Arequipa to Chivay

Saturday 30 April
Chivay is upstream from the Colca Canyon which we will visit tomorrow. Another early start.

We go to 4900 m today! We will test the Diamox medication which we have been taking for a few days now. Our tour comprises 12 people - we are known as Las Dos Pamelas or The Two Pamelas. This intro has the effect of 'bringing the house down' - or at least, producing great guffaws of laughter; we tend not to be forgotten or our names aren't anyway.

We follow the railway from Arequipa to Puno - it is not used for passengers anymore; it is used for mining.

The road climbs and twists - and the number of trucks our mini-bus had to overtake was a testament to the skill of our driver Miguel.

Surrounding us are several volcanos - all with snow. We see the Ampato volcano where 'Juanita the Ice Maiden' was discovered preserved perfectly in the ice.

We enter the national park: La Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca. Lovely country: lots of volcanic rock, cacti and some lovely greeny yellow pampas grasses.

There are 4 camelids in this NP: llama, vicuña, guanaco, alpaca. We get to see a bunch of vicuñas AND a train goes past scaring the things back across the road so we watched in horror hoping the trucks wouldn't mow them down! Chaccu the Peruvian version of a rodeo takes place in August: the local Indian people who live in the NP herd the vicuña to shear them for the fibre. The fibre is very fine and is used to make the most expensive garments.

We get to an intersection, where the road splits and one goes off off to Cusco. We are now at 4000 m and we feel surprisingly fine. 

We stop here for a break and try Mate Inca - a special coca tea comprising coca, muña (Andean mint), chachacoma. Coca has 14 alkaloids good for altitude sickness (known as soreche locally). There are many alpacas here.

On the bus when we leave our stop, we try chewing coca leaves with a small piece of llicda made from quinoa, platanos, ...

We made another stop for llamas and coots and flamingos near the Rio Capillano.

We reach Pata Pampa, 4900m the highest pass in Peru for a view of 3 volcanos - Sabancaya (which is smoking), Ampato, Hualca Hualca. Further away are Misti and Chachani. Definitely notice the altitude here!

Gaudy does a great job as guide - lots of good information and excellent English!

Rock pillars are everywhere and represent offerings to the gods but also nowadays many are made by the tourists.

Am experiencing headache here and a bit of breathlessness which declines as we go start descending but I still need a couple of Panadol later.

We can see the Central Range plus Mismi volcano - which it has been verified is the source of the Amazon River. Approaching Chivay I get tingling of the fingers, a side-effect of the Diamox. Not sure why I am getting it now? But this symptom disappears quickly.

In Chivay we have a huge buffet lunch with many Peruvian foods. Then a walk around the market where Gaudy talks about the local fruits and vegetables - the corn and potato are popular here with many, many different varieties. We try prickly pear. There is a lot of embroidery - and sombreros whose decoration represents which ethnic group the wearer is from.



























The locals here have a new 'take' on barbed wire fences! Wouldn't want to tangle with this!!!

They also have some interesting forms of transport to get around town - a new form of hybrd bike?

Then finally to our Colca Lodge. I am feeling sleepy as it is quite hot in the afternoon sun. Our hotel is about half an hour out of Chivay. It is amazing!! What a place!!!

The porters carry the suitcases down - it is quite a way from where our mini-van parks; I feel sorry for them. We have a coca tea (mate de coca) while check-in is processed and then set off to walk around the extensive property, followed by a visit to the alpaca ranch and then an hour soaking in the hot thermal springs.

We cancel dinner at the restaurant and opt for sitting by the fire in the bar area with an Argentinian malbec (breaking the rules about alcohol and altitude) and some bruschetta with local smoked trout and a chicken hamburger from which I remove the bread as it is too much.

TOP's shower was lukewarm; I was expecting a so-so one and so, on finding the water hot, decided on a whim to wash my hair. In the fog of the bathroom I selected the shampoo OK but inadvertently got hand cream instead of conditioner - interesting! Now why would you put two shampoos, one conditioner and one hand cream in the toiletries basket? Why not two conditioners? But what are your chances?!

Arequipa - the White City

Friday 29th April
We allow ourselves a slow start after our late night in on the bus from Nazca. Fortunately our city walking tour is not until 2 p.m.

Anyway, we take ourselves off after breakfast - armed with a map - to do some exploring of our own. First off we went to the Santa Teresa Convent. This 17th-century Carmelite convent is open to the public as a living museum. The colonial-era buildings are famed for their decorative painted walls and restored rooms filled with priceless objets d’art, murals, precious metalwork, colonial-era paintings and other historical artifacts.

Our next visit was to the Santuarios Andinos Museum in the Catholic University, but before this we came to the main Plaza De Armas which has some splendid buildings of the local white volcanic stone - sillar - including the cathedral; plus there are lovely covered walkways around the perimeter which provide welcome shade from the hot sun. It is a lovely day today but hot in the sun. The El Misti and Chachani volcanos are a backdrop to the city and the snow on their slopes reminds one that it is not hot all the time. In fact, once the sun goes down, it is decidedly cold.

At the museum one can see the mummy of Juanita - also known as the 'Ice Maiden'. In 1995, during an ascent of Mount Ampato (at 6380 m), Johan Reinhard, an American archaeologist and his Peruvian climbing partner Zarate (during an expedition financed by the National Geographic Magazine), found inside the summit crater a bundle that had fallen down from an Inca site when the ridge had collapsed due to the melting caused by volcanic ash that had fallen from the nearby erupting volcano of Sabancaya. To their astonishment, the bundle turned out to contain a remarkably well-preserved mummy of a young girl. 

The museum exhibits were quite dull - especially after the wonderful Larco museum in Lima - but to see the preserved mummy of this 12 year old girl who was a human sacrifice to pacify the gods is quite challenging.

We had to be back at the hotel for our walking tour, so we set off quickly and after a quick lunch met up with Gloria who was suitably decked out in high-heeled platform shoes - this was not going to be a fast-paced walk! She had excellent English however and we had interesting chats with her about anything and everything you can imagine. She even took us to an alpaca clothing outlet store!

We had a walk around the nearby neighbourhood of Lazarus: narrow alleyways and nice well-to-do homes. We emerge into a peaceful plaza with a church: Plaza San Francisco.

We also visit La Compañía church - very beautiful exterior and attached cloisters. This 17th century Jesuit complex is made up of buildings constructed for religious and living purposes. It was designed in 1573 by Gaspar Baez and destroyed by an earthquake in 1584. The current structure dates from 1650. Inside there are 66 canvases from the Cuzco School from such artists as Bernardo Bitti and Diego de la Puente.

Along the way we came upon a religious procession in the Plaza de Armas which added excitement.

Finally we visited the Santa Catalina Convent. This cloister, built in the 16th century, is a huge complex of buildings that once served as a town within itself housing 450 nuns. Traditionally, the oldest daughters of Arequipa’s aristocratic families entered the convent in their early teens and spent their lives there, cloistered away. The convent complex has been beautifully refurbished.

We returned to our hotel to have a small rest and get ready for dinner at Chicha which is one of a string of restaurants owned and run by one of Peru's top chefs, Gaston Acurio. I had a duck stew and TOP a shrimp soup which is an over-simplified description of a what was a much more complex dish. We each had a dessert we didn't need and TOP's was quite a presentation that came looking like an enormous ball of chocolate but it collapsed spectacularly when the waiter poured hot chocolate over the top of it.

Bus trip to Arequipa

Thursday 28 April

10 hours!!!!!

It didn't go well to start, but more of that shortly ...

We are ready on time and got to the bus station for the scheduled 2:30 p.m. departure but I am not surprised the bus is 25 mins late as it has come from Lima and when we got off at Paracas (which is over 250 kms south of Lima) on Tuesday I had noted it was 20 mins late.

We were duly processed (including body scan) but on getting to our seats there were other people occupying them!! 'Señora! Señora!' I cried to the conductress - aghast and pointing. Much checking of tickets of all parties, talking in indecipherable Spanish, exchanges of appropriate gestures, Señora disappears to office - for a long time! - and returns with a more senior Señor. More discussion in Spanish with the seat holders whilst we looked on worrying we were to be off-loaded, but it seemed the problem was not ours and a man had to get off and a woman relocated to another seat. Eventually he returned and there was much garbling in Spanish to us but he seemed very nice and eventually broke into some English but I think we had missed the explanation. I shook his hand and indicated I was pleased he was back onboard. Smiles all round. BIG sighs of relief from the two Pam-elas.

Very picturesque journey: beautiful sand hills - mix of creams, greys and browns - and eventually the sea to the right.

As we pass through Chaca about 6 p.m., there is the most amazing sunset over the Pacific. We then turn away from the water and the daylight is rushing into darkness and there seems to be a light mist.

We watch films, doze off in between but grateful for them as they take my mind off the twisting road; eventually, after a Kate Winslet & Alan Rickman number 'A Little Chaos' - quite delightful - (unfortunately Rickman's beautiful voice lost as the film is in Spanish with English sub-titles), I fall into a deeper sleep. 

It is pretty uncomfortable - like sardine-class on the plane - and I wake at times to the bus groaning its way up hills and round bends. I feel nauseous at times but tell myself that it was fortunate I took the travel sickness medication this morning for the Nazca Lines flight (it wouldn't still be working but the thought gives me some comfort).


The journey goes on and on - broken up with a couple of 'snacks'! We try out the local equivalent to coca cola: InkaCola - yes, it is that colour!

I am shocked but not surprised to find that our arrival time into Arequipa is 1:30 in the morning! We were supposed to be in at 11 p.m. and even allowing for the late arrival into Nazca and the delay there sorting out our seats, a further 1.5 hours has been lost!!! Will there be anyone there to meet us? Fortunately there is. This is one of those times one is pleased to be met on arrival! It is quite a bit cooler!! People dive into bags for jackets.

The hotel is locked up when we get there but our driver rustles up the night staff and we do the check-in and a shower is the first thing. You do get off these buses feeling somewhat disgusting. 

The hotel is very nice.

The Nazca Lines

Today we see the Nazca Lines. This was what Maria Reiche investigated - for over 50 years; we visited the 'museum' devoted to her work yesterday.

The lines scratched on the surface of the ground between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500, are among archaeology's greatest enigmas because of their quantity, nature, size and continuity. 

These geoglyphs depict living creatures, stylized plants and imaginary beings, as well as geometric figures several kilometres long. They are believed to have had ritual astronomical functions.

They are located in the desert plains of the basin river of Rio Grande de Nazca and basically, that is pretty much the only reason to come to Nazca: it is the proximity to these. You can take a bus and climb a tall viewing platform to see three of the geoglyphs, but plane is the best way. 

You just have to make sure you choose a reputable company because there have been a number of crashes. TOP had done some due diligence on this as she had a pilot's licence at one time, so she knows a thing or two.

We had a great flight with two pilots: one pointing out the figures and giving helpful instructions to view them whilst the other (a woman I have to say) did an expert job dropping in on one side, passing over then returning for a drop of the wing to the other side - done so for 12 figures. It was terrific and there were good views over the surrounding countryside of course.

I was very pleased with my photo of the 'aeronaut'! - and my travel sickness medication seemed to work. Towards the end I had a minute or two of queasiness when the plane dropped and tilted quickly, but I basically managed to keep breakfast down.

It was a perfect day for it - no rain of course BECAUSE IT DOESN'T RAIN HERE, but no wind also which is the main thing - so all good!

Afterwards we just hung around the pool area at the hotel until our transfer to the bus station for our journey further south to Arequipa - which we won't arrive to until 11 p.m. tonight. Ugh!!

Paracas to Nazca

Before travelling to Nazca, first thing was our excursion to the Ballestas Islands, often known as 'the poor man's Galapagos': an aquatic nature reserve that contains one of the highest concentrations of marine birds in the world. There are sea lions, penguins, numerous species of birds and the Paracas Candelabra, a curious pre-Inca design on the hillside, only recognisable from the sea.

It was a great trip - in a speed boat that took half an hour to reach the islands, via a stop to look at the 'Candelabra' as it is known.

Then an hour out at the islands where the speed boat driver did a great job getting us up close to the birds, seals and sea lions. Then half an hour back. The guide was very knowledgeable and it was very interesting. [continued below]

We left Paracas at noon and it was about 4.5 hours in a car to Nazca, down the Pan-American Highway. This road is 30,000 kms long and, except for a 100km break at the Darién Gap near Panamá, goes from Alaska to Ushuaia (Argentina) at the bottom tip of South America.

We passed through the very big town of Ica, travelling away from the coast, with a stop at the Lagoon of Huacachina, which became famous due to the medicinal properties of its filtered waters, but is now quite polluted. 

What WAS good was stopping at one of the shops to try (and buy) some pieces of tejas chocotejas (a dumpling-shaped confection with fruit or nuts) which is very yummy!

The countryside was so dry. It's unbelievable how little rain they get here. There were patches of green every now and then that were like oases - the water apparently from wells - and shanty towns, huge sand dunes: various hues of yellows, whites, creams and browns. We passed through a tunnel in a cutting with steep sides, the road slicing through the mountain, as we came into the town of Palpa where there was a lot more farming: asparagus, carob, pecan, oranges, mangos, onions.

We see Cerro Blanco which at 2100 m is the 2nd highest sand dune in South America.

Everywhere - even outside of towns - there are political slogans on any structure that lends itself to being painted. They have presidential elections due in June.

Just before Nazca, we stopped at the small Maria Reiche Museum, the former home of Dr. Maria Reiche (1903-1998), the German mathematician and archaeologist who dedicated more than 50 years of her life to the study, protection and measurement of the Nazca Lines. It was fascinating but so run-down: a disgrace really!

We arrived in Nazca at 4:30 p.m. so simply had a walk around town. There is not much to the town - it is quite run-down. 

The people are friendly - we went to the supermarket for some water; bought some churros from a street seller and some fruit from another roadside stall.

This is the purple corn I was talking about in Lima (maíz morada).

Early dinner - another pisco sour (we have managed to have one every night but will have to knock it off now as we climb to 2380 m at Arequipa tomorrow night)!!! - and off to bed. 

Picked up some coca tea at reception on the way back in; nice - if you add sugar to it!

Lima to Paracas by bus

Tuesday 26 April
Paracas - also known as El Chaco - is a small beach resort on the coast, 145 miles (235km) south of Lima. Paracas means 'raining sand' in Quechua.

We are up at 5 a.m. and away by 6 - Kattie takes us to the bus station and helps with the check-in. The bus leaves on time at 7 a.m. and staggers out of town along congested roads varying between 5 to 24 km/hr. The sun squeezes thinly through the light mist - or is it smog?

Eventually the bus speed increases to 90 km/hr where it mostly remains for our journey. I doze on and off watching out the window as desert hills and isolated communities of simple dwellings flash by - so dry, so desolate. Many buildings are built using the local construction method of bamboo frame with adobe or mud brick often laid vertically - all strategies designed to absorb shock and intended to minimise damage in the event of an earthquake.

About 9 a.m. we cross a river estuary and for a short time the landscape is green and filled with palms but it doesn't take long before the desert resumes, stretching endlessly towards the mountains dimly seen through the haze to the left; and the Pacific Ocean lapping the edge of the continent to the right.

Dry all the way. As we come into Paracas, even the palm trees are dead.

We are picked up at the bus station and arrive at our very nice beach hotel about 11 a.m. There are views out to the bay and we are just a few steps away from an enormous pool with deck chairs lined up along one side.

It is VERY tempting to spend the day here relaxing and I am somewhat ambivalent about the tours we have been offered (and their prices). 

We decide to walk into town along the beachside promenade. It is hot but it is very attractive and the small town centre is cute in a folksy, gringo sort of way - and cafe staff wander out with menus trying to encourage us to eat in their establishment.

We had been considering the option of visiting the Paracas Natural Reserve and decide to go into a local agency where we negotiate a tour for just the two of us in a 4-wheel drive with a guide. We had some qualms about what we might be in for, especially as the price was so much less than what was being offered by our tour company. However, we had nothing to worry about and had an excellent tour.

The national park is a protected and bio-diverse coastal desert influenced by the effects of the Humboldt Current's cold water that flows from the south; there are 36 species of land and marine mammals and the waters are very nutrient-rich. There are also more than 215 species of migratory birds of which several have been declared endangered.

The park has a number of guano islands which are a breeding refuge for anchovies; once upon a time, Peru exported guano but no longer - this activity was mismanaged and now they do not have enough even for local use. [continued below]

There are nearly 100 archaeological sites from the Paracas Indigenous people. [continued below]

We spent a most interesting afternoon here, visiting the information centre, driving through the sandy landscape and being shown wonderful views and pretty beaches. Juan was an amiable guide, a careful driver and a considerate conversationalist. And it was a cheap tour at half the price of what we had been offered on our arrival.

It was a good time to get back - late afternoon; we had a mojito each down by the waterfront in the town at Happy Hour. Then wobbled our way back to the hotel where I had a (very brief) swim in the pool (we have been warned that the sea here has jellyfish and is dirty).

Another lovely sunset.


Early dinner - and early to bed!

Touring Lima

Lima is the largest city in Peru and is its capital; it's population is almost 10 million.

Did not sleep well. Took a long time to get to sleep. I kept thinking of things I should do like: take a photo of my Andean Immigration Card in case I lose it. Marco who picked me up from the Airport said yesterday: "You can lose your passport, but you can't lose the Andean Immigration Card!'. He was quite serious! But I didn't want to wake The Other Pam (= TOP as she has agreed to be named in this blog) - she had fallen asleep as soon as the light was switched off. AND my phone went off at 2 a.m. - checking this morning, it looks like My Friend must have tried calling and obviously got the time difference wrong.

It is typical for the days here to be grey, sometimes with a mist from the Pacific Ocean; it started that way today but in fact by late morning there was blue sky - and it was quite hot. It was predicted 22 deg C but got to 26. I mistakenly thought I would not need a hat and despite using a scarf over my head this afternoon, I got a red nose... And IT DOES NOT RAIN HERE: despite being located just 12 deg S of the Equator and quite humid, it is one of the driest cities in the world with an average yearly rainfall of 6.4 mm.

We had a city tour booked and were picked up at 9 a.m. and driven expertly - and somewhat boldly! - by Kattie; our guide was Nieve and she walked us through a market.

Then we were off to the centro historico where we changed money at a casa de cambio where we got a very good exchange. 

There are some splendid buildings in the city centre: the cathedral and Presidential Palace in the main square (Plaza Mayor).
























We visited the Monastery of San Francisco in Spanish Baroque style and its catacombs; there was a fabulous old library where restoration of the books was taking place and whilst there a service was taking place and the musical chanting of the priest was a lovely backdrop. [continued below]



There were some beautiful paintings from the workshop of Rubens, beautiful walls of tiles from Seviile in Spain, exquisitely carved cedar ceilings and a Peruvian version of the "Last Supper" painted by Belgian painter Diego de la Puente in the 17th century.

Afterwards we visited the Museo Larco which is simply extraordinary for the hundreds of ceramic, textile and precious metal artefacts in this private collection - in wonderful condition and beautifully housed in an 18th century former mansion in the Pueblo Libre district; the pieces have been gathered by the Larco Herrera father and son since 1924. The vast display covers 10,000 years of Peruvian pre-Columbian history.

We asked to be dropped off at the Pucllana Temple (Huaca Pucllana) which my Kathryn had told me about. We said goodbye to Kattie and Nieve and had a hot but interesting tour by the guide at the archeological site of this huaca. This adobe ceremonial centre was likely built around 500 A.D., during the cultural height of Lima's history. Much of the site has been restored and excavations continue to uncover artefacts and the occasional mummy.

We were pretty stuffed and by now it was mid-afternoon. We walked back into the main part of the Miraflores district and hunted down Doña Paolina where we were told we could try the chicharrón - which could best be described as Latin-style braised pork; we ordered it as a sandwich with onion and sweet potato just as Nieve our guide had described earlier today. Interesting. We had an interesting PURPLE corn-based drink - chicha morada - which turned out to be yummy!

We could have 'called it quits' at this point, but we decided to walk to the sea where we came upon El Malecón, a six-mile stretch of parks situated along the cliffs high above the Pacific Ocean. We actually walked DOWN to the beach where there were heaps of surfers. There were some top-end apartments straddling a very busy road that runs along the coast. And there were masses of stairs to walk back up to the top where there is the Parque del Amor with a pretty walkway lined with a lovely mosaic fence. 

And finally we ended up at Larcomar which is a shopping complex built into the side of the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The setting sun was a magical backdrop to the breathtaking ocean views but we had to move on as we had a dinner booking.

We only had time for a freshen-up before getting a taxi to the Barranco district through intense traffic. Amorama restaurant is set in a lovely garden in a walled compound of a Republican-era mansion and specialises in seafood and Peruvian-styled dishes. We enjoyed a pisco sour to start!

What a day. And we have an early start tomorrow with a pick-up at 6 a.m.!

More pictures of Lima: