Piura
From Cuenca, I wanted to head directly to Cusco. Buuuut, the flight prices were outrageous, so I opted to take a night bus to Peru, and then fly domestically to Cusco from there. While I saved several hundred dollars doing this, I paid the price in the form of a hellish night. The bus left around 10pm, taking 4 hours to reach the border with Peru. At the border, you have to pass through immigration so that you can receive your entry stamp to Peru. I was told this would be a very quick process, especially at night. While processing any given individual is quick, there were about five busloads ahead of ours, forcing us to wait in line from about 2 am to 5 am. We all eventually got our stamps and got back on the road, where I got something more akin to a succession of catnaps than true sleep for the next four hours. Thankfully I had planned a day of rest in Piura, a hot and small city in northern Peru near the coast, rather than chugging right along onward to Cusco.
Like any self respecting city in South America, you've gotta have your central Plaza de Armas.
La Basilica Catedral de Piura was built in 1588.
These motorbikes are the local taxis.
Outside of the small center, Piura isn't the prettiest place.
That's better.
