We´re in Peru

Since Banos we have been doing a lot of driving (or rather sitting in the overland truck). We travelled to the Ecuador-Peru border after a night stop over at Pasaje. The border crossing into Peru was interesting to say the least. The hard part was not passport control located on the outskirts of the town, but rather physically making our way through the town and crossing the narrow bridge (the real border) bustling with swarms of locals taking their produce to the market, located not even 10m from the bridge. That, the heat and the numerous ´currency swappers´that swarm like flies, create a patience testing experience second to none.

The Peruvian side has endless coastal desert, and is far more spectacular than we ever imagined. Mountains of sand and dunes, the cold pacific blue and the occasional oasis of mountainous highlands.

After Punta Sal we made our way to Huanchaco, and a campsite on the roof of a hotel. We spent 2 nights, and decided to take it easy, walking on the beach, and enjoying (apparently) the best cake in South America. Yesterday we travelled through more desert, and reached Lima late in the evening. We´ve spent today trying to sort out my Bolivian visa, which I think we have done, and enjoying what has to be one of the greatest adventure sports the world has ever seen - catching a taxi in Lima. For 5 Sol ($1.60) we drove for around 10 minutes, and managed to narrowly escape an accident that could quite easily have been used as a stunt in the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Cars swerving, skidding and spinning all around us - fantastic.