Norte de Perú

Peru is a land of wonders – natural, cultural, and historical. We spent a month exploring this fantastic and huge country, marveling at the colorful desert landscapes, wide-open beaches with perfect rolling waves, snowcapped peaks, herds of llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas, ancient ruins, and bustling municipal markets filled with myriad colors and scents. We roamed back and forth between the beach and the mountains – surfing great little breaks and free camping with a herd of other VW vans one week, and the next climbing in one of the most spectacular regions we’ve ever seen high in the thin air of the Andes. We also spent a month battling crappy roads and the very aggressive Peruvian drivers, but that’s all part of the adventure, and Chimera continues to perform like a champ. Here is a selection of the hundreds of photos we took and many adventures we had in roughly the northern half of the country.

Paracas National Reserve.

Paracas National Reserve.

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Equatorial Adventures

Although Ecuador is small, as far as South American countries go, we still filled up a full month of exploration and enjoyment in this great country. We camped on the side of massive snow-capped volcanoes, strolled the historic streets of the capital city, played disc golf through a field of horny llamas at over 11,000′, hiked down to touch the frigid turquoise waters of a crater lake at high elevation, soaked our weary bones in scalding hot springs, hiked lush jungle trails, adopted another dog for a week while we boondock camped on the beach and surfed the perfect waves, and climbed impressive granite walls along shelves of agave and orchids while cows grazed around the van.

Our camp spot at the entrance to Cotopaxi National Park.

Our camp spot at the entrance to Cotopaxi National Park.

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Costa Rica Part II – Where the Bad Road Ends and the Good Life Begins

Costa Rica continued to charm us as we successfully sought out the elusive quetzal, hiked through cloud forests, and crossed many more rivers to make our way to deserted beaches on the fringes of wild jungle.

Playa Josecita.

Playa Josecita and the edge of Corcovado National Park.

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Costa Rica Part I – The Monkey Trail and the Microcerveceria

Ah, Costa Rica. True to its reputation, the land of Pura Vida did not fail to impress. For three weeks we basked in the warm waters, surfed the waves, hiked the jungles, ooohed and ahhed at the amazing flora and fauna, and drove some epic roads, including several river crossings.

Where the road appears to end...

Where the road appears to end…

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