Peru is such a diverse and beautiful country in regards to geographical features and terrains. In the north there are beaches and going inwards, jungle, in the middle are deserts and canyons and great extinct or sleeping volcanoes, and in the south there are the Andes mountain range, the sacred valley, the sierra, and more jungle.
In the south, many years ago, I had travelled to the coast with friends, and we had stayed in a lazy beach town called Mollendo. We had sat on the beach in the sweltering heat eating massive fresh plates of five sole ceviche. It was the first time I had sun burnt in my life - I think it was close to 42 degrees - my shoulder skin bubbled back at the hotel, in which we were staying, and then it had turned black and peeled off revealing... a new shiny yet sensitive layer below. I was a bit nervous, but kinda thought it was neat as I'd never seen skin do that before and I seemed to be ok... no pain. My poor fair skinned friend was not as lucky as I and I remember applying copious amounts of aloe to her painfully burnt back and shoulders for weeks on end after that. However the beach I remember as being gorgeous, with soft sands, and good waves.
Melinda Beach - still beautiful with soft sands and great ceviche
So when I was in Arequipa (central city in the desert with the Volcano Misti in the back) this year with my brother and his girlfriend, I was curious to re-visit this beach town. They didn't have so much time, so after they left, I decided to go... I caught a bus to Mollendo. I got there in the afternoon and started looking for hostels because Mollendo is still not on the Hostel World site. This proved difficult as the time was summer vacation for most Peruvian people, and also the Festival of Mollendo was that night. I finally found a hotel that could take me, and the girl at the front desk and I became fast friends. That night I headed out to the festival on the beach with her and her friends and we spent the night listening to music and partying. The following day when I could actually see the beach - daylight - I headed back and camped out to tan and take in the sun - this time with sunscreen. The beach was still gorgeous, but this time overcrowded. The waves still amazing, and the ceviche too.
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