Unemployed & Unimpeded: October 2014

Peru is a massive country. About twice the size of Ecuador, it takes a 24 hour bus ride just to get halfway down. In an effort to split up the journey towards the Inca capital of Cusco, we found a few gems to stop at along the way. The first was the small town of Huacachina. The town used to be an escape for the Peruvian elite but has become a laid-back stopping point for travelers. It is bordered by a sea of sand that makes it look like a lost city in the Sahara. With a population of just over 100 people, it's no surprise that walking from one end of town to the other takes no more than 10 minutes. The town is dotted with a few restaurants, some bars, and a small lake in the center that is usually occupied by a handful of paddle boats. After two days of lounging by the hotel pool, we booked an evening dune-buggy ride across the mountains of sand and used wooden boards to carve our way back down. With a few relaxing days under our belt, it was time to continue south.

The majestic pool

Shanta in the center of town

Both of us miserably scaling the massive sand dune

The view was worth it

Blistering heat

The strong wind forced us to say goodbye to our hat from Colombia

Ready for the dunes

On our way

So...thirsty...

Queen of the sand

Our noble steed

The top of our sandboarding hill

Getting strapped in

Seconds before the plunge

Such grace

Facing hill two head-on

Success!

Back to Huacachina

Que bonito

The last of Huacachina

We started with a night bus from Cuenca, Ecuador to Chiclayo, Peru. The bus played their usual 1-star Hollywood movie with air conditioning and sound set to full blast. After a quick 2am border crossing, we continued traveling through the night and arrived in Chiclayo in the early morning. We spent the day walking around their famous witch-market and trying the national drink, pisco sour. Six piscos later, we boarded the second bus from Chiclayo to Lima and it was absolute luxury. First-class leather seats, a full meal, and personal TVs made the night bus the easiest journey we've had so far. In total, 650 miles of high-altitude Andes zig-zagging and unending desert roads finally gave way to Lima. Draped in fog almost the entire year and inhabited by nearly 8.5 million residents, the city has a deservedly cramped and slightly dark look to it. The people, traffic, and commotion engulfs the city. However, if you can peel away this layer, you will quickly find why Lima is known as the gastronomic capital of South America. For five days, we took our appetites across the city and ate ceviches, lomo saltados, churros, chifas, and countless other dishes while washing them down with piscos. During our stay, we were lucky enough to be guided by our local friend, Jhony, who knew all the best spots in town. In between our food comas, we still managed to do a little sightseeing around the city.