Beachfront Property, Super Cheap

No facilities, no services, no neighbors, no trees, no shade. But you can build right on the Pacific Ocean and your back yard is several thousand square miles of beach. The coastal areas of southern Perú are one of the naturally driest deserts in the world. That’s because they lie...

The Three Little Pigs go into the Peruvian construction business

It’s extraordinarily common all throughout Perú to see houses and other buildings that look as if they are still under construction. And yet they are open for business or people are living in them or they are otherwise in use. I’m told this is because of Peruvian tax laws. Once...

Introducing… Golden Berries

I first discovered these tasty little treats in Perú in January 2014. At the time, I had been told they were called Peruvian Ground Cherries. I have no idea why, since I’m pretty sure they are not botanically related to cherries. In Spanish, they are called aguaymanto. Either way, they...

Unexpected discovery: two vegetarian Peruvian restaurants

I went out wandering around Trujillo today and stumbled upon a vegan restaurant just 3-4 blocks from where I’m staying. Then I found a vegetarian restaurant just 3-4 more blocks beyond that. After several hours of exploring and taking photos, I started to feel hungry so I made my way...

All-natural shampoo

While touring the ancient Nasca aqueducts and spiral wells, my guide Arturo also shared a great deal about the history, geology and botany of the region. During our own exploration, we happened upon a tree whose fresh leaves were “ground up” and the sap rubbed on the skin as a...

Other archaeological relics of the Nasca culture

Aside from their world-famous geoliths in the desert, the Nasca people did leave a few other legacies behind. They built a few small pyramids, some burial mounds, stone living structures, and a complex aqueduct system. It is this aqueduct system that is perhaps most impressive. In the 1980s, a powerful...