Adventures in Paracas and Huacachina, Peru

It was nice to leave the business of Lima, as we were excited to see some real Peruvian culture, and that can sometimes be lost in a big city. We found a company called “Peru Hop” which is a bus tour company that stops at the major tourist destinations. The best part is that you don’t have a strict itinerary to follow and you can stop at each city for as long as you want and get back on the bus when you are ready. The bus also stops at various free tours along the way.

Our first stop was in Paracas. A fishing village along the coast and gateway to the Ballestas Islands (aka the poor man’s Galápagos Islands). We spent only one night here because all we wanted to see were the islands, and it ended up being heaven on earth for the kids because there was a sandy beach! Oh boy, give our children sand and they are good for hours!

We had to pull them away for some dinner, and since we were in a fishing village, we had to try some sea food. We each chose a dish and shared amongst the family. We had:

1. Ceviche (raw fish in vinegar - Amanda was very uncertain about this one but ended up liking it very much)
2. Grilled Octopus
3. Battered fish pieces and fries
4. A whole fish in a delicious yellow sauce (we still have no idea what the sauce was, but it was amazing - the family favourite! Adeline even sucked on the bones!)

After dinner, it was straight back to the beach!

Thr next morning we went on out boat ride to the Ballestas Islands. We passed so many beautifully painted fishing boats along the way. The fist bit of wildlife we saw were Cormorants. The birds were fishing along side the boats. Perhaps the boats were churning up the fish, but it was amazing watching the birds dive down from high above the water and then come bobbing back up again. There were literally hundreds perhaps thousands of birds massed together diving and fishing. It was a spectacular show! It took about half an hour to get to the islands where we saw a few Humbolt Penguins, Peruvian Pelicans, Terns, a bazillion Cormorants and Peruvian Boobies, but the most exciting part was definitely the sea lions. Some lounging on the rocks in the sun, some swimming leisurely in the water, others fighting the waves to climb the rocks... But being surrounded by so many birds, someone was likely to be hit by some guano (bird poo), and of course, Amanda was the lucky one! One little plop and a splatter that made its mark all over Amanda (pants, shirt, face - everything)! But that is a sign of good luck, right?



On our way to the next town we stopped at an old Hacienda (manor house in the country) where they used to have slaves work for the owners. In fact, they used to smuggle slaves in to avoid paying taxes and so an intricate system of tunnels were built underneath the property in order to transport the slaves. It was so sad to hear the story of the past and how people were treated. We were escorted though the tunnels and were shown the punishment rooms that still had some bones from the past. Our guide told us that there are ghosts that are still seen by the guests that stay there, as it is used as a hotel now. It was definitely a beautiful property with a wonderful yard the kids could play in for a little while before getting back on the bus,

The next town we stayed in was Huacachina. This town is centred around a lagoon, but is completely surrounded by sand dunes! We arrived at our hostel and almost immediately set out for an amazing dune buggy ride and sand boarding adventure. David warned us all before we started that it was like a rollercoaster ride, but all Amanda could think about while we were driving was “oh no, I promised my mom that I would keep her grandchildren safe!!” It was a crazy ride, up and down, turns and bumps! There were seat belts made out of old car seat belts that worked most of the time. Both David and Amanda found themselves in a situation where they realized that they weren’t buckled in, and when you bump, you really get launched, so we made sure they got buckled up quickly. Both of the children were whooping and hooting because they were having such a  great time, while Amanda was peeing her pants and  playing worst case senarios through her head. What would she do if the buggy flipped over. What would she do if one of the kids fell out, etc. The adrenaline ride was accompanied by some very fun sand boarding. While the dunes looked quite steep, we were only allowed to lay down on the board like a toboggan. Our guide waxed up the bottom and gave us a push and down we went. The kids were addicted! The adventure ended while sitting and watching an amazing sunset. There is something magical about sunsets in the desert! This was a favourite so far, and there is still lots to do!

First Stop: Lima, Peru

We finally made it! Out of North America and into South America! After 5 years of planning and anticipating, it is finally here!

It didn't take long to realize that the comforts of home are long gone and will be out of reach for a while. The language is different, and no matter how many hours I spent on my Duolingo app, it is extraordinarily hard to communicate in this fast paced city!

Speaking of a fast paced city, I don't know if it is because we are such a small city, but Lima is crazy busy! The driving is shockingly chaotic. The best thing that we have done so far is that we arranged a ride from the airport to our hostel because we never would have handled figuring that out once we got there. First off, as soon as we left the luggage area in the airport, companies and individuals are shouting and trying to get your attention to get your business. Luckily our driver had David's name on a sign to find us. Then he wove in and out of traffic to get us to our hostel. I am pretty sure that the traffic has most of the same rules as back in Canada. There are traffic lights, lines on the road, stop signs, etc., but divers don't seem to follow all those rules. Almost every car just drives through the stop signs! And they sure like to use the horn! They honk when they are mad about another driver, to say hello to other drivers, and to get people's attention on the streets. We started singing "If you're happy and you know it honk your horn " and almost every time, someone wold honk on cue! With all the crazy driving, we quickly learned to be very attentive walkers. But you also have to be assertive walkers, by seeing a small gap and going for it. Otherwise you might never have a chance to cross the street.

We spent our time in Lima walking around town and just relaxing. We were staying in the very safe neighbourhood of Miraflores. There are police officers standing on a lot of streets and patrolling the area, so safety was never something we were worried about. Miraflores is more of the we'll to do area for locals and has lots of nice parks. There was even free wifi in the parks! I think that the kids liked the mini gyms we could find all up and down the ocean walkway. Adeline especially loved the flowers and trees. She was frequently trying to find the perfect leaf or branch to give herself ears and a tail. From the ocean walkway there was a very steep cliff and we could watch surfers and paragliders at work. The kids are very excited to give these a try sometime. We'll have to find a place for them to learn to surf.

One of the things I have enjoyed so far are all the street vendors. People are riding their bikes with big glass cases on the front selling breads or sweet treats, and little stands have one of our favourites, "choclo con queso" (corn with cheese) where you were given a cob of corn (with enormous kernels) with slab of cheese. I am not sure what kind of cheese it was, but it was great! Yesterday Charlie had "Pan con Huevo" (bun with a fried egg) and David and Amanda had "Papa con Huevo" (boiled potato with hard boiled egg).

On our Instagram I shared that we visited a park that his home to many cats in the middle of the city. Nobody knows how they got there, but there they are, and volunteer groups help feed and care for them. There are also dogs everywhere. It reminds me of Greece where you could have a new best friend on every street as stray dogs are abundant there, but here you can find dogs with and collars roaming the along with dog walkers. This has actually been tortuous for Adeline because we won't let her pet the dogs. Nobody seems overly open to sharing their pet, or really playing with them in public at least. At one stop we made on a bus trip, a boy brought out his dog, so I told Adeline she could go for it, and she had a solid 10 minutes of puppy heaven! This was on our bus trip south of Lima, which I will report about another time!

Planning a Great Big Adventure

It is easy to say that you are going on an adventure, but actually doing it has proved to be quite a challenge. Deciding to leave everything that is comfortable and familiar was what I thought would be the most challenging part. Leaving friends, jobs, our home, our language... that's a big deal! But once we got over that hump, and especially getting the kids excited about the trip and excited about leaving their lives behind, we found a few new challenges!

1. Packing
Packing was probably easiest. I think that we would qualify as people that dress very simply. We don't need our favourite shirt or accessories. I don't think any of us are aware of whether our shoes match our outfits. Since we have spent a lot of time hiking and canoeing, we have a decent amount of clothing that dries quickly which is perfect for washing on the go. For each person we packed:

• 4 quick dry shirts
• 2 pairs of quick dry shorts
• 2 pairs of pants
• 1 fleece
• 7 pairs of underwear (I found quick dry for the boys at Wal-Mart!)
• 7 pairs of socks
• 1 bathing suit
• 1 sarong (to use as a super thin towel that dries very quickly)
• 1 raincoat and pair of rain pants
• 1 pair of sandals
• 1 pair of light hiking shoes/boots
• 1 toothbrush
• 1 water bottle
• Tuque, buff and thin gloves
• Long underwear
• Hat and sunglasses
• Headlamp

We also packed:

• Toothpaste and dental floss
• Sunscreen and aloe vera
• Bug repellant
• Shampoo and conditioner
• Brush and elastics
• First aid kit including a Swiss Army Knife and sewing kit
• Tweezers and nail clippers
• Paracord (for a laundry line and other random needs)
• Sunlight bar (for washing clothes)
• Toilet paper 
• 2 decks of playing cards
• 5 dice
• 1 frisbee
• 1 mini volleyball
• 2 iPads and charging cords
• 2  cell phones and charging cords
• Cameras
• Plug adapter
• Steripen (a UV light to sterilize water)
• Ear buds for David and I and ear phones for the kids
• Two South American guide books
• David also brought a razor and shaving cream
• Amanda also brought some eye liner, pair of nicer earrings and a thin quick dry dress, just in case
• Amanda brought her Diva Cup with some tampons and liners.

For the kids we also brought:

• 1 stuffy each 
• Math booklets
• 4 scribblers
• 10 pencils, pencil sharpener and 2 erasers
• Package of pencil crayons
• Sketching pad
• Travel journal

We also added the "Libby" app on our iPads so we can read books online for free.

We separated our clothes and packed them in mesh bags. We had one mesh bag for each person, one mesh bag for swimsuits and sarongs and one mesh bag for warm clothes (long underwear, tuques, buffs and gloves).

All of this fit into two large hiking backpacks and two small day packs. 

2. Health
Travel insurance ended up being one of the most difficult challenges for us. We found that Manitoba Health will only cover us for 3 months. Some people can apply to be covered for up to 7 months (snowbirds), or even longer, but only if you are doing humanitarian work (for the length of your stay) or if you are a University Professor doing research. Unfortunately worldly education for yourself and your children doesn’t qualify. We are considered ex-patriots. Because Manitoba Health wouldn’t cover us longer, all other insurance companies wouldn’t top us up for the typical price and coverage. Many companies quoted us about $5000 or more. We found the best deal at CAA  Manitoba, but it is very limited. A plan that typically covers people up to $5 million dollars will only cover us $20,000.

Immunizations were also challenging. I looked on the website for the government of Canada and it lists different clinics within Canadian cities that will provide the Yellow Fever vaccine. I found a clinic  near our home that was on the list, and being a person who avoids long lines and the business of downtown, I thought that I would avoid the government clinic and give this one a try. Looking back, it would have been best to just go with the government clinic (WRHA).  We booked our appointment in June, but unfortunately the clinic switched the time and then cancelled our appointment. We weren’t able to make another appointment before August which was really cutting it close. When we finally met with the doctor, he mentioned that we should have come in a lot sooner to get this done (while I bit my tongue and tried not to argue that the reason we were so late was because the clinic cancelled our earlier appointment). Next, the doctor asked for our itinerary. He wasn’t too  happy to hear that we didn’t have an itinerary, and don’t plan on having one. In the end we were able to get all of the immunizations we needed except Yellow Fever because there is a shortage. Since it cost a lot of money to get travel vaccinations ($40 per person for the consultation and a fee for each vaccination) we weren’t too excited to go to another clinic only to pay for another consultation. But this ended up being alright because David did some research and found that we could get Yellow Fever vaccinations in Lima,  Peru. And there are some clinics that  provide the vaccination free of charge!

3. Travel Plans
Where to go first? Since we were going south, and since we were going to be leaving close to Charlie’s birthday, we thought that we would stop in Orlando to go to Disney World and Harry Potter World at Universal Studios. We found great tickets on Flighthub.com and UndercoverTourist. After that we had no idea until we learned about the Yellow Fever vaccine. Lima, Peru became an ideal first destination. The only thing we had to consider was that most countries need to see proof that you are leaving the country with an exit ticket (like a return ticket or an onward ticket by air or bus). Not having an itinerary proved to be a problem once again. David did some more research, and our plan was to be ready to book a flight at the airport to show that we would be leaving, and cancel it after we have shown our intinerary.  My honesty alarm is going off! But you do what you need to do! And I know that we are not trying to beat the system to abuse it. We won’t stay longer than our allotted time or be a burden on the government.

4. Tying up Loose Ends at Home
There were many things to take into consideration at home.

1. What to do with our house: Not a problem. We have an amazing niece who is currently a university student who has graciously accepted the invitation to move into our place with her boyfriend.
2. Education for our children: I am hoping that being an elementary school teacher, I can cover this one... 
3. Informing the Canadian Government that we will be gone and signing up for warnings and travel advisories.
4. Setting up pre-authorized payments for our bills like Hydro, Water and Waste, and the telephone company.

Now all that is left is getting on the plane and leaving on an adventure of a lifetime!