¡viva peru!

I am glad to hear that there are actually a couple people following the old blog (besides mom and dad - the givens).

After a quiet night in Nazca, we headed back to the coast. Along the way we stopped at an awesome ancient cemetary. They had excavated some the the bureal sites so visitors can see exactly what the bureals were like - I think that also made the 3rd day in a row that we had been exposed to heaps of bones, pretty cool nonetheless. We arrived early that afternoon in Puerto Inca (where the Incas used to fish and prepare their seafood before transporting it). We camped on the beach, played volleyball and jumped in the ocean before having a great beach BBQ and drinking too much beer and jungle juice. The location was truely awesome - probably could have spent a week there (at least).

From Puerto Inca, we headed along the coast and had a final lunch on the beach before saying adios to the Pacific Ocean. The drive was awesome, huge cliffs the whole way - reminded me of a tropical/desert version of Amalfi. We then crossed a massive desert in route to the Andes and where I am now, Arequipa. This city is awesome, from what I have seen so far, we took a walking tour when we arrived and had a quiet night last night. Today we hit the market, where I got a couple ridic sombreros and visited an ancient monestary. The best part of the day had to be lunch, where I had a three course meal, including drink for 6 sols (2 bucks) - just for the record I am still bursting at the seams 4 hours later.... tonight we are headed out for a big night on the town - should be fun!

Just an update on the Espanol... I have been doing a pretty good job of using my Spangish - much to my surprise, I speak some of the best Spanish in our group (probably 4 or 5 better than me), chalk that up to living in the States I guess. The real problem is that there are so many funky accients and slang usage in our group (Kiwis, Aussies, Brits) that I am more likely to pick up their rubbish banter rather than Spanish! aaahhhh!!!

I will try and get some pictures up in the next couple of days. I keep forgetting to bring the connector cord...