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Trujillo, Chincha, and Mid-terms?!

October 6th, 2009 pmmcgo11

In our wetsuits before heading to the beach to surf

I am now about halfway done with my first semester and it is crazy how fast the time has flow by…this also means that, unfortunately, the following two weeks I have mid-term exams. Although I am now busy studying for those the past few weekend, luckily, I have been able to find time to travel. Two weeks ago, with the Holy Cross group, I traveled to Huanchaco, a part of Trujillo, in northern Peru, and this past weekend I spent a couple nights in Chincha, two hours south of Lima with friends from the University.
Huanchaco is a small area of Trujillo on the beach. The people are extremely friendly and relaxed, and the weekend was just what I needed to get away from the constant schoolwork. It reminded me of Cape Cod where I love to spend time on the beach when I am home in Massachusetts. The entire weekend in Trujillo was fantastic, but undoubtedly, my favorite afternoon was spent surfing. It was the first time I had surfed in my life, and surprisingly I left the beach with no bodily injuries, and was even able to stand up and actually surf almost every time. After we surfed, we had to hurry back to the hotel to shower and get ourselves to the bus terminal. We got back a little late, due to the usual horrendous traffic in Lima, but at least by now I am use to sitting in traffic forever. Despite the slight delay turning our “8-hour” bus trip into an 11-hour trip, we arrived safely in Lima for classes.
Then, this past weekend, I found myself traveling yet again, to Chicha. Luckily, the trip to Chincha is only about 3 hours—much more accommodating for my legs (I am 6’2). In Chincha, I stayed with the family of one of my friends from the University. There I enjoyed many great home cooked meals, like carapulcra, which is a pork dish served with “sopa seca,” and it a traditional dish of the area. The pork is served in a sauce mixed potato, peanuts, and I don’t really know what else, but it is absolutely delicious. On Saturday, we attended a graduation party and on Sunday afternoon, we went to the beach—we were lucky to be in Chincha one of the first nice days of spring (which just started two weeks ago)!

In Chincha

So, despite the mid-terms and many test and papers that remain I keep remember we’re quickly approaching summer here, while my friends and family back home in Massachusetts are approaching winter…and snow.
Well, I still have sixty pages left in “From the imperial reform to a reluctant independence,” so I am off to read. However, yesterday I bought plane tickets to Iquitos…so I will have a lot more to talk about and many great pictures coming soon! It is in the rain forest and is suppose to be one of the “most exotic cities” in all of South America according to my guidebook…

Ciao,
Peter

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