backpacking Peru 2015

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Hola!

So, my world-touring brother lost his gear and “hired” me as a courier to bring him replacements. He didn’t have the decency to lose his stuff somewhere I hadn’t been to before, but that was quite alright because I loved Peru the first time and I was quite excited to go back! I have over 2,000 photos between the three of us (me, bro, and my Peruvian “big sister”, Daniella) so these are just a snapshot. I mean, really, just go there. Photos cannot do the vistas, the markets, the driving, the food, nor the people justice.

The plan: backpack from Lima to Iquitos in 20 days.

2015_peru_1

We stayed in a penthouse apartment with Daniella’s family in Lima until he was able to get his passport reissued. We road crowded buses, walked for miles, and ate my favorite Peruvian thing: chicken! Daniella’s family is beautiful (and her mother would love that I said that;) We were so well taken care of that it was sad to leave our host family and their puppies (Pucca, Jazz, and Soprano).

2015_peru_2 2015_peru_11

Daniella’s mom, Ivogen, took us all to see Pachacamac – a site I saw back in 2007 but a lot of work has been done since so it was neat seeing the changes. Afterward, her sister Julissa’s family invited us to make pizza and hang out downstairs. I was relieved they all spoke English at least a bit – even little 3 year old Mika could count to seven! My brother was in charge of getting a group family photo, but I suppose we were always having too good of a time to think to stop for a formal pose.

2015_peru_32015_peru_34

Ivogen also took us to the restaurant on the pier – a site my friends and I could only dream of eight years ago. It did not dissapoint!

2015_peru_4

We took an overnight bus to Trujillo, and had second floor, front row seats for a perfect (if cold) journey. Bro set us up with an archaeological tour to Chan Chan. Go there. Then we had a short stop in Huanchaco, which is famous for its reed boats.

2015_peru_5 2015_peru_6 2015_peru_7 2015_peru_8 2015_peru_9 2015_peru_10

Our tour guide suggested we see the Temple of the Moon, which he likes more than Chan Chan. Say what?! So, the following day we went there, and I see why! Though, I think I will forever hold in my heart a special place for Chan Chan.

2015_peru_12

We took another overnight bus to Chachapoyas, and along the way we were stuck an additional 6 hours because the rains had caused a mudslide on our highway.

2015_peru_13

From there, we went to Kuelap, a site that is not well-popularized yet but I imagine that is going to change rapidly, since the internet compares it to (and claims to supersede) Machu Picchu. Go there. We had another fantastic tour guide (who impressed us all by speaking Spanish, English, French, and even a tiny amount of German!).

2015_peru_14 2015_peru_15 2015_peru_16

I got altitude sickness from the ups and downs of mountain roads, and was leery of getting into an eight-hour van ride without a bathroom the next morning, but I made it to Tarapoto without issue, thank the heavens! We did our laundry there, and I really enjoyed being in a city of just motorcycles (and not the loud obnoxious kind). I wouldn’t see roads filled with cars again until my return to Lima.

2015_peru_18 2015_peru_32

We vanned again to Yurimaguas, and I was not excited to be in the front middle seat without a seatbelt on (literally) dangerous mountain roads facing washouts and landslides, but hey, I survived. We looked forward to taking showers before getting on the boat for the next few days on our journey to Iquitos, but that didn’t happen. The hostel was a little sketchy for us all, I think. Bro would say it was magical.

2015_peru_19 2015_peru_20

Then we got on the boat; Bruno, she is called. We waited hours for people to load her with product, and then we found out that there was more to come, so we could not leave until tomorrow. So our two night boat stay turned into three nights (and almost four actually but they worked super duper hard to get her loaded), but without cost to us so no worries. We stopped at a couple villages to get more (or drop off) products and people (sometimes canoes would just meet up in the middle of the river!).  And look, I brought a little crafty item with me! The boat was very peaceful actually. The Amazon is everything they say it is. Go there. It is currently under flood, and a lot of villages are affected. We were worried Iquitos had been hard hit, too.

2015_peru_21 2015_peru_33 2015_peru_22 2015_peru_23

We finally made it to Iquitos, which is flooded in areas, though it wasn’t a problem for us tourists. But, we were not on schedule after all the hold-ups from the passport to the travel delays. I was to have several days there so I could do a jungle tour (two nights deep in the Amazon), but when all was said and done, I had only two full days to do anything. So, we went to Monkey Island! Now, I would say that was magical. It was flooded, too, so we had to take a canoe tour rather than walk around a bit. On my last day, we went to the Belen markets where there really was just everything imaginable, like in many of the markets we visited (and some exotic things that could not be named nor categorized as to what they even were).

2015_peru_24 2015_peru_25 2015_peru_31 2015_peru_26 2015_peru_27 2015_peru_28 2015_peru_29

The trip was great, and I hope bro realizes why I might be secretly wishing he loses his stuff again…

And, I just have to share this photo with you – Daniella went to school for fashion design and knows a thing or two about clothing and sewing and – just would you look at this?! She hand embroidered it to the back of a jean jacket. It is amazing!

2015_peru_17

I owe a post about a bag I made for this trip. I really am very proud of how it turned out – it might be the first thing that I’ve ever gone around telling people “Look – I made this!”.

I will write a much more detailed account of this trip over at my anthropology site, so if you are interested, head over there sometime soon!

 

See more posts related to:

2 Comments

  1. Ruthy

    Ugh! I am 50 shades of greeeeeeeen! Soooooo jealous!

    Reply
    • CaLynn

      I knew you would be – and I said as much to everyone:D

      Reply

Leave a Reply to CaLynn Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for more cases of the Crafties?
Hexie Dreams 18

Hexie Dreams 18

My fussy-cut EPP Hexie Dreams quilt is coming along. All the flowers were stitched into rows and the rows are being stitched together now for the final push. I also share some of my dear sewing supplies!

read more
Stitch Club: Maue

Stitch Club: Maue

TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club with Joetta Maue prompted a stitched piece from a photograph and I’ve recreated an adored image of my late grandparents.

read more
Hexie Dreams 17

Hexie Dreams 17

A quick update on my fussy-cut EPP hexie dreams quilt. A whopping 131 flowers are now complete, yay!

read more
Stitch Club: Weighton 2.1

Stitch Club: Weighton 2.1

Haf Weighton lead another TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club workshop on architectural layering, and I was inspired to render New Albany’s Culbertson Mansion based on a photograph by Daniel Andis.

read more
Stitch Club: Sproule

Stitch Club: Sproule

April Sproule led a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club using a spiral concept. I felt like this would be a nice project for a friend and asked her for a color palette, hence the unusual-for-me color theme.

read more
Collaged Slow Stitch

Collaged Slow Stitch

I made a quirky and weird slow-stitched collage to try to push through a creative slump. It was much more about doing than the outcome.

read more
Stitch Camp 2023

Stitch Camp 2023

I stitched this mixed media piece following Gwen Hedley’s instruction through TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Camp.

read more
Tea Cup study

Tea Cup study

I was inspired to stitch up a stack of tea cups which lead to starting a second project that I’m still thinking about.

read more
Stitch Club: Clover

Stitch Club: Clover

Jette Clover lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club using scraps and a stamp. I used a country farm stamp with a big red barn as inspiration.

read more
Stitch Club: Tume

Stitch Club: Tume

Kate Time lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club on narrative bead texture, and I was inspired to have a play!

read more
Open Press Project

Open Press Project

I ordered a small print press from the Open Press Project and have begun experimenting with pressing leaves.

read more
Stitch Club: Notman

Stitch Club: Notman

Emily Notman lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club where we would learn to make a jar wrap, and I was inspired to create a scene along a lakefront at sunset with cattails blowing in the wind.

read more
Stitch Club: Bliss

Stitch Club: Bliss

Oliver Bliss lead a TextileArtist.org’s Stitch Club recently centered on color blocking, and I was inspired to stitch up a skull with flowers.

read more