Lima and Departure

We spent the last 4 nights in Lima, Peru enjoying seafood, the ocean and many museums! EJ and I went to quite a few great little contemporary art galleries in Barranco and Miraflores. We visited the downtown historical center where we visited the Lima Museum of Art and the San Francisco monastery. The MATE and Casa de Posada were great musuems too. We also saw the main plaza and the changing of the guards ceremony which was quite extravagant. One day we ate lunch in an old train that had its original decorations and antique furniture still in it.

We spent a full day shopping in the market and buying many things! I got a charango for myself at a great little music store and an alpaca blanket.

Another highlight of our visit to Lima was Parque Kennedy-- which was still full of cats just like when I was there the first time.

Last night EJ and I said goodbye-- as we were on separate flights, and unfortunately my flight ended up being quite delayed. But after a long flight,  I finally made it to Dallas! 

They're playing Christmas music which is weird. 

Charango!

We've been doing quite a bit of shopping here in Lima and I decided to get a charango-- an instrument very similar to the ukulele that originated in the Andes!  It's beautiful and I'm very excited to learn how to play it.

Paracas and Pisco

We spent a few great days in the beautiful and funky beach town of Paracas! It was nice to relax a bit and enjoy the ocean-- and seafood! We visited the Islas Ballestas which are considered the Peruvian Galapogos islands as they are home to penguins, sea lions and many unique species of birds. Unfortunately we didn't have the greatest weather but the islands were very cool! We also visited the Paracas National Reserve where we saw more flamingos,  a beach with bright red sand and many spectacular ocean views!

After two nights in Paracas we spent one night in Pisco at a hostal with a swimming pool. Other than the pool, Pisco was very unexciting.

Now we are in Lima enjoying our last few days in Peru! 

Wineries and Dunes

I meant for this to be posted days ago, but the internet was not good enough. Anyways here it is!

We had an awesome day in the desert city of Ica! We went on a Wine and Pisco tour that took us to two different wineries just outside the city. One used to be a monastery and had beautiful historical buildings. Another was family owned (and very old) and once every year they use the traditional equipment and methods to create some special batches of wine and pisco-- this includes inviting people to come crush grapes with their feet. We got to have a few samples at each place-- a few wines and some very strong pure pisco. We also had a typical Peruvian dish called "arroz con pato" at one of the wineries. Overall, it was interesting to learn about the methods and get a feel for the industry in Peru, as pisco is the national drink. After the tour our driver stopped by the Plaza de Armas in Ica and showed us a famous cathedral that was unfortunately destroyed by the 2007 earthquake-- only pieces remain.

At around 4PM we went on our second tour of the day-- dune buggying and sandboarding!  It was insane! Riding in the dune buggy was like a bumpy crazy (and sandy) roller coaster. Our driver went very fast and really liked zooming down the slopes. This was fun but also scary because it felt like we were going to fly out of the buggy or worse-- tip over and roll down the dune. We got to the top of one dune and this is where we sandboarded, it was quite the experience-- much like snow boarding (but slower and less painful). We got to go down several different slopes and it was so much fun! Our group also got to watch the sunset over the dunes, which was very unique and beautiful. 

Chile Photos