Although it was not planned, I ended up spending over two months in Peru, and most of that time was spent trapped in greater Lima, first in Miraflores, then in La Punta. And again, while I do not hate all Peruvians, and I made many good friends during my time there, I cannot look back foundly on my experiences in Peru. Looking back, what will I remember about my time in Peru, both the good, the bad, and sometimes, just the interesting?
1. Peru loves tourism, loves our money, but they do not really like us. I rarely felt welcome in Peru, whether in the cities, or even out in small towns along the PamAmerican or those bordering Titicaca. I also did not always feel safe, traveling alone, with my van.
2. Corruption is pretty pervasive, especially in the port city of Callao. Many Peruvians even told me that I should just try and pay off officials, and others in Callao, only way to get my van and gear.
3. There is a lot of poverty in Peru; 10% of the 10 million people in greater Lima do not have access to clean water or a sewage system.
4. Even with the amount of poverty you see, Peruvians are a proud people, proud of their heritage, their history, and proud to be Peruvian. They are generally an athletic people, well-dressed, and respectful, especially of their elders.
5. Peruvians love dogs, they are everywhere, including many street dogs, especially in places like Callao, and in rural areas. I bet there are at least two stray dogs for every dog which clearly has an owner. And of course, with all these dogs, there is a lot, and I mean a lot, of dog scat, stuff is everywhere. Disgusting.
6. They love speed bumps in Peru, in and around Lima, they are everywhere, and sometimes, they are huge. I even ran into speed bumps along the PanAmerican Highway.
7. Anyone of authority wears a uniform, they all have whistles, and use them often, often for no apparent reason.
8. Peruvians love their horns, buses, taxi cabs, everyone, they drive around and honk their horns at everyone, at everything. It is so annoying, oh so annoying.
9. I could not wait to get out of Lima, sounds of dogs barking, horns honking, and car alarms, constant, every second of every day, all night long.
10. They are not good drivers, and in Lima, they are maniacs, just crazy. I drove little in Lima, and even that, my early morning escape, white-knuckle much of the way until I was well south of town.
​11. Food is good, even excellent, when you can find it, and/or afford it. Peruvians are very proud of their food, especially in Lima, and it is good, very good. I was told that two of the top 50 restaurants in the world are in Lima, definitely good food, but, can be expensive, and to some extent, the overall food culture might be a bit overrated.
12. There is very little to no recycling, and trash is everywhere, despite the efforts of many neighborhoods to have people out there picking up trash, all day. I was so sad one day, up high in the altiplano, came across a group of vicunas right along the road, but when I stopped to get a picture, could not do so without a bunch of plastic bags and trash in every picture I would have taken. So, I did not take any photographs.
13. I don't think it ever rains in Lima, or most of Peru in general, outside of the Peruvian Amazon. I spent over two months in Peru, and I experienced rain one time, the evening I arrived to Aguas Calientes, near Machu Picchu. That was it. It is dry, virtually all desert, just sucks the moisture out of you. 

It was already the 26th of November, I had been in Peru way too long, time to get out of Peru, into Chile, time to run for the border. Headed out of Puno early, climbed a bit above town, and Titicaca, quick look back, then back onto the altiplano, and eventually down from the high plains, toward Tacna, Peru, only 30 km from the border. Was a nice drive, do enjoy the altiplano, and just amazed that people live there, with their llamas, sheep, and even a few cattle. Was another long day, but with little traffic, and downhill pretty much the whole way, it was a relatively easy day. Struggled again finding a hotel with secure parking for my van, offstreet parking that I could enter, van so high. But found a place, ok, right in town, a bit pricy, do what I could at that point. 

Up early, and off for the border, hoping to pass without issue, still worried about getting out of Peru, so difficult getting my van and equipment into the country, just was not sure what they might do when I was leaving. And of course, Peruvians a pain until the end, they hassle you until you finally leave, bounce you from immigration to customs, and back, and then almost another inspection before I was finally able to drop off my TIC (Peruvian permit for my van), and almost a hour later, drive off into Chile.

On the Chilean side, nothing but people willing to help, point you in the right direction. They understand, I am a tourist, and all tourist do one thing, we spend money, so why not do everything you can to make it as easy as possible to enter? And they did. I still had to visit immigration, get a brief inspection, allow some food to be confiscated, but all so easy. It took me weeks and cost me thousands of dollars to enter Peru, it took me less than two hours and cost me nothing, other the cost of some food, to enter Chile. I was very happy to leave Peru, and hope that I never return. Peru is full of criminals, especially in Callao. I was very happy to be in Chile. Now, time to head south, need to get to Patagonia by Christmas. Time to travel.

On the road, again, pretty much recurring theme, lost time in Lima, must keep moving, Patagonia is my goal, not southern Peru. Headed out of Arequipa early, tried to miss some of the traffic, did not happen. After finally getting out of town, the climbing began, again. It was the 22nd of November, and I already felt like I was running out of time, I unfortunately would not have as much time as I might have liked around Lake Titicaca, simply no time, again. I already had to miss canyon country north and west of Arequipa, Colca and Cotahuasi Canyons, the deepest canyons in world; Colca Canyon is 10,440 feet (3182 m) deep. The climb this day would take us from just over 7,000 feet elevation in Arequipa to over 12,000 feet along the shores of Lake Titicaca, a huge lake high in the Andes. We climbed and climbed, and eventually into the altiplano, just beautiful landscape, even if stark and apparently lifeless. The road wandered up, and down, though mostly up, into the Andes, extinct volcanoes coming into view along the horizon, it was a beautiful drive, and the van again handled the gain in altitude like a pro.

Made it first into Juliaca, then headed east towards Puno. I stopped at a place called Sillustani, site of ancient burial towers overlooking Lake Umayo. This location to camp, turned out to be the first of many, and I mean many, places recommened on the app, iOverlander, just great, and an amazingling useful tool to help you find a place to camp, wild or in a campground. Sillustani was great, even if you are camping in a parking lot, at over 12,000 feet in elevation I might add (as I stuffed another wad of coca leaves into my mouth), as they have 24-hour security and a locked gate. Plus, Lake Umayo is very nice, and, there was a smaller lake, and wetland, along the road into Sillustani just below the ruins and the small village of vendors, a bar, etc., a lake where I saw my first flamingos, cool. I rarely felt safe camping in Peru, and never "wild camped", or just pulled off the road somewhere and stayed for the night. While in Peru, I was either in a hotel or hostel, in a place like Sillustani, or in a national park like Paracas. And as it turned out, even in Sillustani, I was harrassed by some strange dude at 8:30 pm, very annoying. The burial towers at Sillustani are old, some are believed to pre-date the Inca Empire, though the Colla people who built the towers did coincide with early periods of Inca dominance in Peru. I enjoyed two nights there, really loved sleeping in my van and not in a hotel. I explored parts of the shore of Lake Titicaca for a day, even went for a swim, short swim, interesting place. Then after two nights at Sillustani, I headed down the lake to Puno, big place scattered along the shore of Lake Titicaca, a medium-sized city at 12,556 feet (3,827 m) elevation. I managed to wander around town, narrow, really narrow one-way streets, to find Hotel Qelqatani, recommended by Fodor'sTravel Peru, one of the few places recommended that I could afford. Place family run, father, then son, very nice people, and really worked hard to make arrangements to cram my van into their off-street parking facility (when I left, backed into and crunched a rain gutter, sorry). Room was great, shower felt wonderful, and was a pretty short walk down to the lake, and even shorter walk to the main square (yes, another Plaza de Armas), with lots of shops and restaurants. Checked in, showered and headed for the plaza, needed a beer, or course, and something to eat. And very quickly, noticed the strangest thing, at least for me. They LOVE pizza in Puno, swear every other restaurant, and there were many restaurants, Puno all about tourism and Titicaca, served Pizza. What about trout, fish from the lake? Or maybe an alpaca burger? Seemed like all they want to eat in Puno is pizza, just strange to me, very strange (though did have pizza one of the two nights I was there, was excellent, very good pizza).

Titicaca is a huge, cold lake, one of the largest lakes in world based on surface area, but it is not that deep considering its size. The mean depth is only 25 feet (7.5 m), which is not deep. But, it is considered to be one of, if not the highest elevation lake which is navigable, at an altitude of 12,500 feet (3810 m). And it is cold, I swam it, I know; water temperatures stay very close to 38 degrees F all year around.

I had one full day in Puno, and I spent it as a total tourist, something I generally prefer not to do, and after what happened to me in Peru, cannot afford to do. I paid the S/.100 for an all-day trip out on the lake, first to the Islas Los Uros, and then to Taquile Island. Lunch was included for the S/.100, and it turned out to be fantastic. I got picked up early, and off for the docks, with about a thousand of other tourist heading out for 1/2 day, full-day cruises, or even overnight homestays on islands in Lake Titicaca. My group was small fortunately, and pretty fun, and included a woman from Mexico, an older couple from Australia, a mother-daughter from Paris, a fun British couple, a young woman from Columbia, and me, along with our guide. This seemed like a pretty typical mix of tourists, though we were missing someone from Holland, or maybe Germany. I met many, many people from the Netherlands, and many from Germany as well. We loaded onto our boat, which looked exactly like the other 127 boats all lashed together in one big raft in the harbor in Puno, and off we went. I always like a good boat ride, and it was nice to spend some time out on Titicaca, it was a nice day, sun, few clouds, no wind at that point, and while still a bit chilly as the boat chugged along, I enjoyed hanging out on the roof deck of the boat with a few of our party. It took an hour or so to get out to the Islas Los Uros, the series of floating islands found along part of the southern edge of Titicaca. The floating islands are made of totora reeds which grow only along the shallow south-western part of the lake. Who knows how long it takes to "make" an island, as they are surprising large, large enough for up to three families, and usually about 3 m think. We learned that the islands typically last up to 25 years, depending on how they are built, wind and waves and storms, etc. We visited only one island, for about an hour or so, which included a short ride on one of their traditional boats, also made of reeds (plus these days, a few hundred plastic bottles for added boyancy). The families do not get any money from the tour operators, they instead hope to sell you something, stuff which pretty much looks like all the stuff I have seen for sale to tourist all over Peru, from Lima to Cusco to Puno and Islas Los Uros. I bought something, felt like I had to, support these folks, their willingless to let us visit, and to keep their traditional way of life alive. Individual islands, families, only get visitors one day every two weeks, but, think they get four or five groups of tourist each day, and based on the size of the boats, you might have as many as 20 tourist in any one group. If everyone who visits buys something, then they are doing ok. Was an interesting place, even with the solar panels sticking up from at least one of the reed huts on the island.

We then headed off to Taquile Island, another place in Titicaca where the traditional culture has surived, in part because of tourism. They charge everyone who lands on the island S/.8, which is not much, but if you get a 300-400 tourist visiting on many days, they are making some real cash. And, you are not allowed to take their picture, unless they give you special permission. Their traditional dress is cool, very colorful, including guys who wear hats with balls on the end of a tassle. The traditional dress is not only colorful and interesting, but it is also informative. For example, married men where their hat different from unmarried men. We really did not spend much time here, walked up the hill to the central plaza, wandered through their craft shop, lots of woven, knitted things, before heading down to small outdoor patio for lunch. And lunch, it was great, grilled trout from the lake, rice, some veges, all washed down with a warm Cusquena. We all sat there in row, overlooking the lake, was a very enjoyable lunch. Then, if was back down to the boat for the long ride back to Puno. It was a long day, but enjoyable. I am not one for those touristy things, but guess it was worth it, would have never walked on a floating island otherwise. Plus, the people in the group were very nice, enjoyed the day. In many ways, this was my last day in Peru, at least as a tourist, as the next day, the two-day run for the border would begin. Enough of Peru, had been there entirely way too long, time to get into Chile, need another stamp in my passport.

Before we leave Peru, how about a little ride with me, short ride (still working on longer videos). I biked all over Lima, and to Callao a number of times, doing business in the port, meeting with shipping agents, visiting Aduana (customs), and basically trying to get myself killing. Actually, I ride on sidwalks mostly because I do not want to get killed, taxis and combibuses, they are crazy! Below, video, a short ride, hopefully which will give a different perspective of life in the streets of Callao, the streets of Peru.
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As some of you who know me well understand, I am a gear head, I love gear, camping gear, biking gear, paddling gear, even photographic gear. Got no wife, no kids, but I have three tents, three sleeping bags, a pile of dry bags of all different sizes, shapes and colors, and, I have three camp stoves (four if you count my old, now antique SVEA 123 from decades ago). And, I ended up bringing all three on my trip to South America. And that isn't the worst of it. As it turns out, I am potentially only able to use one of them, and the problem, getting appropriate fuel canisters, meant that I had to buy another stove while here. Yup, now have four camp stoves and only one of them is really of any use down here. Pathetic. So, the problem? The problem is all about fuel, and trust me, I did my research before I left, and felt justified in bringing all three stoves. First, I have my 2-burner, Camp Chef Everest stove, love it, works perfectly in my van. I even designed my kitchen platform in my van to fit the stove beside my sink. The stove works great, but only with propane cylinders, cylinders with a certain thread size. Based on my research, it sounded like you could get these "gas" cylinders in larger cities, and especially in Chile where there is more of a camping culture when compared to Peru. NOT! I wandered all over Lima on my trusty steed, my Scott Scale 760 mountain bike, and visited every store I could find which sold camping equipment, nothing, no propane cylinders which would fit my 2-burner. What is going on Coleman? I figured Coleman 2-burners were everywhere, but I guess not. Bummer. In addition to my Camp Chef 2-burner, I also brought my always trustworthy MRS Whisperlite International which I have had forever. This is a great stove, boils water in minutes, works fine at altitude, and very fuel efficient, though dirty to work with, plus, which is key, it will burn almost any liquid fuel in additon to white gas, including unleaded gasoline, kerosene, even cow piss if you have to. If I cannot get white gas, prefer to burn kerosene, much cleaner, but could not find white gas or kerosene anywhere in Peru. Kerosene showed up at COPAC fuel stations in southern Chile, so my Whisperlite an option, in a pinch. I also brought my little MSR Dragonfly, tiny little stove, but only burns the isopropol mix you find in those red cylinders readily available in the US, a gas mix, and appropriately threaded cylinders, which I could not find anywhere, in Peru or Chile. So where did this all leave me? When I finally escaped La Punta, greater Lima, headed off to Paracas, I had no working stove. I did buy a gas cylinder, company call Doite, European I think, the only cylinders I saw anywhere, but my Dragonfly did not fit the threads, and they were a totally different thread design when compared to what my 2-burner needs. I am finally on my way, planning to camp in my van as much as possible, and I have no stove, nothing, even to heat water in the morning for coffee. Damn. Here I am, finally starting my South American adventure, my van and I are finally on the road, with three camp stoves, none of which I can use. Double Damn, and quite pathetic actually, especially when considering how much it cost me to ship all my gear on top of what it cost to ship my van. What an idiot.

Well, the stove insanity had to end quickly, had to have coffee in the morning, so when I got to Arequipa, I had to break down and buy another stove, yes, another stove, I now have three tents, three sleeping bags, and FOUR camp stoves. I bought a single-burner Doite stove which fits the Dolite gas cylinders which seem readily available, had no choice, needed a stove, a working stove. I am now hauling around four camp stoves, three of which I cannot use (well, Whisperlite will work if necessary), and the one I do use, not a fan, just seems cheaply made, definitely not of MSR quality. Plus, when screwed on top of the larger of the two sizes of gas cylinders sold, a bit unstable, and not great for cooking in the van. But what could I do, have to have coffee in the morning, a must, an absolutely necessity. I had to have a camp stove which works. So sad, and pathetic.
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While I would have enjoyed another day in Paracas, I had to go, many miles ahead of me, both horizontal and vertical, before I could get out of Peru and into Chile. There were a few places I hoped to visit as I headed south out of Peru. I felt like I had already been in Peru for too long, and my attitude was terrible. I did want to see Lake Titicaca, so the route was easy to plan. After leaving Paracas, I headed back down the PanAmerican Sur, south through Ica and the Peruvian wine country, and into Nasca. I would then head along the coast to Camana before heading inland, and up, to Arequipa and eventually Lake Titicaca. The climb from sea level to Titicaca would be over 12,000 feet, the first real test for my van. 

I made pretty good time to Nasca, with a quick stop at the oasis of Huacachina just outside of Ica. What a crazy little place, just nuts, packed with tourists, dune buggies, even "snow boards", plus many bars, shops and restaurants all surrounding a small lake, the oasis. I stopped for a beer, wandered around, watched the crazy dune buggies, huge things, hauling tourists by the hundreds up, down, all over the dunes. I guess you can also use snow boards and ride down the dunes as well. I had no time, or interest, place was just crazy.

The road to Nasca was fine, desert, some ups and downs, and always, lots of trucks. I stopped to climb a tower to check out some of the famous Nasca lines left by an ancient civilization, or aliens, no time or money to take a flight in a small plane. Found a great little hotel in Nasca, right off the main plaza (Plaza de Armas, every town in Peru has one), and with great offstreet parking for my van in a courtyard behind the hotel; they even game me a room overlooking the parking area. To bed early as another long day on the road to follow, and it turned out to be one of the most challenging days on the road I would experience for many weeks.

Next morning, on the road early, another day with nothing but blue skies, though was really windy early. At first, great road down to the coast, even with the wind, made good time. But once I hit the coast, that nice little drive along the beach I had hoped for based on the map vanished, and a crazy, and very scary drive ensued. The road was just nuts, carved out of the huge bluffs, mountains really, that came down to the edge of the Pacific, often with shear drops which had to be over a 1000 feet. The road curved around the edge of these bluffs, up and down, scary switch-backs, and downhills, and always, trucks and buses everywhere. And when you throw in some wind, it was brutal, I had no fun at all. By the time I got to Camana, I was crushed. Struggled a bit finding a place with secure parking, ending up in a little beach "resort" just down the highway from the center of town, area ironically called La Punta. Ended up in a hospejeda, total dive, but cheap, and with a big gate, locked, to keep my van safe for the night. I had to beg for a town and even toilet paper. I think place only cost me about US$10, and I was so tired after the brutal drive, I really did not care, as long as my van was safe.

The next day, the theme for the day became quickly obvious, all about climbing, and climbing,  up to Arequipa, from sea level to 7,710 feet (2,350 m) in elevation. Was nice to see mountains again, the Andes, and volcanoes, and chew some more coca leaves of course. The road was good, often even straight, even if it always seemed to be going up. And, experienced a first along the way, along a perfectly straight stretch of road, on another beautiful day, saw my first dead body along the road, covered in a sheet, but still, a first. There had been a recent accident, small SUV, driver side totally crushed in and vehicle thrown off the road a few meters, Policia National all over the place, and there by the SUV was obviously the body of the driver covered with a white sheet. Looks like another monument will be constructed soon. One (of many) interesting things about Peru, and Chile as well, is that they build little monuments at the site of traffic fatalities along the road, and, there are lots of them, even on perferctly straight stretchs of road like the road I drove and saw my first dead body. I think they are always in a hurry, pull out to pass a truck or bus, then they get creamed by an oncoming truck or bus. There are monuments along every climb, and downhill, along every straight stretch of road, and sometimes more than one on obviously dangerous curves, and extreme drop-offs. At first, kind of bothered me, but guess after so many miles and miles of driving, you get used to it, though is amazing how large and extensive some of the monuments are. And there are very sad monuments as well, like the ones with two large crosses, and three small crosses, the site where a family of five all lost their lives in an accident. Sad. But I survived, van climbed like a mountain goat (well, .......), and I made it to Arequipa without incident. Was another long day, but the scenery was often amazing, the high desert can be beautiful, even if just a thousand shades of tan and brown. And when you throw in the mountains and volcanoes, very nice, even if the roadside is lined with blue, white, and red monuments, all with crosses, and flowers, and other decorations. I was finally starting to enjoy myself a bit, the adventure had clearly begun, I was no longer in Lima.

Struggled a bit to find a suitable hotel, secure parking for my van always an issue, but ended up at a great place, even if pretty expensive, La Casa de mi Abuela. My room was great, and van, very secure. I decided to stay for two nights, had some shopping to do (still had no working stove, even though I actually had brought three stoves with me, will address in a later post), and was looking forward to chilling a bit, had been on the road for four days, crazy coastal road, lots of wind, and climbing, we were both tired. Plus, van was a mess, nothing really organized, as I left La Punta ina bit of a rush, need to spend some time in my van, and not behind the steering wheel. Although Arequipa a big city, think it is the second largest city in Peru, was tiny compared to Lima, and looked like an interesting place to explore. So, the final push to Titicaca would have to wait an extra day, I needed a break. 

Finally, early in the morning on the 17th of September, 2016, after just over two months in Lima (first Miraflores, then lovely La Punta), I was on the road, heading South, Patagonia was only, like 2,000 miles away or so, was not exactly sure at that point. I was just relieved to be finally on the road, even if I was leaving my US$800 fridge behind. Had to happen, had to leave, every day I stayed in La Punta cost me at least $50, if not more, had to go, had to finally hit the road. I got up early, made my way from La Punta across town, and onto the PanAmerican Sur, and into the desert. Van was just as happy as I was to be on the road, ready to travel and log some miles. I was finally leaving Lima behind, hopefully never to return.

I headed south through huge dunes, nothing but sand and rock and hills, a theme which would repeat itself for days and days, and days. I initially headed for Paracas, a town, and national reserve, a desert peninsula sticking out into the Pacific. I could not wait to sleep in my van, out there, somewhere, overlooking something cool. I had planned this trip for years, planned for me, and my van, traveling, exploring, wandering, seeing what we can see, sleeping wherever we can along the way. Our first stop would be Paracas.

The town itself, very cool, great beach, many shops and restaurants, all about tourism here, especially trips to Isla Ballestas. Isla Balletas is a chunk of rock off the Paracas Peninsula, home to many birds, including Humboldt penguins, and plenty of sea lions. Unfortunately, I had no time, or money, for the boat ride out to the island, so I only stopped in town to look around, pick up some supplies, and grab a beer at one of the many bars along the beach, place was packed, not the bar, but the beach. Was quickly on my way to Reserva National de Paracas where I planned to camp (well, sleep in my van, which some might not consider camping, but I do, and can't beat my 6 inch memory foam mattress, beats sleeping on the ground any day). Paid S/.20 to enter the park, and into the dunes, rocks and coastal desert we went. It was beautiful, though midday light did not lend itself to amazing photographs, was still a very different, and interesting place. And again, I would not have enough time to spend here, a theme which will recur over and over again. The delay in Lima was costly. It was very windy, a very dry, sandy coastal desert, but beautiful in its own right. I found a parking area, brand new (they were actually still working on it), with stairs to the beach; a couple of rangers said ok to park/camp for the night. Hung out, as day-trippers left, the sun faded, drank a beer, or two, and very much enjoyed finally being on the road. My trip, my adventure had finally begun. As soon as the sun disappeared behing the dunes, I was in bed, and quickly asleep. I slept well.

Up early, but no coffee, real bummer, my stove did not fit the gas canister I bought; issues with stoves, another recurring theme. Headed out, stopped for a quick ride on my bike, needed to do something active. Riding on the sand was great, place so wind-blown, sand actually not as much sand as rock, like pavement, hard, and great for riding. Rode for about an hour, some climbing, got hot quickly, time to keep moving. Loaded up, and unfortunately, after a very short visit, had to say goodbye to Paracas, quickly back on the the PanAmerican, heading south. 

Finally, it happened, after what seemed like weeks and weeks, oh, it was weeks and weeks, I finally got my gear, except my fridge. I was totally pissed about the fridge, as I had been told, been promised, by more than one person, that I would be able to get "all" of my gear, and get the hell out of Lima, any day. Well, that did not happened, I was lied to yet again. Such is nature of doing business in Peru, and especially anything associated with the port of Callao, all a bunch of criminals. But it finally happened, I got an e-mail early in the afternoon on the 15th of November, two months after I arrived in Lima, from my customs broker instructing me to be at the Neptunia SP warehouse in 30 minutes, after waiting weeks for you to do your job, you suddenly tell me to be at the warehouse to pick up my gear in 30 minutes, really? And, they said, "bring cash", but not how much. So I hurried back to Villa La Punta, then hurried to an ATM to get more cash, had some, but figured I had better get more. I then scrambled to grab a cab and off to Callao and Neptunia I went. It took me almost an hour, cannot get anywhere in and around Callao in 30 minutes. Met someone from my customs broker's office, waited over three hours, and finally they appeared at the gate (I was not allowed in the facility), appeared with what I thought was all of my gear, and with a bill for over US$900, I about fainted. I did not have that much, and could only withdrawal US$200 at a time (and really, per day), but was so pissed, I had no intention of paying them that much anyway. We headed for La Punta to drop off my gear, and then when they opened the door of the truck, I asked about the fridge, and they said, no fridge, I thought my head was going to explode. They basically stole my fridge, even though I was promised I would be able to get all my gear. But at that point, I was too exhausted, and just ready to get the hell out of Lima, I quickly formulated my plan of escape in my head, unloaded my gear, and told them I would not pay them any more money until I got "all" of my gear as promised. I threw everything into my van, they took off, and I almost jumped in my van and left that moment, I was so pissed, so pissed. A calmer head prevaled, I needed some time to organize my gear a bit, and say goodbye to my new friends in La Punta, so instead of leaving, headed off to Elmer's bodega for a beer.

The next day, the 16th of November, I organized things in the van, did some shopping, began my stall tactics with my broker and the warehouse, and then went to Ricardo's house/appartment (3rd floor, beautiful place, great outdoor deck, high ceilings, wondeful) that evening for a little party, Ricardo, Charlie, and Vaughn. Before that, Ricardo and his wife took me to a wonderful restaurant right down the street from where I had been for the last month, place I thought was reserved for naval personel, where we had a pisco sour, or two, and some fantastic hor dourves. Had a great time, my last evening in La Punta, lots of fun. Then slept in my van for the first time in Peru, in South America, and at 6:00 am on the 17th of November, I was finally on my way, I drove out of La Punta, through part of Callao, San Miguel, San Isidro and Miraflores, and eventually, I was on the PanAmerican Sur, the PanAmerican Highway heading south, finally. I had escaped!

For many reasons, I just am not going to go into all the details of what happened to me, how I was treated, and/or how much it cost me in terms of time, and money, it is just not important at this point in time. What is much more important is what has happened since, so I will only provide a quick summary here. Customs officials in Peru, at the port of Callao, simply just did not understand that I was a tourist, and as a result, they treated me like an importer, even like a criminal at times. They held me captive in Peru, first in Miraflores, and then later in La Punta. They cost me thousands of dollars, in terms of what I felt were totally unnecessary fees and cost, and in terms of the delay, staying in a hotel for weeks on end is not cheap, even in Peru. They made things very difficult, they did not even know their own policies and rules, they lied to me on at least two occasions, and generally treated me very poorly. I told them many times, I am just a tourist, and asked them many times, do they treat all tourists like this? Their response, this is different senior, but it is not. Whether I drove my van full of equipment across the border from Ecuador, or brough my van and gear into the county by boat, it does not change the fact that I am a tourist, a temporary visitor, I am importing nothing, I do not have a tax ID number, I plan to leave as soon as I can. It did not help that my customs broker, my clearing agent, DASA Logistics, were almost as bad, all a bunch of incompetent idiots. The whole process was terrible, costy, and left a scare that will never heal. I hate Peru, full of a bunch of crooks. And the problems run deeper than just what happens at the port of Callao. I told many people, Peru has many, many problems, and these extend to their tourism industry as well, the only part of their economy which is currently growing. Peru loves tourism, and the dollars tourist bring in, but, they simply do not like tourist, they do not like us. With one exception, I only found one person who was involved with the port who was sincerely interested in helping me, a tourist, bring my van and gear into the country so that I could explore Peru further, Alex Gomez from Transmeridian. Other than Alex, I met no one who was sincerely willing to help me, whether at BJ Logisitics, Vanguard Logisitics, DASA Logistics (who I paid), Aduana (customs), Neptunia SA (warehouse people where stuff is stored until it clears customs), the US Embassy, etc. All I wanted was my van, and then my gear, so I could go. Instead, I was imprisoned for just over two months, it was not fun. 

But, I did get my van, and eventually most of my gear, though they did take my Engel portable refrigerator. Is a bit of a story, but, problem was they they have import restrictions on refrigerators in Peru, antiquated law going back to the Montreal Protocol, ozone protection, etc. My fridge was 100%CFC free, I provided documentation from the manufacturer (MSDS, letter stating fact that unit was CFC free and used perfectly harmless refrigerant), as specified on the Peruvian Customs webpage, but they confiscated it anyway, and to add insult to injury, they later fined me S/.1200 (or about US$340) for illegal importation of a refrigerator, though again, I was not importing anything, I am a tourist.

So, moral to the story? Do not start your trip in Peru, and heck, I would ask everyone to not go to Peru, period. They want our money, but they generally have no interested in us, in helping us, in understanding tourists and who we are. They only want our money. Now, I met a number of wonderful Peruvians, and while I hate Peru, I do not hate all Peruvians. But after the way they, at Customs, at my broker, at the different warehouses treated me, it is easy to understand why I feel the way I do. I planned this adventure for a number of years, and Peruvians put all my entire trip in jeopardy. I will have to shorten my trip, limit certain activities, and generally see and do less than I had planned. Peruvians associated with Callao, the port, cost me much, and I will never forget, never forgive.

While in La Punta, biking and walking around town, and in Callao, I became facinated with their doors, and the ornate bars which often protect them. I know I have seen an exhibit by some famous photographer somewhere dedicted to doors, and probably doors in Latin America, so I guess I am not alone in my fascination with doors and bars. So, below some images of doors in La Punta (and a couple from Callao).

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Not long after I got back from my trip to Cusco and the jungle, my van arrived at the port, Callao, but still no luck getting advanced clearance with Customs. It was not until the 21st of October, over a month after I arrived in Peru, that I finally got my van, just pathetic. I had already planned that once I was able to get my van, I would move from Miraflores to La Punta, which is adjacent to Callao, the port, where the van was located, and where I still had much business to attend to in trying to get my gear. So, I moved to La Punta.

I had reservations at Villa La Punta, really a bed-and-breakfast, not a hotel, at the end of the peninsula that is La Punta. Place was nice, even if a bit expensive, as cost S/.120 per night, or about US$40, depending on the exchange rate that day. My room was nice, private bath, and a ceiling that must have been 25 feet high. Also, hallway was open to the sky, and the breakfast area was covered, but open-air. Obviously, weather stays pretty nice in La Punta, all year long. Luisa owns Villa La Punta and is very nice, as were Vilma and her son Diego, both of whom live at the property. Villa La Punta is right across the street from the Peruvian Naval Academy, so I figured it was a very safe place to park my van, even if parked on the street. So the day I picked up my van, I dropped it off in front of Villa La Punta, then raced back to Miraflores to pick up the rest of my stuff. I was very happy to get my van, and La Punta was nice, and different from Miraflores, and I was ready for a change. I just did not realize how long I would be there.

La Punta is a pretty exclusive place, even if adjacent to Callao, which is a pretty scary place. There is much security, and you cannot even get into La Punta without passing through a checkpoint. La Punta is dominated by very nice houses, a yacht club, or two, a rocky beach and large intertidal wetland, a huge sea wall and park, many restaurants all serving lots of ceviche, and the Naval Academy. It is a nice place, safe and secure, and it turned out that I met a number of very nice people there. I was in La Punta so long, I made friends, I was basically a resident of La Punta, lovely La Punta.

As it turned out, I spent almost a month in La Punta, and as I mentioned, I made new friends. It was nice to meet people, to be able to hang out, drink a beer or two, to pass the time, and just to chat. I was very frustrated with what had happened in getting my van, and in dealing with trying to get my gear, so making new friends was a welcome distraction. Ricardo Bermudez, though a Peruvian, lived and worked in the US for many years, as did Luis. I enjoyed hanging out with Ricardo, and his lovely family, wife and daughter. Pizza Charlie is from Boston, he runs a small pizza business in La Punta, and Vaughn is a retired Ex-pat who is married to a Peruvian. Elmer runs a small bodega and it was always fun to stop by for a cold Cusquena and visit. I hope to keep in touch with the folks in La Punta, they were, are wonderful people. I also met many wonderful people who passed through Villa La Punta, including a wonderful young German couple (saw them twice, when they began, and ended their visit to Peru, good luck with med school!), a woman from Montreal, some Aussies, more than one couple from Holland, other Germans, a lovely young, Swiss woman, and more. It is too bad that my stay in La Punta was not about enjoying an extended vacation, and meeting some great people, it was about Customs, stupid people, difficult and very frustrating times. I was not happy, but did enjoy spending time with my new friends in La Punta. I do not like Peru, but there are a number of very nice Peruvians, including those I met in La Punta.
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