the bus however, it will sit there for another slow, slow, slow, five minutes, waiting for any random stray to show up and cram on as well.

9. Thou shalt go "awww!" or "ewww!" at the pigs, chickens, cats, sheep and other livestock that make it onto various parts of the bus for the journey.  

10. The driver shalt read, text, chat to a mate and do many things other than watching the road as he drives perilously close to 300 ft sheer drops off mountains. Whilst it´s foggy. Or night. Or both.

Having said all that - the Ecuadorian buses have been great fun, and we survived - so give them a try if you get the chance!  

Hello all,
After my overnight cross-border bus, I slept until about 2pm.  Not knowing anything about Piura, I asked at the desk what there was to see.  I walked the eight blocks into the central city to check out the Parque Central.  Like most Latin American towns there was a great, mellow vibe to the park, and a scenic church on the square as well.

I walked over to the Plaza del Sol mall, and went to the Chinese restaurant in the food court and enjoyed a nice cheap meal.  I walked back to the hotel to make some phone calls & update the blog.  I bought my air ticket in advance form Lan Peru.  There is only one airline that flies bwteen the two cities, so I figured it would be better to get it reserved ahead of time.  I felt very proud of my ability to book entirely in spanish on the site.  I looked over my reservation, and noticed that I had reserved for February instead of January.  Oh well, with the change fee my $42 ticket is now going to be $67.  Oops.

I'm going to try to get some sleep before tonight's 17 hour overnight bus over the Andes mountains.  I will be into the Amazon basin tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Later, Phil

On leaving Cuenca, we had some serious travelling to do, starting with a 5 hour journey from Cuenca to Loja shortly followed by my first overnight bus ride (for another 8 hours) from Loja, going over the border into Peru to Piura.  Journey pretty uneventful although with a local tradition to pay 10 cents to get out of the bus stations, my coin jammed prompting me to whack the machine and make a 20 cent profit as a load of change fell out - much to the consternation of the ticket officer (you can take the man out of Liverpool but.....).  The border crossing between Ecuador and Peru is supposed to be much easier at night with the officials not as fussed to check luggage.  It certainly was the case for us and was plain sailing.  The first two hours of our journey into Peru was very surreal as they played a 2 hour anthology of The Beatles (1962-1966) on the tv !

We woke up in a different country but could have been a different world.  For the 1st time on the trip, there wasn´t a mountain or even a hill in sight.  Instead all was replaced by desert.  Piura is primarily a transport hub for people to pass through.  It is the same size as Cuenca but the pace of life is much faster.  Tuk Tuks and Daewoo Tico taxis rule the roads and can take minutes to find an opportunity to get across the road.   Food is more expensive than Ecuador and my 1st meal (local speciality raw fish and onions marinaded in lemon starter, steak on pesto noodles, lemon meringue pie desert came to a staggering $2.20 !). Piura doesn´t have much to offer other than a couple of monuments and the usual pretty plaza.  However it has a nice vibe to it and with much travelling behind us, it is a nice place to chill for a day.  Dave and I got to really like the place and the cat and mouse game with the tuks tuks was quite funny.  Although every time you make a hand movement one stops for you which makes you feel guilty for not giving them business.

The next day was back on the road.  However not before we went on a shopping trip for more replacements.  There appears more money in Peru and we even stumbled upon an American style mall full of trendy western shops.  However all Dave was after was a new waterproof jacket and sunglasses.  In hindsight, trying to get a waterproof jacket in a town built in the middle of the desert was never going to be particularly fruitful !  The sunglasses weren´t a problem. 

Our 3 hour journey from Piura to Chiclayo was very comfortable.  The whole journey being a straight road cut through the desert.  It did give us our first views of a shanty town on the outskirts of Piura (maybe Piura isn´t so affluent after all but the centre hides it well).   Chiclayo (also built in the middle of the desert) was equally fruitless on the waterproof jacket front. The Jackie Chan Chinese restaurant was doing good business though.  We still seem to be the main source of entertainment to the locals, but as we are the only gringos in town (with Dave wearing a bright red Berghaus top and me the only person in town in shorts), there may be a legitimate reason why everyone looks.

10 hours on the bus this time (from Chiclayo to Chachapoyas) to be used as our next base.  Its a frustrating element of buses in Peru that they all travel through the night.  I´m going to have to learn to sleep. Uneventful trip as couldnt see anything out the window.  Got into Chachapoyas at 5am.  Need bed.....

I know a lot about Piura because my dad if from there and also because i lived over there because of my dentistry career!!
If u are going to Piura, dont stay at Piura city..or just do it one day...then go to Colan beach! or Mancora beach!!
Mancora has nice hotels..goooddd seafood and lots of bars! u will want to be layed down on the beach the hole time! and if u like waves and surf! u will have lots of company! there are a lot of brazilians over there..also from USA and Europe...and when is windy..the do surf with the wind too.
Once, i saw a giy that was surfing with his dog in his 'tabla'!! and also..little cute babies learning to surf.
There is a place called LOBITOS..close to Mancora beach..and is 'the point' as they call u...i recomend u to be friend of the locals and they will show u! My friends loved Lobitos because waves are good and there is no so much people so u can have good waves!
When i was there i learned a lot about surfers culture..haha their lifestyle and their rules..'cause they have rules!
If u want to buy silver and gold..u can find it in CATACAOS! is a cute little town..and is very well know for their silver jewerly.
Also, lots of people created like a route...they go to Ecuador beaches and then all the way down to Peruvian beaches....is called 'The sun route' as i heard.
Colan beach is also good and sometimes they have luaos parties!!.
I took a tour and we were in hot water places with mudd in our faces! so funny!!! but it was good for the skin!
Also..15 minutes far away from Mancora is Punta Sal hotel with its beach! is worthy to go over there!! is a nice place!!! u can see some pics here..:)
PD: DONT FORGET TO TRY CEVICHE! At Piura! u can find the best ceviche! and ask it of Mero fish!

I have been in Piura several times..and actually i lived over there for 4 months doing social work related with dentistry and i lived in a very very veryyy little town! the kis were lovely and i had great times!

In our infinite wisdom and to save time, we decided to catch the overnight bus for the border crossing to Peru. We left Vilcabamba at 8:00pm bound for Loja (still in Ecuador) and the start of our International bus ride. I cant remember the exact price but it was around $US8...all long distance buses in Ecuador roughly work out to be $US1 for every hour of travel. Not bad. The trip was an epic 8 hr haul (well epic for a couple of little Tasmanians but is really the norm over here) and it was comical to say the least.

When we initially hopped on the bus we were patted down and checked more vigourously than if we were flying into JFK airport and then videotaped for good measure. Thats ok I thought, professional and security concious, I like that. After 10 minutes everything was going along nicely, the lights were out and the hum of the bus had us nodding off to sleep. Then the fun started. Ecuador bus drivers have a love for entertaining (torturing) their passengers with atrocious pan-pipe fueled music and this bus driver was no different. From the speaker right above our heads blasted what was possibly the worst music I had heard in Ecuador so far. Excellent. A few attempts by Anna to persuade the drivers assistant to turn it down brought little success. The worst thing was that our speaker appeared to be serving the whole bus which a quick reconnaissance mission confirmed. Excellent.

So we decided to grin and bear it, what doesnt kill you will only make you stronger. An hour or so later the CD had looped a couple of times (just in case we missed a bit the first time round) and was replaced by an in-bus movie. Great, at last a chance of sleep. No such luck. Dubbed in Spanish, the movie was a D-grade American action film in Steven Segal kind of style....lots of explosions, gun fire and fight scenes. Excellent. The story line was so minimal that even in Spanish, I could understand everything that was going on. The special effects were particularly brilliant.

Expertly timed, the movie finished just as we hit the Ecuador-Peruvian border. Having read a lot of bad things about scams on the coastal border crossing near Tumbes, we decided to try the major inland border crossing (North East of Piura). So at 3am in the morning, everyone was shipped of the bus to get the required Ecuadorian exit stamp, walk 20m and get the required Peruvian entry stamp. Not a rip off merchant in site the whole process should have taken no longer than 10 minutes. Unfortunately there was one minor oversight....the fricken customs mainframe computer in Quito was being upgraded and would not be available until 4am. Excellent. The bus having already made the crossing meant that we had to sit on the side of the road in the dark in a mosquito infected area with Peru just a stones throw away. Excellent.

Eventually we made it back onto the bus and at 7:30am we rolled into the Northern City of Piura. Peru had a different feel already; a lot more chaotic, a lot dryer and a lot dirtier.

Having stayed a couple of weeks longer in Ecuador than we had planned meant that we were short on time as our Inca Trail trek was booked for May 25th. So we made the executive decision to skip the North of Peru (including Huaraz much to my dismay) and the Southern coast and head directly to Arequipa, a town we had heard plenty of good things about. Not wanting to undertake a massive 20+ bus journey we decided to fly. Flying with LAN Peru (similar planes to AA or Qantas domestic), the tickets cost about $US140 which hit a considerable hole in our budget but we thought the time saved would be worth it.

And thats exactly what it turned out to be. Arequipa and the nearby Colca De Canyon would definitely be a highlight for us.

Hasta luego,
Dave