After a whirlwind trip from town to town (Cuenca, Guayaquil, Huaquillas, Tumbes), we are finally in Lima, Peru (since yesterday). The border crossing from Ecuador-Peru is another story worthy of its own post, with side plots involving fake Soles (the currency in Peru).

We are leaving for Arequipa, Peru late tomorrow (another 16 hours by bus) and slowly making our way to La Paz, Bolivia (hopefully). We've decided to leave the hike through the Inca Trail for last, as the weather might be better. The weather is already tons better than it was in Quito, only 2 weeks ago. Lima has a nice beach with some eager surfers taking to the waves!

I've visited the South American Explorers office here in Lima and can only really be compared to a bank (of travel information). They have books from Rough Guide, Footprint and Lonely Planet for almost every country in South America, as well as topo maps for hiking, trip reports, backpacker facilities (free coffee, storage, etc) and city binders containing climbing & trekking information, among other things. The membership is available through their website at www.saexplorers.org.

Pictures coming soon!