The next two road trips

Sun, beach, and whales in Organos

I am back again with two fresh travel reports. About four weeks ago, we went on our first trip to Organos, which is a small town about five hours away by car. Organos mainly thrives on tourism. The beautiful long beach and the year-round high temperatures make Organos a popular destination for both domestic and foreign tourists. Fortunately, it is still relatively empty and quiet at the moment, as the school holidays and summer only start at the end of December. We arrived late Friday evening, found a nearby restaurant to have a late dinner, and went to bed early.

The reason for this was the alarm clock that rang at 5:15 am on Saturday. Without breakfast and not fully awake yet, we quickly headed to the meeting point for our whale watching tour. Fortunately, it was very successful. During our three hours on the water, we saw a total of six different individuals. The absolute highlight was a small family that surfaced about five meters in front of us. After the tour, we visited the interesting ocean museum before catching up on some sleep in our accommodation.

In the afternoon, the four of us squeezed into a mototaxi (TukTuk) and drove to another small beach town. There, we enjoyed the water, which is much warmer than the water at the beaches in Chiclayo due to various currents. We walked back along the beach, underestimating the distance and thinking we would be back within an hour. But the ultimately three hours were definitely worth it. We were able to see some whales jumping in the sunset and we even saw a seal sunning itself on the beach. It was very quiet and we were the only ones around.

We spent the entire Sunday at the beach, just relaxing in the sun and sea. My friend and I even saw a large turtle when we swam a bit further out to a small swimming island. In the afternoon, we made our way back to be back in Chiclayo late Sunday evening.

Unfortunately, I must have eaten or drunk something bad in Organos on Sunday because Monday was anything but pleasant with food poisoning. Luckily, I was feeling better by Tuesday and all in all, it was still a very successful short vacation.

Andes, Amazon, and a huge waterfall

Two weeks later, we started our next short vacation. This time, the destination was Chachapoyas. The city is located between the Andes and the Amazon region, offering a mountainous but also very green environment. Although the straight-line distance between Chiclayo and Chachapoyas is only about 230 km, it took us nearly 12 hours to drive overnight. This is due to the winding roads through the Andes, which not only extend the route but also require slow driving. Fortunately, the buses here are very comfortable despite the cheap prices and can be leaned back very far. That way, we could at least find some sleep.

And sleep was needed, because after leaving our luggage at our accommodation, we headed towards "Keulap" after breakfast in a cozy cafe. After a 20-minute cable car ride with wonderful panoramic views and a short hike, we reached the medieval castle built by the "Cloud Warriors". Keulap is one of the best-preserved archaeological sites in Peru and is often referred to as the "Machu Picchu of the North". Unfortunately, the site is currently not accessible due to construction work, but we could still see some remains and the view was beautiful. At the top, we also enjoyed delicious freshly prepared vegetable tortillas, which provided a delicious change from the otherwise meat-heavy diet here.

The next day, we got up early again because at 8 am our van set off towards the small village of Cocachimba. From there, we started hiking to the "Gocta" waterfall. The hiking trail was well-maintained and impressed us with its diverse sections. Fortunately, there were shady sections along the way, as the sun was shining relentlessly and it was quite warm. Along the way, we also enjoyed freshly squeezed sugar cane juice, which gave us the necessary energy. After about 2.5 hours, we arrived at the very impressive waterfall. With a height of 771 meters, it is the 3rd largest waterfall in the world. However, there is an international dispute. Some scientists claim that there are two different waterfalls, making it "only" the 15th largest waterfall. In any case, it was very impressive and together with the very green mountainous surroundings, it looked a bit like in a movie. After meeting other Germans for the first time here, chatting briefly, and taking a break, we made our way back.

On the third day, we felt our legs getting tired after our first two days of hiking. So this time, we slept in, used our own kitchen to cook vegetarian food again, and only set off in the afternoon. This time, the goal was a viewpoint overlooking the steep "Canyon del Sonche". Surprisingly, you only notice the steep descent when you are standing right in front of the abyss. We enjoyed the view into the 962-meter-deep gorge for a long time before making our way back in the sun with cooling ice cream.

On the last day, it rained, which was to be expected as the rainy season in the Andes is starting. We were lucky to have 3 sunny days. But it was perfect for us as we could relax in the Airbnb reading and eating without any excuses before taking the night bus back. We arrived at 4 am and I was able to sleep for another 2 hours before going back to the project.

So far, I think this short vacation was the most impressive. The landscape between the Andes and the Amazon region was very diverse and the city of Chachapoyas also impressed with a small old town and cozy cafes. I can very well imagine making the trip here again someday.