travel blog | TwoGirlsTrippin

From the Andes, we decided to take a bus and head back to the beach to check out a town by the name of Huanchaco. This time we had another partner in crime with us. We met Jessica in Huaraz and happened to be heading in the same direction, so the three of us boarded an overnight bus to the coast.

Huanchaco beach

We all stayed at a funky beach hostel with a collection of the furriest rabbits we’d ever seen. This town had a very relaxed vibe and we wanted to take advantage of that after our tough couple of treks.

Our funky, fun beach hostel Casa Amelia

View from our window

Bunny rabbits at our hostel, Casa Amelia

During the day we took some strolls along the beach, checked out the locals and watched them fish off of the pier. Their style of fishing does not include a rod, but a square wooden paddle with fishing line attached to it. It works! You can actually purchase one of these contraptions for a mere 5 soles (about $1.50 US dollars) and cast your line out into the Pacific ocean, and hope for the best!

Checking out Huanchaco pier with Jessica

The wooden paddles the locals use for fishing

Sandcrabs are used for bait

Fishing off the pier in Huanchaco

The wooden paddle and fishing line actually work!

Watching the waves roll in and out from the end of the pier

Huanchaco is known for its excellent surfing, and also the “Caballitos de totora”, which are small boats made out of reeds and used by Peruvian fisherman for 3,000 years. They still actively use them today! You can see them lined up on the beach, waiting to get into the water.

The Huanchaco coast, notice all the totora reed boats

Caballitos de totora lined up on the shore

Caballitos de totora ready to take off

No night in a new town is complete without checking out a local band playing at a nearby bar. Good music, good friends and good pisco sours, check!

Sampling Huanchaco’s nightlife with our friend Jessica

Instead of taking a long bus ride to our next destination, we opted for a short flight to Lima instead. This way we were able to fly with our parents and see them off to their connecting flight back home.

After a bit of research, we decided to stay in the Miraflores district of Lima. Here we could get a bit of ocean action as we hadn’t had any since Valparaíso, Chile. The other most important reason for going to Lima is the food! Peru is ranked among the top cuisines in the world. We had to find out for ourselves (our favorite sport is eating, we’re especially good at it).

Before hitting up the restaurants, a bike and free walking tour was needed just to familiarize ourselves with the area. The walking tour was centered around historical downtown Lima where you would find major points of interest like Plaza de Armas, the Palacio de Gobierno (where the president lives) and the Basílica de San Francisco, just to name a few. While we were walking around the plaza, loud trumpet playing was coming from the palace and we actually witnessed the changing of the guards!

During our bike tour we rode through the neighborhoods Miraflores and Barranco, where we rode alongside the cliff side for most of the tour. Here, you could see many parasailers floating right above the Larcomar shopping center. This huge shopping complex with a movie theatre and multiple restaurants is actually built into the cliff side and has stunning views of the Pacific Ocean.

While we were in Lima, we decided again to use Airbnb and rent a room. Our hosts, David (who’s a DJ) and Eugenia were awesome! They invited us to a house party with some of their friends and even took us to a non-touristic place in Chorrillos to have some delicious ceviche! Speaking of ceviche (best ever!), check out the food pics below as Peru did indeed deliver on it’s exquisite food.