The bus ride from Guayaquil to Lima was happily uneventful. One of the most striking moments of the ride was during the last few hours driving down the Peruvian coast watching the sunrise over the spectacular sand dunes. These enormous dunes stretch for miles, dwarfing any other sand dunes we have ever seen. They reminded us of White Sands National Park but on a much larger, although less pristine scale.

We owe an enormous amount of gratitude to our new friends Frank and Cecilia. Despite having never met us, they invited us to stay at their farm in Huarez, a few hours north of Lima (thanks to Rick and Ginny for putting in a few good words for us). We deeply regretted having to decline the offer, but we could not afford to miss another flight. We look forward to the day when we will return and help cut some alfalfa on the farm. They also imported a new camera for us (to replace ours that was stolen). This prevented us from having to use disposable cameras for the remainder of our around the world trip. It also saved us quite a bit of money comsidering cameras are about two to three times more expensive in South America. As if that were not enough, they took us out to one of the finest restaurants in Lima for some exceptional food. We loved the cerviche and Sea Bass, but watch out for the Pisco Sours. Those potent libations sneak up on you then run you over like a mack truck!

Having been forewarned about the many hazards of Lima, we kept our visit quite brief and made a quick exit for Cusco.