Everywhere we went in Peru we were offered a pepper sauce that was different every time and often hot as hell. So, nearing the end of our 2009/2010 trip we wanted to get the recipes for a few different sauces that we have encountered, so we asked Scott of Tambopacaya to help us out. The first was the before mentioned Salsa de Aji (Pepper sauce), but no one calls it Sauce of the Pepper, they just call it Aji (Pepper). The second was a sauce we were introduced to in Huanchaco at our favorite Burger joint El Generoso, Generous Sandwich, called Chimichurri.

When we left the United States in September of 2009, I left my last remaining bike hanging on a hook in my moms garage. I have longed for its touch ever since. I had, in the months prior our departure, been living with Jessie in her 400 sq foot studio with three bicycle of mine and one of hers. Well, our marriage and our new living arrangements (backpacks), reduced me to selling my two track bikes. So I focused my longing for my remaining bike by trying to capture their usefulness and importance to the local communities all around Peru. And, thanks Jessie for waiting for me every time I want to take “another” bicycle photo.

We have enjoyed this plate at El Anzuel (730 Av. Victor Larco, Huanchaco Peru) a few times now and have lusted for it since the first taste. Other restaurants, almost all, serve this dish, but no one else in Peru can stand up to the Heavenly pillows of deep fried goodness that are produced here in Huanchaco.

If you can’t tell by how much time we’ve spent talking about it, Huanchaco is a great place. There are basically two options for long-term accommodation: staying in a hostel or renting a room. Whether you’re in need of a base camp for surf trips up the coast, wanting to volunteer in the nearby area, or just needing a break from traveling, here’s a guide to finding “home” in Huanchaco. Huanchaco is home to many great cheap housing options. What is offered everywhere varies wildly, but the best options have a private, secure room with kitchen access and wifi.

How to get from here to there in Trujillo and Huanchaco… Welcome to Nuts and Bolts: Trujillo and Huanchaco. This article is an attempt to explain some of the key features of the Trujillo/Huanchaco bus system. It also will highlight locations and directions to popular places to visit in the area.

It’s hard to admire the view while pretending your bus isn’t clinging to a mere ribbon of road floating above a thousand meter drop, but the road between Cajamarca and Chachapoyas is nothing if not admirable. The road is gashed across the mountainside, a single lane of hairpin curves that winds through an amazing cross section of Peruvian microclimates, from terraced farmland to arid desert, from semi-tropical fruit groves to fog-shrouded cloud forests. Our 2007 guidebook still says that the road is in poor condition and buses are infrequent, but within the past few years the road has been reworked to make it safer, and transportation options have improved.

Huanchaco’s proximity to Peru’s third largest city, Trujillo, makes it a good base if you’re looking to spend a few months (or even just a few weeks) making a difference in someone’s life. Trujillo has seen its population grow rapidly in the last few decades as impoverished rural farmers moved there looking for work, and the pueblos jovenes (young towns) that they built on the city’s edge often still lack basic infrastructure. Enter Trujillo’s many NGOs, and the volunteers that keep them running. In this article, I’ve only included NGOs that we’ve had personal contact with, or which have been referred to us.

While based in the surfing village of Huanchaco for six weeks, we volunteered in Trujillo for a organization called Fairmail. Fairmail produces postcards and the kids produce the pictures for them. Each person in the program gets a cut of the postcards sold with their photo on them. Fairmail puts the money in a special account for each kid and dispenses it properly. Some kids help out their families and others buy surf boards. They are learning how to survive in a vicious world.
The job requirements were to be …