Peru
Posted by Karen on October 31st 2007
Written on the 2007 Alaska to Brazil expedition
So Far…
After leaving very green, clean and laid back Ecuador we enter Northern Peru, where the landscape has been barren desert and magnificent coastline.
Our first stop was the tiny beach hamlet of Punta Sol, where we had a couple of days to relax on the beach. While we were camping on the beach we were very lucky to see, by chance, some Humpback whales migrating south and they put on a spectacular show as they passed right by our campsite. Our Zodiac boat was set up and ready to go (for fishing of course) so some of us were very fortunate to race out and get a closer look. We turned off the engine and settled in to wait and watch for a glimpse when they breached RIGHT BESIDE US! Short of sitting on them we couldn’t have been any closer, so a rather unique experience was had (not to mention somewhat scary, it wasn’t the one at our fingertips we were worried about, it was the one UNDERNEATH the boat that caused the most excitement - no photos though, Hills camera didn’t survive through the surf)!
After enjoying a pig on the spit on the beach and a couple of days of sunshine, swimming and sunbathing, it was off again to the beachside town of Huanchaco to visit Chan Chan Ruins – a mud brick city which claims to be the biggest in the world.
We then spent a couple of days in Peru’s capital city Lima where the World Cup Rugby final proved to be the most important thing on the agenda. Much to our Brits dismay, it was great to see the Springboks win yet again!
The enigmatic ‘Nazca Lines’ was next on our agenda where many took a flight to see these mysterious shapes laid out on the stony desert floor. It was then onto the very pretty town of Arequipa, where we spent a couple of days wandering about taking photos of the impressive architecture and indulging in some very fine dining and our first taste of Alpaca.
Next stop is Colca Canyon where (hopefully) giant Condors await!
Until next time…
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