Heading up the coast of Peru

Sand Dunes, fancy cities and swimming with turtles – what more could you want?

Gone were the ruins, onwards to sea level (no altitude issues) and sunshine. First up was Huacachina, then onwards to Lima and then beachy Mancora.

Huacachina

There is nothing to do in Huacachina besides sit by the lagoon or pool, eat, drink and most importantly visit the sand dunes. I stayed for a few days, made a point to take a sand dune and buggy ride at sunset and otherwise relax by the pool. The sand dunes were nothing compared to sand dunes of Namibia, but it was still lots of fun.

Then just as I started to relax, I started to get a cold.

Lima – Miraflores

As my cough and cold really kicked in, I arrived in the lovely district of Miraflores in Lima. I spent a morning reporting my lost iPod and then wandering the streets and waterfront of Miraflores. I felt like I could be somewhere in the USA or Australia with how fancy the district was. I felt safe and comfortable there.

I had fun chatting to a few people from the hostel on my second day, always interesting when you can’t be bothered leaving the hostel because of illness.

Mancora and Swimming with Turtles near Los Organos

Trying to shake my cold I ventured up to Mancora, where you can’t do much besides surf or swim at the beach. The beach was okay, but nothing compared to NZ beaches. The waves crashed very close to the shore and I was constantly concerned about my belongings when I went for a swim (downside of solo travel).

Luckily, I met two lovely people from Ecuador in my hostel one day that invited me along to swim with the turtles one day at a beach nearby! I was over the moon to be so close to these incredible creatures in the wild.

That was the end of Peru for me. It was a pretty diverse country, but started to wear on me during the end, when I realised I was only halfway through my travels.

Stay tuned for how that changed the next leg of my trip!