After Colombia, we have traveled to Peru. We are exploring the country by way of bus. We have tickets through a company called “Peru Hop,” a travel company that offers a ticket that allows you to get off and on for up to a year across their different routes. This portion of our trip will be a much faster pace as we are only staying in each town for 1-3 nights. We are traveling through Lima, Paracas, Huachachina, Arequipa, Cusco (Machu Picchu), and Puno.
We are currently through Arequipa and Peru has been filled with surprises! First off, we had no idea that so much of Peru was desert. We started out in Paracas where the Ocean and Desert meet. You can look one direction and see nothing but ocean, then turn around and see nothing but desert! At Paracas, we also had a chance to visit Ballestas Island which is Peru’s version of the Galápagos Islands. Molly was really looking forward to this trip because you get to see Sea Lions, Penguins, and all types of birds. The boat tour did not disappoint. Not only did we get close up to all of the animals, but the history of the Ballestas Islands was fascinating! When Spain gave up control of the area and left Peru to gain their independence, the country was completely broke. The Spanish took all the silver and things of any value. What Peru found on Ballestas Island was tons and tons and tons of bird droppings that they were able to export to other countries as valuable fertilizer!! That poop was able to provide enough income for the country to rebuild and restart as a nation!!
After Paracas we went to the even smaller city of Huacachina, a small desert town around a tiny oasis. The entire town is less than 1 mile in circumference. It draws tourist who want to see the Nasca Lines (ancient markings in the desert made over 2,500 years ago that can still be seen clearly today: find more information HERE), and explore the desert on Dune Buggies! We were lucky to try both. First was the Dune Buggy rides! Picture Mad Max come to life!! We all got onto a 10 passenger Buggy that looked liked it was forged in someone’s crazy dream! Molly and I felt comfortable though because it was Green and Yellow (GO PACK GO!). The drivers are adrenalin maniacs who get a kick out of their screaming passengers as they plunge down steep sand dunes and drive across banks that feel like we could roll the buggy at any moment!! We also got to try Sand Sledding. It was like sledding down a huge snow hill laying down on a snowboard shaped sled. The best part was the driver drove down and picked us up at the bottom so we never had to climb the hill:). We finished the ride by watching the sunset at a lookout point. Standing on that desert dune with my family was a surreal moment that I will remember for my entire life! The girls loved taking photos of the sunset and landscape. This was Teagan’s favorite day of the trip so far!!
Our next stop required an overnight bus ride to reach Arequipa, the 2nd largest city in Peru (1.2 million people). Arequipa is one place we wish we could have spent a few more days. Not only is it a beautiful city that sits next to the Andes Mountains with lots to do, but we were also struggling to be active because we were exhausted and adjusting to the altitude (7,500 ft). Michelle and I took a 3 hour walking tour of the city that was fascinating and really enjoyable. Even though Arequipa is a large city, it feels small and welcoming. We would definitely recommend 4 days minimum to enjoy everything it has to offer….Oh…Almost forgot to mention we got to go to Kafi Wasi, a coffee shop that is rated 2nd best in all of South America and 16th best in the world!! Check out our Instagram post for more details! It was amazing:)
Next up….Machu Picchu!!
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