From Nazca, we headed towards the coast. On the way, we visited Ica and its splendid museum, where we saw real mummies recovered from the nearby archaeological sites and examples of elongated heads. This cranial deformation took place when the person was an infant by applying tight cloth bandages and was an indication of high status. We met up with […]
We travelled north along Peru’s coastline from Lima, with a short deviation into the mountains, before cutting inland to our preferred Ecuadorian border crossing. I have to say Northern Peru does not have so much going for it as the south does. The main feature of driving north of Lima is the incessant rubbish that lines the edge of the […]
Leaving Lima, we wandered up the coast to Paramonga and, against Francine’s better judgement, turned inland to explore the Peruvian mountains. We climbed 2,500m, with the weather deteriorating the further inland we went and camped half way up before reaching the plateau at 4000m plus. It was very spartan countryside before slowly getting more populated as we followed the Rio […]
Just outside the town of Nazca in southern Peru is a flat desert plain on which ancient peoples (500BC – 500AD) etched hundreds of large images (geoglyphs), sometimes over 300m in length, that only really become apparent when viewed from above – the Nazca Lines. Our merry band of overlanders, David and Francine, Ivan, Heather and Jon, and Gerhard and […]
We left the Bolivian holiday town of Copacabana and crossed into Peru at the Kasani border crossing. The border personal were serious, but very polite. A promising start. Having had our passports stamped and collected Big Bertha’s temporary import permit (TIP) we entered Peru and were immediately greeted by numerous and quiet fuel stations – what a change from Bolivia! […]
We spent just over a month in Bolivia. Not our longest visit by a far cry, but given the fuel shortages and regular road blockades (government protests), we decided to not press our luck. We entered Bolivia from Chile in the south on the Laguna Route and drove to Uyuni to visit the Salt Flats which we explored for several […]
Exploring Copacabana in Bolivia, we saw a lot of decorated cars around the town. Further investigation revealed they had been adorned with trimmings in preparation for their blessing by the pastor at the town’s church. Turns out this is quite a thing. Each day at 10am and 2:30pm, and especially at weekends, vehicles assemble outside the church ready for their […]
For many years this road was the only way into La Paz, Bolivia’s capital, from the north. It is a treacherously steep and very narrow unsealed road, with few passing places, cut into the side of a cliff. The drop offs are up to 600m – no room for mistakes. But plenty have made a mistake and paid for it. […]
Francine told me she wanted to see the Fighting Cholitas – a group of female wrestlers that perform in El Alto (just above La Paz). Unfortunately, Francine caught a bug and did not feel like going. Given they only perform twice a week, Dave decided to go and report back. What a laugh! You either love or hate wrestling. It […]
Bolivia is a poor country. But La Paz’s public transport system is very modern and it would be at home in any major city. La Paz is built in a bowl with steep sides, with maybe two flat streets, and so a rail system would never cut it. Instead, La Paz has ten interconnected cable car lines. And it is […]