Huancabamba, Peru - Polarsteps

Canchaque was a mistake. I used Google Maps to plan my route and it appears that there is a highway across the mountains going through Canchaque. So, I figured, I assumed, that the bus route would take that route because it was the shortest way across the mountains. Well, I took a collective. A collective is a car (or sometimes a van) used as a taxi to get between towns, when it has a full load of riders the driver leaves, sometimes you wait a few minutes, sometimes an hour or more. When I arrived in Canchaque I asked some people about the bus to Moyobamba and they told me no buses pass through Canchaque! I had to take another collective back to Piura and find a bus to Moyobamba. As it turns out, the bus route is much longer - in fact it was something like 12 hours! At that point, not being in a good mood, I forgot all about taking a few photos, not that this village has much to take photos of. Beware, fellow travelers, just because it appears to be a highway in Google Maps, doesn't mean any buses run on it. I learned my lesson - always ask about bus service to the next town before leaving a town.