Days on the Coast

We have been in Peru for four days now. We enjoyed an amazing variety of landscapes on our way last Friday. First, Alpines sceneries, then rocky desert, rain forest, banana plantations, paddy fields and sandy desert, all this in eight hours drive, including two hours dedicated to our favorite activity during this journey: border crossing!

But since then, it is always the same… sandy desert. The northern part of Peru is a desert area, a bit similar to south of Tunisia; there are some sand dunes and few bushes here and then, rocky hills on the horizon, rocks and… sand and dust. Unfortunately, there are also heaps of waste scattered all over: plastic bags, trash, dead dogs. Horrendous. The desert has been turned into a giant dumping place. The few towns encountered are very poor. Some areas are irrigated, so there are a few fields, but this is definitely not a prosperous area. 

Fortunately for us, we do not have to camp among trash, we have always until now managed to find nice campsites, where we usually find people who are travelling across South America. It is always nice to have a chat and exchange tips and information. There are actually many such people on the road… more than we would think, we are not that unique after all! Since Colombia, we have regularly met Sabrina and Markus, from Germany, travelling with their two-year old son Jasper on a blue Mercedes camper.

There are a few beautiful archeological sites, made of adobe, dating back from the Chimu Empire around 1100 AD. The Chimus were later defeated by the Incas, who themselves were defeated by the Spanish. And life goes on…

It is the beginning of spring in Peru now, so the weather is still cold, even in the desert. We still wear our ponchos and will for some time as we are going up in the mountains soon. We definitely need a change of scenery!!!