Provincia de Piura

The next stop on our north Peruvian expedition was Piura, known as the eternal city of heat. Or is that the city of eternal heat? The weather is reasonably constant in Piura with the minimum temperature rarely dropping below 20 degrees celsius in summer. For Team Canada, Dave and Terrie, who had joined us on our journey northwards, the heat was a stark contrast to the bitterly cold weather of their hometown. But for us, it felt like another summer's day in BrisVegas, although less humid.

Piura is three hours by bus from Chiclayo and is the fourth largest city in Peru, with about 180,000 people. We were prepared for the bus to arrive later than scheduled but it seemed that the driver was on a mission to get us to our destination. For the fast, three-hour journey, the driver tailgated anything that got in his way. It was a wonder that the cars didn't end up becoming a decoration for the front of the bus. And we had front row seats! Every time the driver went over 90km per hour, there was a loud beeping sound, which could still be heard long after the trip. It's possible we're all suffering from tinnitus now. At least, we got to our destination on-time and alive. In recent times, there have been a number of buses that haven't made it to their destinations.

Our time in Piura was spent mainly feeding our food addictions and exploring the centre city, around the Plaza de Armas. We were accompanied, as partners in crime, by Team Canada, who were staying 10 minutes away. We’re not sure if they were entertained or wanted to slowly slip away into the sunset, when we had an altercation with a street vendor selling cold drinks. Jason handed the vendor money to buy a cold drink but soon discovered that the woman wanted three times the price of a restaurant or supermarket. He politely told the woman that he didn't want the drink and that we would like his money back. This turned into a saga with the woman refusing to give the money back. Things soon escalated and a nearby security guard came over to investigate what was happening. In the end, we called the vendor a thief and walked away, as the woman continued to argue with the guard. After our time in Piura, Team Canada is probably sighing with relief to have rid themselves of the “rogue” Australians who made them traverse across the maniac streets of Peru, narrowly missing the cars as we weaved in and out of traffic to secure our next treat.

After spending the last eleven days with Team Canada, we said our farewells as we went in different directions. We already miss the sound our their Canadian accents while we are “oot and aboot” and decked out in our toques. But we are sure that they will think of us when they are home amongst all the snow and ice, drinking their hot homo milk. We even started to speak Canadian and will be able to fit in like natives when we go to Timmies [Tim Hortons, a Canadian coffee and donut shop] for a timbit and a double-double. We tried to teach the Canadians some Aussie slang but it was all too much for them. Maybe we will try again if we get to meet up at another destination.

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