It has been a while since I have posted, and I went on this trip to Moquegua on August 24th - about 2 and a half weeks ago. Sorry about the delays, but I have been pretty busy!
I started to take these pictures when I noticed the surroundings were no longer just a wasteland of sand - there was grass and blossoming flowers. Really beautiful!
We stopped and I took pictures of what I call the "rainbow" mountains... sand transitioning to green grass to the blue blossoms and on...
Below is a military cartel.
We have now traveled dozens and dozens of kilometres from Tacna to Locumba.
"Obey the signs (road markings)" - below
This is called "Choclo" - a more traditional Peruvian fast food. It is short, fat corn with massive pieces of corn, as you can see. Mine was served with a small chunk of cheese.
On the road to Moquegua, another couple dozen kilometres from Locumba.
Below: the beautiful, immense sand dunes which stretch between Locumba and Moquegua.
Below: due to the obvious scarcity of water in this desert, green
anything is quite rare here. Water must be irrigated directly onto the base of the tree/plant.
Okay, so that's most of the pictures. Now it's time for a little quiz: I have traveled approximately 140 kilometres from Tacna, through Locumba, to Moquegua. Now, I'm going to show you 2 photos, and you have to guess how far apart they are (200 km, 120 km, etc.). I bet you won't get within 10 km... but who knows?
Above: Gargantuan sand dunes stretch along the horizon.
Rich, green farmland with cows. OK, now go ahead and guess there distance from each other.
(Drag your mouse over the blue text to reveal what it says)
Clue 1.
They're less than 125 km apart.
Clue 2.
They were taken within a maximum of 45 minutes of each other (ie. I took one, waited at the most 45 minutes, and took the other picture).
Clue 3. Look at this map: http://www.flickr.com/photos/67624507@N04/6155261415/in/photostream
Answer:
Zero kilometres
Welcome to Moquegua - a land which looks like it has been photoshopped ... in real life.
On the way to Moquegua
Below is a panorama taken from a mound in the centre of the city of Moquegua.
Above: Looks almost like some cross between ancient Egypt and the modern shantytowns of India.
Above: Yes, that's me... standing on a bridge. Fascinating, isn't it?
Beautiful...
This concludes my trip from Tacna to Moquegua and back.
