No escaping Bob

One of the few things that seems to be consistent in almost every country I have visited is that Bob Marley's music will always make an appearance at some point on the trip. I am sitting on a balcony outside our room at Mancora beach in northern Peru and I can hear Bob emanating from a nearby restaurant as has he has done from probably about half of those we have eaten at here. Maybe they think it helps nurture the free spirit, grungy type ethos they are trying to cultivate in this town. Judging by the number of dread-locked heads walking up and down the main drag, I think they are there. Our five days here has been really relaxing, but it's time to move on. We are heading south tomorrow to see the famous Nazca lines. Very excited about that.

4 days later:The Nazca lines were impressive but tough to photograph from a 5person plane doing a quick circuit tour. If only planes could hover like helicopters. Those Nazca folks were a kooky bunch too. Trapezoid, triangle, then monkey and "astronaut"? Its kind of fun too when the anthropologists cant make any more sense out of it than you can. This town does have the branding down. They've got the designs on park benches, bus stops, fountain tiles, you name it.

We also tried sandboarding. Kind of like snowboarding, but after every run you have to rewax the board because sand just isn't snow and you also have to schlep back up the dune each time. Our dune buggy driver seemed to love terrifying the tourists as he flew up and down the dunes. "Low center of gravity, it's not gonna flip", I kept reminding myself.

In case it wasn't prime time news over there, the US embassy in Peru sent out a warning a few days ago that a bunch of cocaine-funded Maoist rebels might just kidnap us if we go to Machu Picchu this month. Naturally just before we plan on going. So we are rerouting and will try to hit up that area towards the end. Hopefully these rebels will have gotten over this nonsense by then. The plan now is to study more Spanish in Arequipa.

Colibri

After the last post, we stayed in an "Eco-lodge" in the rainforest for a few days. Lots of pretty birds, but the hummingbirds were probably the most abundant and interesting. Creatures like that exemplify a working theory I have that time might move at different rates for different species. They move so quickly and make decisions so fast that it just doesn't seem possible otherwise.
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It was a very nice place but of course everything is always damp (including toilet paper which is a little ick).

Next we stayed in a poor village by the water for about four days. The family that owned our "hostel" was very warm and the matriarch a good cook. Lots of little children always bouncing around, having a great time, and I am trying to find another way to say, "poor but happy". I still have a lot of trouble understanding the litter all around. Apparently that's an "education thing", but you actually have to be taught that? It's trash people. In your front yard.

The beach was barely on the map and really nice. I adopted a scrappy dog for those days who I still miss. He never left my side. I wish they could show these animals just a little affection.

We just finished 6 days in Galapagos. It's one of those places people say you must see once in your life and is worth blowing your budget for. I was a little skeptical (surprised?) but I think I was won over. These giant tortoises are pretty amazing and you get to see them in every stage of development. They live to an average of 150 very uneventful years. I wouldn't say the islands have a huge variety of wildlife, but what you see is remarkably docile and each island has a unique terrain. Great snorkeling/diving too.

Next post will be from Peru