My Fingers Are Pathetic

A trip has been planned to Huaraz for over a month, and still there has been no sign of getting into shape for the inevitable climbing that Miri and I both want to do.  Following the inspiring but inevitable determination of my German friend, we walk up to the heap of rocks above Huanchaco known [...]

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A German, An Englishman And A Dog Decide To Climb An Hill…

“We’re going over there,” pronounces Miri, pointing to the distant hill that rises from the mist.  Four days later,  we set off from Huanchaco towards the looming rise in the distance with Tomasa trotting behind us, unaware that we are destined for a long walk.  “We’ll be done in four hours,” I predict, “One hour [...]

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Peruvian Independence Day – Soldiers and Children

I thread through the crowd, most of which come up to my waist.  The waiting masses for the parade sprawl over four blocks, maintaining a fragile patience as they await their turn to march twenty feet with varying degrees of success in-front of the assembled authories of the municipality.  There are two clear themes to [...]

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Independence Day Preparations – Varying Degrees of Success

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Bathtime

I’ve noticed that my canine sidekick has been smelling a little less than fresh lately, so after deliberation decided that it was time to give Tomasa a bath. I’ve never given a dog a bath before, but the instructions on the back of the anti-flea shampoo seemed simple enough so I locked myself in the [...]

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Saintly Behaviour

The peaceful winter pace of sleepy Huanchaco has been shaken over the last few days with the Fiesta de San Pedro. A tuneful and ear-pounding range of practising marching bands have been stomping around town before convening in the local sports ground for a brass-off until the early hours, which has actually been quite entertaining. [...]

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Weighty Responsibility

Continuing the theme that seems to be predominant for this month, the next couple of months promise to be pretty tight on the purse-strings. Luckily I’ve been offered the option of house-sitting for the lovely couple who run a beach-front surf hostel and house themselves elsewhere across town while they fly back to Finland for [...]

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Faking it

I’m really enjoying the joint photo blog project that I’m doing with Dad, Digital Photography by Mistake.  In a nutshell, I put what I consider to be my best snaps up on the photo blog and Dad (who is a bit of a photo veteran) leaves me suggestions about how I could improve them.  I’m [...]

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A Peruvian Farewell

Winter is creeping into Huanchaco; overcast mornings and chilly breezes cutting through the town are becoming common now, and the sea is getting colder every day.  There are also a lot of people leaving now, either good friends made who are travelling and stayed longer than expected (the Huanchaco Effect) but now are forced by [...]

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Finally, Evidence That I Can Surf…

Thanks to my friend Syl’s big fat SRL camera with a huuuge zoom lens, she was able to snap a couple of pictures of me out for a paddle a couple of days ago.  These are the pretty much the first shots of me surfing that I’ve ever had, so I’m very excited and want [...]

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