A weekly update on a blog is just the way to keep everybody updated, so here is the first installment! Searching for an appropriate, mobile-friendly blog took some time ('only available on iOS' - TravelPod, 'your screen is not big enough' - Traveldiariesapp)! This first update has been written on a minibus from the Colca Canyon to Puno. More on that in next week's update!

After a quick stopover at our favorite London couple and some 18 hours of further traveling, our first impression of Peru was that you need to have an inherent death wish if you want to drive in Lima. A true concrete jungle where risky behavior is rewarded with a 'better' spot in the unevitable traffic jam. Almost all cars have been patched up, and the one guy we saw in a Porsche is just plain crazy. We tried and approved the national drink, Pisco sour, and are maintaining an average of 1 per day so far. Our neighborhood in Lima, called Miraflores, was nice but not worth flying across the Atlantic. At this point, we had yet to see the South American sun.

A 4 hour bus drive to the south, though, you'll find heaven on earth. Huacachina is a small desert oasis surrounded by massive sand dunes. We took a dune buggy up, down and over the dunes with a young and irresponsible driver, which was perfect for that roller-coaster feel. We stopped at the top of one very high dune, and made our way down via sandboarding. This was the first truly memorable day, which we capped with a stunning sunset and great BBQ. Great vibe in the hostel, Banana's Adventure.

Last stop this week was Arequipa, which we reached via a very comfortable night bus. Daar kan De Lijn nog een puntje aan zuigen. The hostel was a little bit too quiet for our liking (silence after 9:30pm, really?). Arequipa has an amazing old town square (think Astrid Bryan amazing times 100), and the background to the cathedral is provided by El Misti volcano to the right (5,8k altitude, still active and puffing a little bit of white smoke) and Chachani (+6k). The anniversary of Arequipa's foundation was just last week, when they also had the annual running race from the town square to the top of El Misti. Google tells me this is 23k, with a 3,5k vertical ascent. The record supposedly stands just under 5 hours. Any takers? A third volcano around Arequipa is Picchu Picchu, where I did a downhill mountainbike session from 4,3k to 2,8k. 4,3k is a personal altitude record, which was very noticeable by how out of breath I was after peddling just 10 times. Praise gravity, for without it I would not have made it down. The personal record would not stand for long, but more on that next week.

The 'free walking tour' guide stood us up twice. Noteable in Arequipa was that nearly all fast food places were located in the same building or street, which is convenient because if you're fat you don't want to walk too far from the pizza hut buffet to get a bucket of spicy chicken wings at KFC. Meanwhile, we had the menu del dia at a local place for 10 soles each. That's an entree, main dish and a drink for 2,7 euros. Take that, Alma.

Caroline was a bit apprehensive about Peru and Bolivia at first, but is now loving every minute of it. We're discovering the local cuisine (Lomo saltado - salty, Rocoto relleno - 2spicy4me) but haven't eaten any Guinea pigs. Yet.

Stay tuned for next week's update, which will include new personal records, a new mysterious travel companion, a close up encounter with the biggest birds still alive, and much more!

Geschreven door BigTrip