*note: Although our Peru adventure came to a close in late December, here I am making the final blog posting of photos...
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| Laguna Lagunillas, along the bus route from Puno to Arequipa. In this area, one can easily see wildlife such as flamingos and vicuñas (wild alpacas). |
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| The Andes Mountains between Lake Titicaca and Arequipa |
Arequipa
After enjoying a brief but AMAZING visit to Lake Titicaca, we accepted the fact that our trip now was coming quickly to an end. From Puno, on the shores of the big lake, we took a 6-hour bus ride westward through the Andes mountains. We arrived in the heat of a lowland afternoon at Arequipa, Peru's second largest city. The kids did not care about continuing on to Ica (12 hours more by bus!), they were ready to be off the bus. I pulled out the South American Handbook, my trusted friend in such moments, and found what would be the most comfortable hotel of our whole trip, la Casa de la Abuela (Grandma's House). Abuela's offers homey, clean rooms with bathroom, HOT water, a very large backyard with many ways to relax--hammocks, shade trees, and even a small swimming pool. Across the street, a pizza place provided dinner...and we enjoyed a movie in our room!
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| Cooling off at Casa de la Abuela, Arequipa |
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| Eduardo relaxing in the backyard at Abuela's, Arequipa |
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| Backyard hammock at Abuela's |
These big earthenware vessels may have been used as cisterns (water storage) in a previous era.
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Serena swinging Will in the backyard hammock of Abuela's
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| Beautiful flowers at Casa de la Abuela |
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| Will trying a local ice cream as we wait for our van to depart for the coast |
It was a 2 hour ride to the coast on a paved highway to the quiet beach resort of Mejía. The Peruvian coast is desert, barren but no super hot. Still, we were relieved to get to the ocean to cool off. At the hostel, we made friends with a nice family from Arequipa, a mom and her two young girls. We spent a pleasant day at the beach.
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| Serena joins the girls for some cooling off in the surf |
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| Serena made friends with the girls, who had a little electronic game on their phone |
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The Empanada Lady at Mejia beach kept us happy with her delicious
empanadas de queso (cheese fritters) dusted with powdered sugar |
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| Pelicans gliding above the surf were a common sight at Mejía, on the southern coast of Peru |
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| Serena tries out the guitar one evening at our hostel |
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| Early morning tea ritual, Abuela's |
A little beach play
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The small, very laid-back resort town of Mejía, in Arequipa Dept.
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Full Circle: return to Lima
After three months in Peru, we finally circled back to the capital, where we had first arrived in Peru.
The flight from Arequipa to Lima was about 1.5 hours, and offered amazing views of the coastal desert.
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| Settlement is possible in the Peruvian desert because the Andean rivers carry water down to the coast. |
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| Amazing views of green river valleys coursing through the desert |
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| Atacama Desert, the world's driest |
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| Our first view of Callao, Lima's port city and location of the airport |
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| Collecting our baggage at the Lima Airport |
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| Will likes to be comfortable, wearing his pajamas while traveling |
