Day Five: Arequipa, Peru

El Misti Volcano

Hey Folks!

Taking a 12 hour bus, at night, through the winding roads of southern Peru isn't fun. Unless your high as a kite - Amber. Sadly I wasn't high as a kite. I didn't take 3 sleeping pills - Amber. I took one. One pill was just enough to make me feel uncomfortably "heavy" for the entire duration. Natural sleep is my friend, forced drowsiness isn't.

Arriving into Arequipa was fantastic. The city itself was pleasantly warm during the days and cool during the nights. Surrounded by ancient volcanoes there is LOTS to do. Everything from canoeing, horseback riding, para gliding, mountain biking, white water rafting, and a short 6 hour ride from the world's deepest canyon.

As you can imagine after a 12 hour bus ride Amber and I were in no mood to take another 6 hour ride during the night to see more canyons. Instead we opted to wander around the city then head out and do some white water rafting the following day.

Below you will find some photos of the city itself. Leaving our cameras behind for the rafting we have no more photos.

Enjoy!

Our first stop is the Monasterio de Santa Catalina. This convent is massive. The convent occupies and entire block right down in the oldest parts of Arequipa. The 20,000 square foot complex is basically a citadel within the city, complete with its own fortress walls!

We wandered around the place with no real guide. We let our imagination fill in the gaps of what this place used to be like.

El Misti, the local volcano!

The local Cathedral

\

Top of the Cathedral

Views from the top of the Cathedral

Day Four: Ica

Hey Folks,

After our day in the desert Amber and I had a morning to spare before heading on a bus to Arequipa.

Just outside Huacachina is a town called Ica. Ica is famous in Peru for producing Pisco, the local grape Brandy. Signing up for two wine tours we headed out of Huacachina towards the outskirts of Ica where we would find all the vineyards.

Enjoy the shots!

Dan.

Day Three: Huacachina

Hey Folks!

Nestled 5 kms away from Ica, is the sand dune surrounded Huacachina. Arriving by a 4.5 hour bus from Lima, Amber and I were excited to catch some clean air and sunshine.

Let me just say that this desert oasis is incredible!

Our hotel was epic! Fantastic rooms, outdoor pool and 40 feet from the Oasis waters.

We arrived into Huacachina at noon and immediately booked a safari out into the desert.

Our safari took us in these buggy's for a two hour trip around the dunes.

We started off sand boarding down smaller dunes until the end of the night where we got ridiculously high.

Here are some shots of the Oasis itself. So awesome!

Peru: Lima Day Two

Hey Folks,

After a long sleep at our hotel Amber and were ready to take on Lima.

On the surface Lima is tired. The buildings are dusty, the air polluted, and the noise is chaotic. The roads are packed with taxis that honk there horns every moment. (For what seems like no real reason)

In Lima the fog is oppressive. Day after day from April to October the city is covered in what seems like a forest fire air. Adding this air to the rest of the city conditions, we are wondering why even come to this big capital city?

The answer lies in our first good walk around the city. What we find in Lima is a fantastically messy mixture of sights. Behind corners you will find colonial mansions, pre-Colombian citadels, modern shopping malls, delicious Peruvian dishes, and colorful markets.

As you can see the lighting is terrible with no visible sun through the grey haze. Our lungs burned the entire two days with the diesel blackening our nostrils.

This Church gave us some peaceful silence from the loud streets.

The Justice buildings.

Old Colonial mansions just off of Plaza de Armas.

I hope you enjoyed the first post. These posts take forever and thank you for your patience!

Next post soon!

Daniel.