One More Continent, One More Country, Lima, Peru May 29,30 2012
I'm not sure when I finally decided that Peru is going to be the last country on my adventure. I certainly want to visit other places in South America, but this time I go with my gut and decide to stay in Peru, and only Peru, for the rest of my time out here. After traveling for months and months on end you begin to realize that exploring one country in depth is better than racing through ten. I also know that the rest of South America will be there for my next trip. Bienvenidos a Peru.
When my plane touches the ground in Lima, I realize that I've officially made it all the way around planet earth. In case you are wondering how far that is, it´s over 25,000 miles. I walk out of the airport with a new found excitement which happens with every new continent I land on. Europe was easy, a vacation if you will. Now I´m back to the craziness once again in Lima. A grey sky and a barrage of taxi drivers greet me as I walk out the door. The familiar game of bargaining for decent price commences. I pay 15 US dollars to get across the city to my hostel. I know it's too high but I'm not sure how to find the local taxis or buses. I'm not sure how safe the city it yet. But mostly I'm not sure how much it SHOULD cost. Oh to be sure of something again, I miss that feeling sometimes.
---30
Today is action packed. I need to see all the good places in Lima in a day and head south.
earthquake drill
eat with guy and girl
talk about collectivos
no one speaks English...at all
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| Central Square |
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| Old Spanish Cathedral
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| Old Spanish Cathedral |
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| Earthquake drill! |
Where the Driest Desert on Earth Meets the Pacific Ocean, Paracas, Peru May 31, June 1 2012
31---
After a comfortable bus trip south down the coast, I arrive in Paracas at night. It's the nicest bus I've been on in the past 8 months. There are comfortable seats, blankets, pillows, a bathroom, and a nice bus attendant who brings you drinks and a meal. It's definitely a tourist bus. I won't take it ever again in Peru, but it's damn nice nonetheless.
While walking down the dark street to find a place to sleep for the night, I meet a guy who asks me if I need any help. The conversation goes something like this:
Guy: "Where are you staying tonight?"
Me: "Paracas Backpacker"
Guy: "Do you have a reservation?"
Me: "My friend recommended it."
Guy: "So you have a recommendation or a reservation?"
Me: "What's your name anyway?"
...
I know he is trying to take me there in hopes of getting a commission from the hostel owner. He doesn't win that game but I do talk to him about a trip to the famous Ballestas Islands and a tour of the surrounding desert. I act like I'm not aware of any of these attractions, but of course, this is why I came here in the first place. He doesn't know this, and he also doesn't know that I know how much it's supposed to cost. After talking with him for awhile he quotes me a price, I tell him my friend did it for xxx, he looks around to make sure no one else is in hearing range, and says "Alright, just for you." So tomorrow I'm going out in the ocean in the morning and the desert in the afternoon. Feels good to win.
The only other order of business for the day is getting something to eat. Almost everything is closed at this hour, but I do find one place that is still open. The small restaurant houses a handful of locals who are watching some Peruvian game-show on a small t.v.. I order something, grab a beer, and proceed to figure out what is happening on the t.v. After a couple minutes a guy walks in the door and sits down next to me. My initial reaction is 'I hope he speaks English', then I settle into a 'I need to practice my Spanish, hopefully he doesn't speak English' mindset. It's one of those decisions that we make everyday; Should I relax, watch t.v, browse the internet (speak English) or actually get something useful done (practice Spanish). He doesn't speak a word of English.
To my ultimate surprise we carry on a pretty good conversation. I'm positive that the words coming out of my mouth are the most inarticulate, mess of Spanish that ever existed, but he seems to understand. I understand about 50% of what he is saying. There are even moments when we find something common to joke about. We connect on some level and I begin to think, as he walks out the door, that the actual words are not as important to having good conversation as you would think. I also realize that the best way to learn a language is to throw yourself in the deep end of the pool because when you have to swim, you will.
Walking back to the hostel, a car stops by the side of the road next to me, I look inside and find the guy I met at the restaurant. He says something, but I have no idea what it is, 0%. I kind of laugh and wave. He does the same and drives off.
1---
I wake up early and go to the harbor to catch the first boat out to the Ballestas islands. In the daylight I can finally see the surroundings of the place. It's desert and ocean, that's it. It's an odd contrast. The only plants in the town and surrounding area are planted by the people that live there. The water is calm and there's not a cloud in the sky as we ride the boat out into the ocean. The islands slowly begin to come into focus after about twenty minutes. As we get closer and closer, I begin to notice that the islands are white, not the same color as the rest of the rock and sand on shore. The guide tells us that the islands are white form all of the bird guano. Thousands and thousands of birds migrate to these islands each year. The constant sunshine beating down on the water creates an ecosystem rich with algae, and thus fish which the birds eat. In fact there is so much guano that it can be collected every 5 years or so and sold for millions of dollars. We see seals, penguins, flamingos among a myriad of other birds as we ride around the island.
At some point before the sun gets too strong, we head back to the harbor. On the way in, we see hundreds of birds dive bombing the water. I would love to go fishing here, but it is a nature reserve. I suppose fishing here is only for the birds.
After lunch, I head out to find my ride into the desert. I hop on a minibus with about 12 others and head out into the dry abyss. We make one stop at a little museum to learn about the area and the nature reserve. I learn that the Humboldt current creates the most abundant marine ecosystem in the world in this area. It's an odd contrast; the land is dry and dead yet the ocean next to it is full of life. We drive out deeper into the desert the roads disappear and the bus just follows the tracks of other cars. We stop at one point and get out at a point where the desert cliffs meet the ocean. It's quite a sight.
It is a good day of nature exploration.
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| desert meets ocean |
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| seals! |
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| A harbor |
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| Sunset on the beach |
Dune Buggies and Sand-boarding, Huacachina June
2,3 2012
Huacachina is quite literally an oasis in the desert. A small green freshwater lagoon fed from an underground aquifer appears out of nowhere in an ocean of huge sand dunes. I stay at a hostel with a pool just next to the oasis. Looking up from the pool the dunes ascend overhead like a huge fortress wall. Crazy place! The main activities here are dune buggy riding, sand boarding (like snowboarding but on sand), climbing the dunes on foot, and relaxing.
Not long after I arrive do I join a group and head out to the dunes for some buggy riding and sand-boarding. The buggy is a fairly simple machine with a cage and big wheelsWe all strap in and head out to the dunes in our bugy. It counds like a formula 1 racecar. The ride starts out fairly tame. We ride around for awhile and stop to walk around in the massive desert and take pictures in the middle of nowhere. We then jump back to find some good dunes for sandboarding. The boards they give us are crap so it's actually more fun to lay down on the board and go down head first. It's more ike sand sledding really. It's just as fun watching others fall and tumble down the dunes as it is to sled down yourself. After an hour of sledding down successively larger dunes we hop back in the buggy for the finale. he driver races up and down the dunes and it feels like a roller coaster ride.
The sun sets in the distance and it feels like we're on a roller coaster on the moon. It's wild! It's one of those thigns where its impossible not to smilewhile your doing it. It's pure fun. After teh rollercoasterride we stop and watch the orange firey ball set over the dunes and then ride back to town. Yes, there is sand in everything.
Back at the hostel and after a much needed shower, we have a barbecue by the pool. Chicken, steak, pasta, rice, salad, all you can drink Pisco sours and Cuba libres. I meet a swedish and an american biologist, a belgian technician, a French musician, a French psychology student, and a couple Canadians who might or might not do something. After the barbeque we decend on one of the ony bars in town. We carry on, play jenga with shotglasses and wooden pieces, drink a flaming shot and then head to a Peruvian nightclub. I end up talking to some cool people from France until about 4am. I'm sure it is interesting but I can't remember what we talked about for the life of me.
The next day we wake up with a coffee, a hue water, and a walk around the oasis. I'm not sure we're all back to normal until the evening when we decide to hike up the highest dune and watch the sunset. For every step up, you slide a half step back down. At the top we stare out into the distance; miles of sand dunes in one direction, miles of Andes mountains in the other, and towns below. As he sun sets, the full moon rises and everyone beings to have a look of wonder, excitement, and happiness like a kid in a candy shop. There's no other place we'd rather be and nothing else we'd rather be doing. Perhaps a rarity in the real world.
After the sun sets we all line up like a track an field race on the edge of the dunes. Taking a couple steps back we run and jump off the edge and race down the dune as fast as our legs will take us. The sand is so soft it feels like we are running on clouds. My legs however don't go fast enough, and I take a tumble, and get back up to race the rest of the way down. Good times.
In order to reach this oasis, I take a collectivo (shared tax) to a nearby city, a taxi to the bus stop on the side of a major road, a bus, then another taxi to Huacachina.
dune bugy and sand boarding on the dunes around the freshwater pond.
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| The oasis in the desert |
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| My hostel |
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| Out on the dunes...sand as far as the eye can see |
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| Our dune-buggy |
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| Sandboarding |
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| Climbing the Dunes |
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| watching the sunset with friends |
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| Moon rise |
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| sunset |
Unexplained Lines, Nazca June
4 2012
I make stop on my way south in a city calld Nazca. The fasinating thing about this palce isn't the city but the series of massive hyroglyphs in the desert surrounding the city.
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| lets fly! |
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| "all clear tower, permission to fly" |
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| view from plane |
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| Nazca main square |
The Deepest Canyon on Planet Earth, Arequipa and the Colca Canyon June
5, 6, 7, 8, 9 2012
