I took many blurry photos during my 18 hour bus ride from Ica to Cusco. Here we drove through the Curahuasi District in the Apurímac Region at an altitude of around 2,700 meters. The people in the district are mainly indigenous citizens of Quechua descent.

I took many blurry photos during my 18 hour bus ride from Ica to Cusco. Here we drove through the Curahuasi District in the Apurímac Region at an altitude of around 2,700 meters. The people in the district are mainly indigenous citizens of Quechua descent.

Burning palo santo in front of a mirror.
I discovered this "holy wood" in Peru. Bursera graveolens beguiles with a sweet soothing scent and has a nice relaxing effect. It contains a lot of resin, so it burns very well. Palo santo is closely related to frankincense. Both belong to the plant group of torchwoods. The smell is quite similar.

The intensely fragrant smoke is supposed to drive away bad energies. Shamans and medicine men use it for ritual purification and healing. People use it to clean their homes of bad energy. In fact, mosquitoes and moths don't like it at all.

In Peru, no trees are cut for harvesting. The twigs and branches are collected from the ground. I don't know how this is handled in other countries.

The landing in Lima, capital of Peru.

It's been almost a year. Actually, I wanted to return to Peru this year, because I really enjoyed it and there's still so much to discover. Won't work! But next year for sure (together with Ecuador)! Don't think that I'm done with the travel pictures. The ground sloth stream is like a timeless dream.

Sometimes I visit other planets. On Beta Carotene, everyone is invisible because they eat so many carrots.

Salt-tolerant coastal vegetation in the Atacama Desert, the driest desert outside the polar regions.

My first stopover was in Paracas, where I stayed for a few days. I got off the bus early in the morning, where a friendly taxi driver greeted me directly. Actually, I wanted to walk, but the price was too cheap to say no. We drove along the paved road. I had no idea what kind of area my hostel was in. When we left the paved road and drove through a slum populated by stray dogs, I thought this was just the way to the hostel. But we stopped in the middle of it. I lit a cigarette and let the impression sink. After a few puffs Nicolas came out the door and greeted me warmly. I was 4 hours early but that wasn't a problem. His wife Mary immediately made me a fresh breakfast while Nicolas prepared my room. It was a very nice and maintained hostel. Not for high standards, but with a lot of love and attention. The first impression of Paracas immediately lost importance and I was glad to have such a nice accommodation. Tourism in Peru is just beginning to develop. But that's also its special charm.

Sand everywhere! Paved roads were rare, but boring anyway. ✌

The stone sculptures in Aguas Calientes represent components of religion and culture of the Inca Empire.

The stone sculptures in Aguas Calientes represent components of religion and culture in the Inca Empire.