The coast of Peru is not what I expected. A dry sandy desert with forbidding barren mountains. Occasionally there is green life where there is underground water or where a river has made its long way from the Andes.
We take a boat out to the Ballestas islands. Rocky high cliffs rich in guano. Astounding quantities of bird life nest on the rocks, fly overhead or skim over the water looking for fish. Here and there, several groups of penguins stand proudly on the rocks near the water. Sea lions also bask on the rocks, sleeping in the sun.
We come to a beach a hundred metres wide with thousands of sea lions crowded together. The surrounding cliffs amplify the cacophony of barking and squealing. Young pups, black and shiny like fat leeches squirm along the beach. The shallow waters near the shore churn with the splashing and swimming creatures.
Sea lions at the Ballestas islands
Sandboarding on my belly at the sand dunes of Huacachina
Near Nazca we climb a lookout tower to get a better view of the ancient shapes cut into the dry desert surface.
We drive out further from Nazca to see a pre-Incan cemetery. The local farmers buried their dead in a fetal position facing the sun. In the past century the wind has lifted away some of the sand to expose the remains. Human bones and cotton wrappings litter the sandy surface. Grave robbers have also caused damage.
Burial pits have been excavated and contain multiple skeletons, intact and dressed. Some bodies have been mummified by the dry heat where it rarely rains.
The people usually died of disease between their twenties and forties. There are many remains of children and few remains of the elderly.
I find the experience emotionally draining as I am still mourning the loss of my friend Linda. Linda and I went to University together. We would get together for the occasional dinner and we would often have long chats on the telephone except for the times when she was ill when she would become reclusive.
Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru with a population of one million. Here we visit a large and beautiful nunnery. The secluded city within a city with streets and houses and courtyards. The dominant colour for the inner walls is a deep sky blue - the outer walls, a rich terracotta brown.
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