Our Visit To The Floating Islands On Lake Titicaca

photograph of a Uros men building a new reed boat on a Uros floating island on Lake Titicaca in Peru, South America.

Uros village on a totora reed floating island on Lake Titicaca in Peru, South America

On our first morning in Puno, we found that the clouds were hanging low and grey; it was a cold world.  We had come prepared for this sort of weather, so our spirits were high as we walked towards Puno’s harbour on Lake Titicaca.   Cold weather is quite the norm in the Lake Titicaca area because  the cold winds that blow over the lake result in an average temperature, in the warm months of the year, of 10-14C, (50-57F).   Having warm clothing is a must. Read more

Arequipa, the White Stone City

Catedral de la ciudad de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru

Cathedral, Plaza de Armas, Arequipa, Peru

Bright sunshine greeted us when Bob and I awoke in Arequipa, Peru at 6:30 a.m.  It is amazing how a little sunlight can change the face of a place.  When we emerged from our hotel with a city map in hand, the cobbled streets and high walls seemed less daunting than when we arrived in the dark the night before. Read more

Our Drive On The Pan American Highway to Arequipa

desert alongside the pan american highway - peru

desert along pan american highway near nazca peru - frame to frame

Our destination heading south from Nazca on the Pan American Highway in Peru was the city of Arequipa.  At 556 kilometers from Nazca, we figured the drive should take us about 6 hours and put us in Arequipa well before dark.  The day’s drive, however, sure proved that calculation to be wrong.

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Our Drive To Paracas On The Pan American Highway

desert alongside the pan american highway - peru

Pan American Highway south of Lima, Peru

With our rental car topped up with gas, Bob and I headed south from Lima into the desert along the Pan American Highway towards our next stop at the village of Paracas located 15 kilometres south of the town of Pisco, in Peru.  The Pan American Highway runs along the Pacific Ocean coastline and is bordered on the left by sweeping desert landscape.   Huge hills, dare I say mountains, of sand, bisected by valleys and gullies, dominate the countryside. Read more

Our Tour Of The Ruins of Pachacamac

Walkway alongside the Temple of Pachacamac ruins south of Lima in Peru, South America

Temple of Pachacamac ruins south of Lima in Peru, South America

Early on our second morning in Lima, Bob and I hired a driver to take us southeast of Lima to the Ruins of Pachacamac.  These ruins are some of the oldest pyramids uncovered from beneath the desert hills and dunes of Peru. To the casual eye, the 500 acres of this national museum and archaeological site just appear as a monotone conglomeration of crumbling adobe bricks.  Read more

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