Southbound through Peru

---

Next stop Puru. Crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru was an interesting experience, battling our way on foot over the bridge which marks the border at Huaquillas, through hoardes of people trying very hard to get us to change money or buy parrots!

Once safely at the police station on the Peruvain side we were met by our guide to start our journey south through the Peruvian desert located between the Pacific Oceon and the Andes. The rain seldom falls here and we travelled for hours without seeing any signs of life, just occasional images marked in rock on the hillsides and sometimes graves by the side of the road, presumably to mark the spot where the desert had got the better of someone.

We spent a fantastic few days relaxing in the beach resort of Mancora, a slightly ramshakle town strung along a dusty stretch of the Pan American Highway beside the Pacific. Our accommodation was great and even had a swimming pool - a major luxury. Apart from just chilling out by the pool and on the beach we had a go at surfing and had salsa dancing lessons - we won´t be champions at either!

Further down the coast we stayed at Huanchaco, famous for it´s surfing fishermen. Here we visited the pre-Inca archaeology sites of Chan Chan, a huge complex of a ruined adobe mud brick city and the Huaca de la Luma (Temple of the Moon), a huge pyramid with amazing wall paintings.

After a couple of days in the huge bustling capital city of Lima, we contined south past the town of Pisco, much of which was destroyed by the recent earthquake. We only saw the edges of the town but almost every house had been badly damaged and we saw many people still living in UN tents.

Our next destination was Nasca to see the famous Nazca lines, but on the way there we took a boat to the Ballestas Islands where we saw dolphins, sea lions and other sea life at close quarters and then onto the Huacachina Oasis in the middle of the desert for an adrelanin rush dune buggying and sand boarding. The Nazca lines were amazing, a vast sequence of lines, pictures and patterns carved into the desert floor by a pre-inca culture. A light aircraft over the lines is the only way to see them so this has given rise to all sorts of ET theories as to how and why the lines were made although it did result in a stomache churning experience.

After Nazca we started to move inland, ascending back towards the Andes. Arequipa is Puru´s second city and has a beautiful old city centre, the highlight of which was the Santa Catalina convent. The convent was built for nuns from the upper classes and their servants. It was like a city within a city with houses and streets which look very spanish.

---

Photos

Living it up in Mancora
California Dreaming

Trujillo
The mud city of Chan Chan

Huanchaco
Reed surf boards used by the local fishermen

Ballestas Islands
Chilling in the sun

Huacachina Oasis
A real Mad Max adventure

Nazca Lines
Can you see what it is yet?

Nazca streetlife
A unique business enterprise

Chauchilla Cemetery
Mummies in the desert

Santa Catalina Nunnery
A view from the rooftop

Comments

[David]

Do all the nuns wear Lifesaver T-shirts?

[Gary]

Nazca Lines!
I'm so jealous you saw those! I remember well the whole Chariots of the Gods thing from the 70's - read the book and watched the various documentaries. Great photo!