Reflections and Final Days in Lima
While waiting for our flight to Lima, we took one last stroll through Arequipa’s historic district to soak up the dry, warm climate before returning to Lima, where the weather would be less pleasant. When evening came, a friend of…
The Cotahuasi Canyon
We left Arequipa at 9 a.m. We passed through El Pedregal and Majes, which we had already visited, as well as Chuquibamba, known for its avocados and cheese. We drove through the 400 km of desert for nearly 8–9 hours,…
The Sillar Route and the White City
A Bit of History Few cities in the world have the privilege of offering an architectural landscape as unique as Arequipa’s. If we focus primarily on the historic center and the buildings surrounding it, we see that they are constructed…
Mollendo: The Return
After returning to Arequipa to take care of some family matters, we headed back toward the coast, to Mollendo, for Howard’s niece’s special 15th birthday.Mollendo—remember, we were there in 2019. But this time, the weather was a bit chilly and…
Aplao, the Fertile Valley
We hit the road for about an hour south toward Aplao to visit Howard’s family and see the dinosaur site. We arrived around 3:30 p.m. at the Parque De Dinosaurios – Querulpa, much too late since it takes a good…
Risks and Health in Peru
Sometimes we don’t realize how the little things in everyday life make us happy. Last night, I got to take my first hot shower since I arrived a week ago. And a little bag of banana chips after being sick…
Erika and Howard: Wedding Day
As I write this, I’m completely exhausted. I just can’t seem to shake the jet lag. It’s always like this when I travel back in time to Peru. It’s 7 hours behind Europe, but I’m still living on Belgian time.…
Flights to Arequipa
A 13-hour flight from Amsterdam to Lima, with the cabin lights dimmed the whole time since we were traveling back in time. That allowed me to enjoy the view, even though much of the flight was over the Atlantic Ocean.…
From Peru in Love
Once again, flying away from Belgium at the last minute. Away from its traffic, its isolation linked to the work at home. Validation made this Monday! With one week to go, I think it’s the first time I’m going so…
Lima, the Eclectic City
On our last day in Mancora, we made the most of the pool and the beach until it was time to get ready to leave. Our trip from Mancora to Piura was supposed to take 4 hours, and our flight…
Encounter with the Turtles
The next day, it’s dry, but the sun is hidden behind clouds. We get up early since we’re going to visit the sea turtles. A bus picks us up while we’re having breakfast. We head toward the port of Los…
Mancora, the beaches of your dreams
We arrived at 4 a.m. Between the people offering us rides or motorcycle taxis, our attempts to find a taxi or an Uber to get to the hotel—which is a 15-minute drive away—and the rain, on top of our abrupt…
Chiclayo, the City of Señor Sipán
We traveled along a tiny section of the famous Pan-American Highway, a sort of Route 66 that runs from one end of Peru to the other. We arrived in Chiclayo in the late afternoon by taxi—a trip that took nearly…
Trujillo, Chanchán, and Ancient Civilizations
Originally, our plan was to go to Jaén to take a bus to Chachapoyas, the capital of the Amazonas region. We wanted to go there to visit the Gocta Waterfall as well as the Kuelap archaeological site, a fortress founded…
Arequipa, a must-see city in Peru
Finally, the sun, still shy, peeks out over this city founded during the colonial era. Since our flight was at 9:15 p.m., we decided to take advantage of the dry weather to take a walk and explore this charming city.…
El Pedregal, the small village
We’re going to visit the rest of Erika’s family for a birthday—her aunt’s. But also to visit her grandfather and pick up her things. My friend was born in this country, but she moved to Belgium when she was in…
The Colca Canyon, its mountain range, its terraces, and its condors.
I woke up with a migraine and a sore throat. We all had to be ready by 2:30 a.m.—Erika, her uncle, and her aunt, too. Tough! We had to get to the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa by 3:00 a.m.,…
Chilling at the beach
After this journey to Peru—in the style of the conquistadors, but with a modern twist. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little… A lot. It took them months to reach South America; it only took me about thirty hours to get to…
Connections, layovers, delays, and me…
This is my first time flying KLM. I'm out of luck.Go figure why! At first, I chose this airline because, even though it was about 200 euros more expensive than the others, it cut the travel time between Brussels and…
On the Way to the Land of the Incas
Well, yes, it’s finally happened! I was already talking about it a year ago, when I returned from the land of a thousand and one fabulous coves! Circumstances meant that this trip had to be put on hold, like a…
