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Last night was the best night of the trip, and a highlight of any of our travels. I´ve been wanting to hear music somewhere, not performed for tourists, just local musicians making music, as we usually do when we travel. We had a couple of tips from the guidebook, but none of them panned out. I was beginning to think it just couldn´t work for us in Peru, but now I realize we had to get out of the very heavily touristed areas. Last night, completely by accident, I got my wish, and then some. After yesterday´s blog post, we hung out in town. We took off our socks and sneakers and walked on the beach (must put our feet in the Pacific, who knows when we´ll see it again!), ate a honey and cracker snack that is sold on the street here, and watched surfers, fisherman and men working trap lines. While we were dusting off our feet, a dog approached us. She was emaciated - every rib showing, the knobs of her spine visible, tail bones protruding - and she was pregnant. Most street dogs are not so...

First, many thanks to reader Fred_R, who says in a comment (which I am unable to link to right now): If your looking for a great Canadian company selling quinoa, check out www.quinoa.com. 100% Canadian owned and operated and they buy all their product from Peru. Very cool! I really appreciate it, and I´ll definitely look into it when I´m home. Allan and I discovered quinoa when we found out that Allan has a gluten sensitivity, or celiac disease. This means he can´t (or at least shouldn´t) eat wheat and many other grains. It´s not an easy diet to follow, although not as restrictive as we first feared, since rice, corn and potatoes are acceptable. We learned that the ancient grain of quinoa is gluten-free and also high in protein, although I never learned how to make it very tasty. Hence our search for Seeds Of Change brand quinoa mixes, sold in boxes like rice or couscous mixes, and apparently only in Whole Foods. Here in Peru, I´ve seen many other delicious uses and methods of making q...

We are loving Huanchaco. The sun is blazing in a bright blue sky, but a cool breeze comes off the ocean. A few diehard Peruano surfers are still in the water, sharing the waves with little fishing boats. Palm trees line the road. Our hotel is beautiful, full of lush tropical plants. Our little room and patio overlooks both pool and ocean. We have the place to ourselves, along with a few friendly staff people and not one but two beautiful German Shepherd dogs. One is a frisky, mischeivous youngster who we´ve fallen in love with. Our host is a Belgian-Peruano who speaks many languages. He took it upon himself to make our hotel reservations for our next stop, Chiclayo, getting us a discount. After yesterday´s post, it was more ceviche for lunch, and for dinner I had a big bowl of chufe , or chowder, full of all kinds of seafood plus potatoes, corn and peas. The food in Peru is not universally exciting or wonderful, but I could live on this northern coastal fare. Wandering around after din...

temperature: 19 C / 66 F elevation: sea level We spent several hours at the Lima airport, then flew to Trujillo. On the flight, they showed a tourism video - once again with volume on, no headphones. What´s with this country that they think we want sound and entertainment at every moment of our day? How very Estados Unidos of them. Annoying. We opted not to stay in Trujillo. It´s Peru´s third-largest city, the capital of this departmente (state or province) and we already know what large cities look like here. Huanchaco is a little seaside resort and fishing village, said to be Peru´s best beach, quiet in the off-season and even closer to the sites we want to see. People come to the north coast of Peru for the beaches, especially surfing. The season ends in mid-April; this is the beginning of winter. That´s perfect for us. We´re not beach people but we love the ocean in autumn or winter. We´re staying a few days for R&R: ruins and relaxation. Our cab from the airport was our firs...

temperature: 24 C / 74 F elevation: 420 m / 1,378 f Our hotel in Ica was a fairly long taxi ride from the bus station, out of the centre of town. On the way there, we passed an enormous, pyramidal-shaped sand dune. The driver told us the name of the dune, and said it´s the only one in the middle of town. The others are outside a posh neighbourhood called Las Dunas, where our hotel is located. As we approach (through gates), these giant dunes loom behind the plantation-style homes. We can see the tiny silhouetttes of people climbing their steep slopes. The dunes are enormous sand mountains. Having climbed smaller (although still quite large) sand dunes in Oregon, I can´t imagine making it to the top of these. The way down is sand-boarding. Definitely not an Allan and Laura activity. The hotel in Ica had a large courtyard pool, ringed with palm trees and tables, and a small, very basic room. Ica is always sunny and warm, and we should have been relaxing on the patio with Pisco Sours or C...

First, a note I forgot, something great that Carmen (our Colca Canyon guide) told us. We were hiking on that tiny trail, looking at remote villages on the opposite side of the canyon. The villages have no electricity or running water, but Carmen said all the people there vote. Traders travel to the villages and bring back newspapers, which they post on the walls of the town squares. People who can read announce the news for those who can´t. On election day, tables are set up in the one-room school house. Turnout is massive. Peru has many incentives to encourage voting; it becomes difficult and expensive not to vote. Political graffiti for the recent election and the upcoming runoff is everywhere. I wish my Spanish was good enough to speak with people about this. Alas. * * * * temperature: 24 C / 74 F elevation: 588 m / 1,929 f This was the crunch part of thetrip, the long travel days we opted for (endured? nah, too strong) in order to see the Nazca Lines. Allan was somewhat disappointe...

This morning we went to the biggest attraction in Arequipa, Monasterio de Santa Catalina. It´s a huge compound, a walled city within a city, with gorgeous colonial-style architecture, colours and plants inside. In some courtyards, the walls painted bright blue, bright red flowers in the center, there is a view of a snow-covered volcano in the distance. This monastery has a bizarre history. Wealthy Europeans would send their daughters there for a high fee - the greater the donation, the posher the girl´s living quarters would be. These Dominican nuns were not allowed outside the convent, but each had her own lavishly appointed home, plus female slaves. The slaves had to follow all the convent rules, but were not allowed to become nuns. This went on for about 300 years, until Rome sent a real Dominican nun to clean up their act. The slaves were freed, and given the option to remain as part of the order if they chose. The privileged nuns were put into dormitories and made to do their own ...