Hola:

We arrived in Lima yesterday from the small town of Pisco but first a few news on our adventures prior to that. To leave Arequipa we boarded another semi-shitty bus to go to the town of Camana a supposed beach resort but nothing to write home about. We only stayed one night.

The interesting part is the bus. To get on it we had to be photographed and fingerprinted.

That's right, our little index fingerprints are now floating around in the bowels of some Peruvian

bus company. That was the weirdest thing. It's all in the name of security, they appear obsess

with it. Your ticket could be checked 3 times by 3 different people. Your name and passport number is also recorded diligently. I believe it's just another make work scheme because I really don't see how any of this really enhances security. I have no idea where all this information so arduously collected, goes. On another matter, after leaving Camana we went to the beautiful oasis of Laguna Huacachina. The whole coast of Peru, both south and north is one vast desert area, bigger than the Atacama. Once again it's a mostly arid, brown coastline, devoid of much vegetation although there are oasis in some of the lower areas and surprisingly a lot of food is grown here, including grapes. They have huge vineyards. This is the prime grape growing area of Peru. In Huacachina there are huge and I mean huge sand dunes. It feels just like the Sahara. We went on a wild dune buggy ride and even went sand boarding. I never thought I would do that but I did 3 sand dunes. Stan did nine. The hills were quite steep. Our hotel was a refuge for a lot of young backpackers, it had a pool and a bar, deadly combinations. They were mostly up till 3 in the morning so we didn't get much sleep. We left for Pisco, the capital of the national drink Pisco Sour. Found a cheap hotel with a pool and cable for 15.00 dollars a night.

Pisco not much of a town, most buildings are half completed as is the general rule in the parts of Peru we have visited except for downtown Cuzco and Arequipa.

We took a tour to the beautiful Ballasta Islands and saw at least a million birds nesting there, including rare ones of which I don't remember the name. There were also penguings, the small kind, seals, thousands of them and on the way back some frolicking dolphins right by our boat.

These islands are very old, shaped into arches and caves by wind, sea and weather. We also visited the Paracas Natural Reserve which is mostly desert with its spectacular setting by the sea.

Yesterday we left for Lima and arrived In Miraflores which is where the rich have migrated. It's nothing like the Peru we know. It's high buildings, all completed, huge boulevards, parks, all the american franchises are here. In fact it's like another country. It's hard to reconcile this image with the other Peru. We are leaving this hotel and area for another one in the center. We are paying way too much for this one. We will soon be heading for the Cordillera Blanca of the Andes. We are taking a little detour through the interior to escape the unrelenting monotony of the coast. Our next destination is Huaraz. Lots of Love to all.

Josiane

---

One Care: free Trial Version Today!