75 Crickets

So we said good bye to Zorritos and to all our new friends and pets.

As we headed down south to Piura and Catacaos

we all agreed on something. We are going to have Zorritos withdrawal symptoms.

It all started on a hot evening when the roof began to make popping noises.

At first i though some one was throwing rocks at us so i went out to have a look

around the house and all i found was hundreds of crickets coming down

from the sky. It felt like one of those Bible prophesies.

We were taking turns at killing them, our last count that night was 75 crickets. 

Getting ready for a mud bath in Zorritos

They reckon the mud has some healing properties .
They are warm as you can see the bubbles at the back of the picture.

"Who is going to do the laundry"

These mud baths had been used for hundreds of years.
I wonder who was the crazy bastard that got in first.

Another yummy breakfast with the best view.

Cesar and Fiorela cooking dinner for us.

Tony on one of his daily visits.
This dog has the best life a dog can get.
Wonders around town all day, has a couple of girlfriend, gets more than one feed a day
visits his neighbours, we even found him at the markets which is a couple of km away.
Madeline reckons she can write a book about how good his life is. 

The green house was home for 4 weeks.
One of our best times in Peru no doubt .

Not only did they cook for us......

They also brought the fish.
And what a quality fish that was.  Mero is kind of the equivalent to Red Emperor in Australia.

There is always a sunset .

At Catacaos the food has a reputation.

And also their clay water containers, some of them were as big as Madeline. All made by hand.

The quality of their ceramics is second to none

They are particularly  famous for their graphic designs made with the application
of mango-leaf smoke to get that distinctive black, brown and white colours.
No paint use here. So the design will never fade. It is an ancient Inca technique recently rediscovered.

Chulucanas, right at the feet of the Andes, from here east is all up hill.
We came here to visit the artisan's workshops of the above ceramics.

Some of the people in the surrounding towns haven't got running water they use
a donkey drawn water cart. The water is from underground and the authorities turn on the pump only during certain times and there was a line up.

What do you reckon is gonna happen now. Keep in mind it was at least 36 degrees that day and we had been travelling on this dirt road for nearly an hour.

yesssss

OOOOHHHHH  MUMMMM

The most relaxing place in the world

Driving my mate s green machine. She is full of character with 101 defects and counting.
I dont think there be enough room in a police ticket to write  them all.
Lights, speedo, stearing, tyres, cracked windscreen, no door handles, no petrol cap, no back seats,
broken drivers backrest, no blinkers, no hand break, no seat belts, two 13 inches and two 14 inches wheels
and half a tank of smuggled fuel from across the border.

ready for a fight

These roosters are not afraid of anyone.
they are so fast that I could not catch a better picture.

Madeline and her beach mate Tony.
He came for a visit everyday

Madelines best taken sunset, so far.

Our mate Chicho with the green machine.

On our way to the tubes.

The tubes hotsprings in Zorritos.

See the waterspout at the back?
This is the legacy from a oil exploration from about 80 years ago.
They only found hot water with high mineral contents.
Good for the bones they reckon.

Crashed bodies

Dining out with Cesar and fam.
I met Cesar at the mercado (markets) he sold me the best fruit and vegs in town.

These are the remains of an old wharf, now days the locals use it as a fishing platform  but there is a trick to it.

As you can see the fisherman access the platform at sunset by floating on tyre's tubes, they take their gear and clothes  on a seal
buckets, spend all night fishing and come to shore in the morning with their catch.
Sorry guys i didn't dare.

Me and Mr 3 kg Jewie

Mother's day 

Making a raft so that Louise could go back to Oz and get her vegimite.
Unlucky it only lasted for 20 seconds in the water.
Lucky we still got our ticket back to Oz.

One of my mate's Cesar's rosters .
He breads, trains and fights them

The senoritas in their morning walk.

Fishing raft Zorrito's style.

During our time in Zorritos we saw several dead pelicans. The authorities said that it was due to lack of food
because of the warm sea current was too close to the shore and the anchovy had gone deep.
These two were doing ok, we think. 

Fishing at it's max

Heyyyyyyyyyy
This fish is a Robalo, kind of a whiting on steroids and apparently they go much bigger.
They are good fighters and top table quality.
Many thanks to my mate Cesar for taking me under his wing on those amaizing fishing
trips on the coast of Zorritos in the far north of Peru

Shut up Asha !!!

Here we introduce you to our current pets; On the left is Asha the roster, also known as  "I'm sexy and i know it"
and on the right  Toilet Brush, also known as "nappy bum", she has given us a few eggs and we have given her a feed.
By the way her real owners don't know that she has been feeding us.
We are not very impress with Asha's early morning singing, so far Louise has hit him in the head with a plastic bottle
and I got him twice with my sling shot, i'm sure you'll do the same at 5 am.

Unloading the fish in the mornings in Zorritos.

On our way to Puerto Pizarro for a day trip we encounter a road block by some protesters, things were a
little heated but we got through ok.

Puerto Pizarro. Very near the border with Ecuador.

Fishing, in Puerto Pizarro, is the main industry.

No fishing day for this bloke.

Having a meal before the tour

A male frigate bird.
Apparently when the males are in heat  the inflate their chests to show the females that they are ready to mate.
A male has up to 7 females, one for each day of the week.

Deflated ha ha ha ha !

There are many bird species in this sanctuary and apparently there aren't any fights .

It was like being inside a documentary.

Amazing

The American Crocodile from the north of Peru .
This croc and many more are bred and keep in captivity for later release into the wild. This is done because the
crocodiles in the area were almost on the brink of extinction from the locals.

Gringas amongst the Mangroves

Fishing boats.

No boot space, and even if there was any boot space they put another kid in it.

My dog tired baby

Planning our next move.

The local boys manage to get some leather jackets on the barbie

And we were more than glad to eat it.  Thanks boys