Islas Ballestas is a small outcrop of rocks off the coast near Pisco, a small town decimated by an 8.0 Richter scale earthquake back in 2007 that hasn’t really recovered since. Nearby Paracas is faring a bit better in terms of rebuilding and has fish processing and tourism to boost…
ye olde worlde
chocolate, Chan Chan and Moche
/ 28/05/2013Huanchaco is a twenty minute ride out of Trujillo. It’s drab and grey this time of year, the grey waves barely distinguishable from the dull sky that appears to either be heavy fog or pollution, either way it doesn’t sport a wrinkle, a streak, even a blip of blue sky.…
it’s Lima because the Spanish couldn’t pronounce Rima.
/ 28/05/2013Lima and her 10+ million inhabitants showed us how to fit way too many children into a church and catacomb tour and yet supply the worst pillows in the known world in a fairly decent hostel. Our walking tour took in the volunteer bombero brigade with museum worthy pieces to…
quieter times in Cuenca
/ 25/05/2013Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador for population after Guayaquil and Quito. Surrounded by beautiful mountains and crossed by four rivers it was an important site for the Incas and of course later for the Spanish. The majority of roofs are tiled in shades of light to dark…
oh, high Otavalo
/ 17/05/2013Otavalo is the largest of the Andean markets, taking up the Plaza de Los Ponchos and several more blocks on a Saturday. Even though we weren’t there on Saturday, the plaza still buzzed with markets and shopping was fruitful. I was surprised by a stall vendor who appeared from under…