Peru to Canada

Phil had a unique birthday, being that we were in Lima, with both of our parents and nearing the end of our amazing trip in South America. Phil’s parents made him bacon for breakfast (a favourite that was rarely had on this trip) to accompany our nice complimentary continental. Then after some running around, we all headed to Centro, to show our parents Lima’s impressive Plaza de Armas, churches and government buildings. After a few hours of wondering the streets, we were once again hungry, so had a nice lunch off the main plaza and headed back to the hostel for birthday cake.
That evening my Mom and Dad headed home, and the rest of us went out for dinner and chess in the square.

The next two days, we wondered around Lima, picking up presents and last minute souvenirs. Phil and I spent some quality time sitting by the water, reminiscing about our trip and preparing ourselves for heading home. We of course enjoyed some lovely meals and Lima’s warmth, and tried to soak in as much Spanish as possible.

Then it was time to go. Very late on Monday, April 14th, the four of us headed to the airport for our night flight back to Canada. My Mom met us at the airport and the five of us had an airport snack/lunch, before Karen and Graham caught their connection to Halifax. Phil and I went to my parent’s place for five days, visited with Phil’s grandparents in Port Dover, friends and family from Stoney Creek to Toronto, and attend my Dad’s wonderful retirement party.

We then headed home on different flights, mine arriving in Halifax on the 21st, to a great welcome from Karen, Graham and Andrea at the airport; and Phil on the 22nd (after stopping in Montreal for his in-person interview), to a great family party at the Dennis’.

It is hard to believe that we are home. Although we are home prematurely, we are both very excited to be here and to start a new chapter. Our time in South America, especially our time in our Cuenca Community, has and will continue to impact us and make us better world citizens.

We are so fortunate that we were able to wonder this world so freely.
Thanks for reading and being a part of our journey.

Lima, Peru

After a quiet morning by the pool, Janet and Carlos graciously drove us to the Cruz del Sur bus terminal for our afternoon drive back to Lima. We once again were continuously entertained with loud movies, food and bingo – which we won! My card was the winner, but I made Phil call bingo and go to the back to clam the prize, they sometimes make the winner make a speech. We won a bottle of Pisco, which was a perfect prize and token of our past week!
We arrived back at El Patio Hostel in time to throw our bags town and head to the square to see the Mayors Choir perform. Before we left for Ica, a man in the choir befriended us while we were watching salsa dancers in the square and he invited us to come see his choir sing the next weekend. So here we were, watching the choir and salsa dancers in the heart of Miraflores, and getting a special welcome from the choir director, it felt like we stepped into a movie. However, our hunger did not allow us to stay for the whole show so we slipped away to get something to eat. After a lovely meal along the Plaza, we headed back to the hostel.

Huacachina, Peru

Thursday, April 10 was our last full day in ICA, so instead for starting the day off at 7, we thought we would give our amazing parents a break, and have a sleep in, and hang out by the pool kind of day. And this was how we enjoyed yet another sunny day, the ladies stayed mostly poolside with our books and beer, while the gentleman took a stroll to Ica’s Plaza de Armas for a traditional menu del dia and a hair cut (for Phil). At four o’clock, Janet and Carlos once again picked us up for our tour, this one to the oasis town of Huacachina and it’s surrounding sand dunes. We wanted to watch the sunset in the desert, but given our nerves from yesterdays airplane news, Phil and I had asked Janet to organize a more relaxing tour of the tunes. However, when we arrived in at the oasis we boarded a huge dune buggy, with an exposed engine, flip rails, and yellow sunglasses for each passenger, and we took-off over the first dune into a sea of sand, and it was then we realized we were in for a rollercoaster ride into the sunset, and practically going fast was the only way to get up and over some of the dunes we encountered. Before finding the perfect sunset spot, with a great driver, we explored the dunes, which were mesmerizing. We also stopped a few times to sand board! This sand boarding experience was a little different from the Atacama Desert, because the dunes seemed twice as high and we were encouraged to just fly down the hills on our bellies. So, Phil and I, and Karen and Graham all gave it ago, with my parents cheering us on. We flew down three hills, which progressively got bigger, while my parents took the dune buggy down, which was just as wild of a ride, in my opinion. It was all very fun, fast and hilarious, and by the time the sun was turning glorious shades of orange and pink, we were on the top of another dune that overlooked miles if dunes until they touched the sky. And there we sat, appreciating the vast world from a new perspective and a new appreciate of sand.

Although the post should end there, I do have to mention that we went back to Huacachina, traveling by night on the dunes, found a place to enjoy yet another Pisco Sour by the Oasis, and then headed back to town for an Italian dinner by the Plaza de Armas in Ica. We then headed ‘home’ for our last sleep in the middle of this amazing desert, that has treated us so well.

Nasca Lines, Nasca, Peru

Another early start today, this time to the south to fly over the famous Nasca Lines. We were picked up at 7 am and drove down the Pan-American Highway, through three valleys, by the Inca Face (a face-shaped rock that looks to the sun), and the town of Nasca. Before our flights, we were toured around a traditional ceramics studio and a traditional oro (gold) production planet. Both provided fascinating glimpses into traditional ways of life, that are still maintained today in this region. We arrived at the airport late morning, and each family took to flight over the Nasca lines in a small Cessna aircraft. The tour of the lines was about 45 minutes, which was plenty of time to see most of these amazing formations. Our pilots were great guides, and we flew amazingly low to the ground, for an even more spectacular viewing angle. Once safely back on the ground, we loaded up in the van once again and headed to a restaurant recommended by our tour guide, as the place to eat a traditional pork and corn set-lunch. This was one fabulous meal for 7 soles, not to mention my mom’s favourite meal of the trip! It was later in the day when we arrived home (our Ica hotel) from this tour, but we still managed to relax by the pool, until dinner. This was our forth day at the hotel and the staff was getting quite used to us being around, in fact, I think they even liked having us around. There were three gentlemen that ran the restaurant that took great care of us, whether we were at the tables in the restaurant, poolside or in one of the many sitting areas. So, it wasn’t that surprising that they were very happy, and I mean very happy, to see us when we arrived home after the Nasca Lines. However, at dinner, we found out why we got the overly friendly greeting. That day, only 2 hours after we left Nasca Lines, there was a terrible plane accident that claimed five tourists lives. And in the afternoon, when our friends at the hotel heard this, they immediately thought of us, as they knew we were flying that day. Finding this out, as you can imagine, was quite overwhelming. I suppose, throughout this trip Phil and I have tested our faith, from crazy bus rides to skydiving, but this was perhaps the closest call, and with our parents, in a way, under our care, it was even more of a reality check. It really reminds you how precious life is, and that it needs to appreciated everyday. And this, to me, doesn’t mean eliminating risk and staying home, but living life to the fullest, and if you are lucky enough, sharing it with those you love.

Islas Ballestas, Paracas, Peru

Today’s tour started bright and early at 7 am. We were picked up from the hotel by Janet and Carlos, our trusted guide and driver, and headed to the coast. We then jumped on a speedboat for a ride into the Pacific, for a bird watching tour. With a couple dozen other tourists, we enjoyed a fast ride to the famous Candelabra, which is an enormous candelabra permanently etched onto the side of a dune, that can only be seen from the water. No one is sure how this massive picture (similar idea to the Nasca Lines) came to be, but it is a spectacular sight, with many creation theories, which our guide colourfully described; perhaps it predates the Incas, or was a sign of a cult in the Spanish times, or an arrow pointing to the Nasca Lines so that Aliens could navigate their crafts to the lines (we liked this one)! Next, we saw a few birds gathering around the rocks at the base of the dunes, and thinking this would be similar to the rest of our bird watching boat tour, we all took lots of photos. However, we soon caught a glimpse of the famous Ballestas islands and realized we were heading to a bird watching paradise. These islands are often describe as Peru's poor“man”'s Galapagos, because of it's bird and sea lion colonies, but we was not prepared for the magnificent amount of animals that we saw. It was spectacular. There were literally millions of seabirds; flying, nesting, diving, and talking to each other. There were Boobies, three types of Cormorants, Inca Turns, Penguins, Pelicans, and Vultures, to name a few of the larger ones. And, there were sea lions, hundreds, maybe even thousands, from little babies to huge males over 15 years old. The islands themselves were also amazing and covered in guano, in some places 10 metres deep. Guano is the droppings of these large seabirds, which is mined here for fertilizers and at one time was Peru's main export. The Islands have eroded into amazing formations, with many arches and caves, which formed an incredible playground for the birds and the sea lions, particularly the pups, who were having such a good time playing with each other in the water, while the adults talked and sunbathed on the rocks. After a couple hours of touring and almost avoiding being guanoed (dad got hit), we headed back to the mainland.

It was a spectacular tour, which ended with a short stroll and a meal in the town of Paracas. Paracas is one of the towns in the Province of Ica that was affected by the earthquake in August 2007. Damage from the quake was still very visible, although the town is rebuilding and encouraging tourism once again.

We were back at our Ica hotel by 2:00, and quickly put on our suits for a swim. The rest of our day followed a similar, relaxing and enjoyable routine to yesterday. Life is good in this sunny town.