After three months living in Urubamba I decided to go on a trip and visit my friends Hugo and Elva in Ilo. This involved a two bus journey, first to Arequipa and then another bus for the last leg to Ilo. The day before starting this journey I went to Cusco with Nohemy and Alfredo and spent a very pleasant couple of days there with them, and they accompanied me to the bus terminal in the evening, which is situated in a dangerous part of town. Finally at 7.30 pm I was able to board the bus and they stayed with me until the very last moment to make sure everything was okay.
Boarding the bus involved each passenger being video´d with a camcorder and placing a fingerprint against each name on the passenger manifesto. On board I was relieved to sink into my seat. I had paid extra to travel ´bus cama´ on the ground floor of the bus where there are only nine seats, six of them in pairs and three singles, all of which recline almost horizontal into beds and mine was the front seat of the singles. With a 10-hour journey ahead of me to Arequipa I had hoped to be able to sleep part of the journey.
The bus left on time and shortly afterwards we were all served dinner, although I was unable to eat mine having not long ago tucked into ´Chicken a la Brasa´ with Nohemy and Alfedo but I did enjoy the pudding, a purple maize flavoured jelly sprinkled with cinnamon and the Mate de Coca (coca leaf tea) served afterwards.
Unfortunately even with the superb comfort of my reclining seat (even blanket and pillow was provided) I was unable to sleep all night. The day before I had caught a bad cough and that night I probably kept everyone else awake as well as I could not stop coughing all night long. I watched the telly for a while but eventually settled down with my iPod and listened to music the rest of the trip.
The bus actually pulled into the bus terminal at Arequipa almost an hour early, at just after 5 am. I knew Elva´s son Hugo would be coming at 6 am and luckily things open much earlier in Peru and I was able to go and get a cup of coffee to help pass the time until Hugo arrived. That was when I learned there are three bus terminals in Arequipa, two alongside each other and the third out near the airport. This could be quite confusing for some foreign visitors travelling independently!
Hugo arrived just before 6 o´clock and we went to the terminal alongside to buy my ticket for the next leg of the journey. There was a bus leaving for Ilo at 7 am and I bought a seat on that one. Hugo stayed with me until it was time to board, even stowing my bag above my seat, and promised to meet me again on the return leg of the journey a week later. Whilst with him I also bought my return ticket back to Cusco, again securing the first of the single seats on the ground floor of the bus. Hopefully by then I will be over this bad cough and able to sleep part of the journey.
I did manage to doze off fitfully between coughs on this last leg of the journey. There was nothing much to see outside as being in the desert there was nothing to see but sand, sand and more sand, sometimes mountainous dunes of it, plus the odd desert hick town. Finally at 12 noon we were descending the hill into Ilo itself and it was great to see all the fishing boats moored in the harbour, the beach on the sea front etc. About ten minutes later we arrived and Hugo senior was there awaiting me and it was great to see him. We got a taxi to the house where I was greeted warmly by Elva and their cute little dog called Duque (pronounced Dookay). We immediately sat down to lunch, a delicous chicken and vegetable soup, which she is going to make again so I can watch and learn the preparation, followed by huge pork chops served with cooked whole apples, and one of Elva´s delicious salads consisting of about ten different things very finely diced and then tossed in lime juice and a little salt.
I felt slightly embarassed to be arriving with such a bad cough but it was lovely being ´mothered´ by Elva who kept making me warm drinks to help, my favourite being the juice of two limes added to boiling water and sweetened. And before bed she boiled up a concoction of eucalyptus leaves and other herbs which I inhaled under a towel until most of the heat had gone. The combination of hot drinks and inhalation really helped me sleep that night and the next when I never thought I would.
Yesterday and today were spent quite quietly - visiting the market both days and it was gratifying that the people there remembered me from my previous visits. I bought some Yacon, a salad vegetable that comes from the rainforest, and is really delicious and not available in Urubamba. You peel it and grate it and add it to salads and I just love it. I also bought a load of purple olives for Nohemy and Alfredo as the ones produced in Ilo are the best in Peru. The weather yesterday was hot and sunny and I relaxed in the courtyard reading for part of the day, plus I took the dog for a walk down to the sea front which is only two blocks from the house. I intend to do that walk again without the dog soon so that I can take some photos down there. The plan today was to go to the beach in the afternoon but unfortunately today was overcast so it wasnt worth it. All being well we will go there tomorrow afternoon. I remember a sandy beach with rocks we went to by taxi in previous visits called Énglish Bay´ funnily enough. I will be here another four days after today so will write again nearer the end of my visit and will hopefully upload photos of Ilo near the beginning of November. More Cusco and Urubamba photos will be added to my photostream before the end of October.
