Desert In Peru: Zero Is More Than Nothing

When we left Piura and our friendly model airplane hosts to continue south, we were told that on our way through the Peruvian desert to our next stops, Lambayeque and Huanchaco, there would be nothing, more nothing, and then absolutely nothing. But just like zero is a valid mathematical result, a dry desert is a varied multifaceted region. The photos afford a small glimpse.

Desert domiciles/Wüstenbehausung/Vida en el desierto

Burrowing owls/Kanincheneulen/Buhos en Lambayeque

Huanchaco is close to the big city of Trujillo, and there we met with Marco Celi and other members of the Club Aeromodelismo Trujillo. They fly their motorized models off of a soccer field located in the vast areal of a military school. We flew with them several times using an e-powered glider, but we also went slope flying on the coastal bluff near Huanchaco.

We ended up staying almost three weeks, because I got sick with a bacterial infection in my stomach; let’s call it Atahualpa’s revenge (he was the last Inca leader). Luckily, we were camped at Casa Amelia, where I easily could accomplish my frequent and urgent trips to the bathroom, day and night.

Casa Amelia deserves a special mentioning here. It is a pleasant and friendly place. Run by Dutch manager Paul, it mainly caters to backpackers who mostly travel in pairs or solo using busses and planes for transportation. Paul also has a big heart for overlanders like we, and he welcomed us wholeheartedly to park/camp at his hostel.

During the 18 days we stayed there, we met many young and adventurous travelers, most of them less than half our age. Interestingly, Marcela was the only Latina. Everyone else was from (in no particular order) Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Australia, Spain and the US.