The area south of Lima is quieter, with fewer people and vast stretches of barren, rocky landscape. Most overlanders leave the PanAmerican Highway, turning inland to Arequipa, Cusco, and the allure of Machu Picchu. Which are locations not to be missed! Back in 2012, we loved Arequipa: exploring the former nunnery, and venturing into Colca Canyon for sightings of condors and long soaks in hot springs. Cusco is wonderfully busy and dripping with Incan ruins and culture. Tourists in REI

After our adventures in the mountains, it was back to the coast for sand and cities. And we kinda fell in love with the trucks in Peru. I mean, how can you not smile at this wild mop top rolling down the street? This one has been dubbed the Jon Bon Jovi, circa 1985.  The David Lee Roth 1988.  We tucked ourselves into a small deserted rv park on the edge of the lagoon just north of Lima.  The avian

Back in 2012, when our son Ben was 20 months old (and Emma had not yet made her appearance in the world) we traveled to Peru for two weeks. It was Ben’s first international trip and our introductory visit to South America. It was a great experience: we visited Arequipa, Lake Titicaca, Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and of course, Machu Picchu. In November 2017, when we were roaring through Peru, we elected to bypass the places we’d visited previously, choosing

The mountains are calling and we must go. We took a sharp swerve to the east to hit up some of Peru’s most stunningly gorgeous peaks. In Spanish Cordillera Blanca means ‘white range’, although they are still technically part of the Andes chain of mountains that snakes south; the continent’s crooked spine. They also serve as the continental divide. Weirdly, I expect divides to be in the middle of the continent: neatly packaging and sending their watery volumes into equal parts

Hullo Peru! After a long border crossing from Ecuador we tucked ourselves into a little campspot on the beach for a few days to regroup. The kids make good beach bums. Also! We had our first encounter with Peru’s famous hairless dogs. Not to be confused with Mexican hairless dogs. Peru’s specimens were bred by pre-Incan cultures along the coastal regions  but almost became extinct when the Spaniards arrived.  They are…weird. These guys weren’t completely hairless and had mottled skin