winifredcreamer

Mancora

Best known of the northern beaches is Mancora, where surfing competitions are held. The center of town is a bustle of hostels, restaurants and shops. We found a few things we’d forgotten to bring along, like peanut butter, and new flip-flops. Mancora is 100% tourist. The beach in Mancora had everything we’d heard about, jetContinue reading “Mancora”

Playa Los Organos

Our home stretch into the north took us from Piura to Playa Los Organos. We saw more of the damage from El Nino as we left Piura on bumpy roads, the asphalt having washed off last year. Road construction detoured us every few kilometers for the first hour of our drive. After that, the roadContinue reading “Playa Los Organos”

Heading North

We decided to visit northern Peru, and headed for Playa Los Organos, on the coast between Piura and Tumbes, stopping for two nights on the way. The first day was familiar territory where we passed familiar archaeological sites. Just north of our home in Barranca is the Fortaleza de Paramonga, southernmost outpost of the ChimuContinue reading “Heading North”

Still Life in Blue

These were sitting on the table and I couldn’t resist.

New jewelry

For a while, I collected broken watches and then took them apart. As I should have known, watches are all electronic and only contain a few tiny gears, most made of plastic, so watches are not a source of gears as they used to be. Most steam punk style jewelry is made from faux watchContinue reading “New jewelry”

Crafts while the internet is out

We spent a week with almost no internet and I found myself sewing. After dropping my phone in the ocean (!), I needed something to carry my phone and keys when i have no pockets. I started with the short sleeve from one of Jonathan’s worn out shirts. I folded the hem together and tookContinue reading “Crafts while the internet is out”

Wari, Peru’s First Empire

We couldn’t pass up a visit to the ancient capital of Peru’s oldest empire, Wari. The site is northeast of Ayacucho and not difficult to find. The site is huge, covering 1800 h (about 4,500 acres). As a capital city, Wari was home to rulers, priests, bureaucrats, craftspeople, and farmers. Circular spaces were probably forContinue reading “Wari, Peru’s First Empire”

Ayacucho’s Artisans

One of our goals in Ayacucho was to look at some of the crafts that the region is known for. There are ceramics, weaving, embroidery, metalwork, saddlery, retablos (tableaus of religious and secular life), and silver filigree. I’m probably forgetting something. There is also at least one artisan from Sarhua, a villlage about three hoursContinue reading “Ayacucho’s Artisans”

From the Sea to the Mountains, Paracas to Ayacucho

We have wanted to visit Ayacucho for a long time and finally left Lima headed south. It’s a very long drive and we decided to break our trip in Pisco. We couldn’t find any reasonable hotels. We tried Paracas where there are two categories of hotel, cement box and deluxe resort. Taking advantage of theContinue reading “From the Sea to the Mountains, Paracas to Ayacucho”

Fiesta Weekend 2018

This year the Fiesta of the Virgin of Lourdes is once again the biggest weekend of the summer. People return to Barranca from all over the world to visit family. I’ve met people who live in Austria, Israel and the US all back to visit and enjoy the summer and participate in the festival. ThereContinue reading “Fiesta Weekend 2018”