Our journey along the Pan-American Highway took us along the coastal desert route. Yes! through Peru's Sechura Desert, one of the driest climates in the world. We had anticipated hot weather along the desert coastal highway. November however, was a perfect month to head south along the Peruvian coast. The breeze off the Pacific Ocean was great!
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| Playa Colán, Northern Peru © Spaswinefood |
The Border Crossing into Peru
We had a smooth border crossing from Ecuador into Peru at Macara. We were treated well. In fact, one of the Peruvian officials even gave us some great tips on places to visit along the coast. We did not have to register our dog and cat at the border crossing. Our guess is that the border officials were unaccustomed to foreigners traveling with pets , or just did not want to take the time. Also, at the border, the vehicle inspection was easy. The Aduana (SUNAT) official said that we did not need auto insurance. We should have expected something was awry, as later in our travels we asked for both. Obviously, had we checked the SUNAT website we might have discovered this.
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| Border Crossing into Peru © Spaswinefood |
This article will take you down the northern coast of Peru to Lima. Our stop-overs along the northern coast included mostly small towns such as Colan (Playa Colán Lodge), Sipan (camped at the museum), Tortuga (El Farol Hostel) and Chancay (small hotel).
Northern Coastal Peru to Lima
When we entered Peru the vegetation was very similar to what we left in Ecuador, dry forest. Conservation efforts are underway, by groups such as Bird Life International, Spectacled Bear Conservation and other groups to protect this area. As we headed from Macara towards the Peruvian Coast the vegetation soon changed to very dry desert scrub, then to desert with very little or no vegetation.
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| Near the border © Spaswinefood |
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| Near the border © Spaswinefood |
When we reached the Pacific Coast we stayed two nights in Colan at a very comfortable resort, Playa Colan Beach Lodge. During our stay we saw a lot of birds. It was great to take our dog for walks along the beach.
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| Time for a Pisco Sour © Spaswinefood |
From Colán we drove south through the desert and cultivated river valleys to an archeological site known as Sipan. There we visited some interesting Moche pre-Inka ruins.
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| The hill is an adobe pyramid at Sipan © Spaswinefood |
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| The "Lord of Sipan" at Sipan Museum © Spaswinefood |
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Camping near the Sipan Museum © Spaswinefood
From Sipan we drove on south towards Lima. It is a long drive through desert, after desert, after desert. However, we saw a lot of interesting birds along the route.
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| Heading south on the Pan-American through Peru © Spaswinefood |
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| Desert sand dunes © Spaswinefood |
In Tortugas we stayed at El Farol Hostel overlooking the bay. It was before the start of the summer tourist season so it was very quiet.
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| Tortugas Bay © Spaswinefood |
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| Tortugas Bay © Spaswinefood |
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| Costa Azul Restaurante at Tortugas © Spaswinefood |
We encountered a few problems as we approached Lima. In a small town (Chancay) north of Lima, our friends were stopped by the police for a traffic infraction. The police were going to take their license and car title. It would take several days to get them, via legal means. However, the police gave them an option to pay a fine on the spot to avoid the delay. Of course, they took the option. What can you do? If you claim the police made the offer, would a judge believe you?
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| Ruinas near Chancay © Spaswinefood |
In Chancay we stayed at a small hotel for the night and next day headed south towards Lima. As we entered Lima, we were pulled over by “National Police” officers. One of the officers asked to see our papers. All was in order. He checked our safety equipment. All was in order. He asked to see our insurance. We said we did not have any because at the border the officials told us that we did not need it. He said it was obligatory. Then he said the fine was $400 U.S. He would take our license and car title to the police station until we paid the fine. We could not pay the fine that day (Friday). The earliest, if we choose the police station would be Monday, a wait of three days. But, he said we could pay him a smaller fine directly and we would not have to wait. Of course, we chose the latter to save time. What other option did we have since he had the license and car title in his hands.
Needless to say after the police stop, we then began a search for several hours to get insurance, asking all over the place. The police officers quickly disappeared with the money and offered no assistance in locating an insurance company. But we did not want to be easy prey at another road stop; so we continued the search. Finally, a very nice taxi driver assisted us. He took us into downtown Lima where we finally found a company that would issue insurance to a foreign vehicle. We found many companies that issued insurance but not to foreign registered cars. It is a catch 22, since it is obligatory but almost no one will issue the insurance. We had many police checks prior to Lima where everything went well. The police were quite friendly except in Lima.
Since we had visited Lima in the past, after obtaining insurance we did not stay but continued our journey south. While Peru has three primary geographical regions - coastal (desert), highlands (Andes) and tropical (Amazon), we traveled through Peru's coastal desert. However, it was not totally desert we did encounter small green agriculture areas, which are feed by rivers flowing from the Andes.
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| Green belt in Peru's coastal desert © Spaswinefood |
Sharon
February 2012
© Spaswinefood
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