So, we’re back where we started, Miraflores… but it wasn’t an easy journey. Leaving Samana Chakra was bittersweet- bitter because we knew we’d miss the great accommodations, company and food; but sweet because we were ready to get back on the road! We took an afternoon bus out of Mancora to Chiclayo, which should have been about a 5 hour ride.
Between delays, bus switching and our bus breaking down in the middle of nowhere, it ended up being about a 10 hour ride, landing us in Chiclayo around midnight. The next day we took a bus from Chiclayo to Trujillo, assuming that there’d room on the next bus to our ultimate destination- Huaraz. 
What’s that they say about assuming?? We had to stay in Trujillo for the night and take the next overnight bus out, which surprisingly went smoothly. Arriving around 5am there was a shock of cold weather, something we haven’t really experienced here yet. We arrived at our hostel, slept for a couple hours and woke up to have breakfast to one of the most beautiful views- the Cordilleras Blancas. We explored the city by walking through the local markets and buying what would be our meals for the next couple days. 
Later we walked about 2 and a half hours uphill to the Wilcahuain Ruins. The walk up was interesting, forgetting that it’s Carnaval and for the month of February the local kids like to start water fights… with everyone. Three times we had water thrown at us! Not just a little squirt gun, buckets of water! Luckily we caught on early and made sure to keep an ear out for giggling children laughing at the Gringos. At one point, in order to pass a group of kids with squirt guns and buckets of water heading straight for me, I had to huddle against one of the local women and use her as a shield, with her permission of course! The view at the top was great, but unfortunately the ruins were just okay.
Then next day we got ready to do the Santa Cruz trek through the Andes. We meet six others that were on the same page and wanted to finish the ‘novice’ trek in three days. The ride to the trailhead is one we’ll never forget, something similar to a turbulent flight for 3 hours. The start of the trek was great, we were all in high spirits, and nothing could bring us down! Except for maybe the altitude, about 4 hours into the trek it really started to kick in, along with the weight on our backs- mostly food for the next couple of days. It started to rain and it was nearing on 7pm (yes, 8 hours of hiking), as we began to unpack our tent the rain really started to come down. Once we lay down to get situated, we realized our beloved tent we bought to save some money on hostel stays is not waterproof. We ended up shacking up with another couple that had made it as far as us, four people in a two person tent. 
Theirs was a little more waterproof than ours, but did not prevent us from being wet, cold and unable to sleep for the entire night. The next morning, our entire backpacks and everything we brought with us soaking wet, we decided it’d be best to head back in time for the next bus down the mountain. Regretfully we turned around, but later found out from the rest of the group that we missed nothing but snow, rain and foggy views of the lagunas and glacier capped mountains. To be back at the hostel, with hot water, dry clothes and a warm bed couldn’t have felt better. The rain wouldn’t seem to let up, so we took an overnight bus from Huaraz to Lima. We are taking a few days here to get some errands done and relax after a stressful couple of days. The south of Peru is calling our names from here. 
If you haven’t heard, there have been major floodings in Machu Picchu, Cusco, Aguas Calientes, and Puno. Machu Picchu being probably the biggest tourist attraction in Peru has set a lot of people’s trips into a whirlwind. Entire trekking trails have been swept away, along with the rail system and bridges to get into Machu Picchu. The government of Peru has declared it a state of emergency for 60 days, and hopes to be up and running in the same amount of time. You never know though, Peruvian time runs a lot slower than what we’re used to. Hopefully, within the next 5 months of the rest of our trip we’ll be able to visit the ruins. But now we’re focusing on southern Peru, Chile and Argentina— not bad :)Here is the link to the last pictures in Mancora, Peru:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3195456009/a=34282164_34282164/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
All the pictures from Huaraz:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3418251009/a=34282164_34282164/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
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