Our Peruvian Land Rover "Spot"
We landed in Lima and readied the Rover for another Peruvian Mountain journey. We were headed into the road less traveled, the highway to Ayacucho. Ayacucho is the gem of the Andes with the most festive people we have met in Peru. Ayacucho is a fascinating town with a dark and interesting history. This was the homeland of the Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path which played a part in terrorizing Peru 20 years ago.
We stayed at the Hotel Via Via on the main plaza, Plaza Mayor de Huamanga. Incidentally, Ayacucho in Quechua means corner of the dead. Through out the day and well into the night the Plaza was host to numerous parades complete with brass marching bands and firework armed individuals. It was so common that the kids would shout out, “oh no, not again!” each time they would hear the bands queue up. We loved the festive atmosphere of the town and were very sad to have to move on.
Masked Paraders
Parade in Ayacucho
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