PERU: Lima to Arequipa

Lima to Arequipa (pronounced Ara-keepa)

Before leaving Lima for our big trek into deepest Peru we  spent the morning taking in as much of the sites as we could, we kept being drawn down to the ocean for some reason.  Not sure why, the beach is make up of just rocks, no sand at all, maybe because it is the Pacific Ocean.  Perhaps it was because we would not see the ocean for another 3 weeks – just hot dry desert, snow capped mountains, volcanoes and miles and miles of corn, beans, quinoa and high altitude forests and a lot of fun and adventure too. Oh!  And Alpacas, Llamas, Inca ruins and the highlight Machu Picchu.

These were seen in the centre of Arequipa

The great divide, Lima Peru

As we left Lima the scenery changed from dry city to dry grey/brown mountainsides with no vegetation at all with the exception of grasses and cactus.  The adobe houses all seemed to blend in with the landscape, and one of our fellow travellers, a 4^th year medical student who had been doing a brief placement in Lima, mentioned that the Municipal had erected large fences to stop the shanties going beyond the boundaries they had set.  You can see the fence lines in the photo below.

We could still see the Pacific to our left and the Andes on our right and as we drove through dry dusty areas, we saw whirly winds and parched adobe towns.  One in particular that stood out was Picso.  

It was totally levelled by an earthquake about 5 years ago with over 500 lives lost, many missing.  http://www.eeri.org/lfe/pdf/peru_pisco_eeri_preliminary_reconnaissance.pdf

Pisco is also the name given to Peru’s famous Pisco wine, and the national drink – Pisco Sour – tastes much like a Mojito (bloody beautiful).  At the winery we would have the opportunity for some Pisco wine tasting in the next day or so.  

We travelled for about 4 hours to a place called Paracas a fishing village where we checked into the Refugio Del hostel, staying overnight, very basic living but comfortable.  The village itself seemed pretty non descriptive, and it was still light when we arrived so we ventured down to the water for the sunset.  Later we went for a bit to eat and afterwards our group was invited by some locals for a game of soccer – not on the beach but on a concrete slab doubled as a football field.  Big mistake!  TJ skinned his elbow tussling with the younger locals – the locals won – I’m sure they keep a lookout for new suckers, I mean visitors to challenge.  As it was a Friday night most of the villagers were out by the waterfront and invited everyone to share food and drinks (hot chocolate) with them.  The hot chocolate was a real treat because it was quite cold outside, and to try out some of our limited Spanish. 

Isles Ballestas

Even though Paracas was small the wonders we were to view the next morning were just amazing.  In a guided cruise we sailed by high speed boat to the Isles Ballestas about 10 kms off shore, a UNESCO designated site and research stations, where we would see an abundance of wildlife including penguins,  seals, sea lions, birds and because of significance of Ballestas we remained on board. 

Even before getting to the isles we had dolphins swimming alongside the boat and in passing a neighboring island we viewed engravings on the landscape similar to the Nazca lines.  Also in passing we were dumfounded to see an Oil refinery, oil tankers en route to the storage facilities – just seemed so wrong in close proximity to such a important site.


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Mysterious Figures near Paracas

The next morning our all-day bus trip would take us to Nazca, famous for the Nazca Lines still a mystery about how they came to be. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/700 also check out Google Images for more pics of the lines – just incredible.

On this day we would only have a dim view from a 30 meter tower on the side of the road on Pan Americana Highway.  Now remember that name Pan Americana, it is a focus of our trip later.

On the way to Nazca we had 2 stops, the first was to vist a Pisco winery where we would view some of the traditional ways of wine making and then some wine tasting of the various wines, ranging from new wine about 5% to more alcoholic spirits up to 42% proof.  Judging by the looks on some of our colleagues faces anyone would think we were drinking Metholated Spirits.  It also lifted everyone’s spirits and a taste for Pisco.  More than half of us bought take-aways for the bus ride.

The Piscos were a real treat and most of the busload ended up PISCO’ed, even with TJ dancing to Peruvian Pipe music in the bus aisle.  We hadn’t had lunch at this stage so it makes sense why the Pisco was having an effect.  But our Mr Escobar had other ideas and it was nothing to do with cartels. 

What we were in for was Sandboarding the Andes in a little actual oasis town called Huacachina http://www.huacachina.com/en/intro/index.htm.   Sounds crazy, but our group was taken up the ranges in 2 modified dune buggies that resembled something out of Mad Max but brightly painted. 



Our dune buggy at Huacachina desert

These are some of the highest sand hills in the world and we were going to sandboard down 3 of them ie. 100 mtrs, 150 mtrs and lastly 200 mtrs high.  Now this is where Alin Escobar’s delayed lunch plans come into play for good reason.  These Peruvian Dune Buggy drivers were bold and must have thought we were too.  They would drive up over the sandhills on angles that you could not see over the other side.  In addition to this, they also drove at a relatively high speed whereby the dune buggy would do a double jump over – you know the sensation where your stomach would drop and you would fly out of your seat.  This is what we were experiencing – it was a well laid out plan by Mr Escobar –get them drunk –don’t feed them lunch and they would be fearless.  Well we were!! 

We could see snow covered Andes in the distance but we were in 45 degree desert.  When we drove up to the first one everyone just groaned in horror at the sheer depth and angle (about 75^o) of those sandhills.      

Our buggy drivers helped position us for the drop, they even waxed the boards and gave us a few safety tips.  After a few of our new mates went down, it was Heather’s turn.  About half way down she the board started angling, she was thrown off and went into a spin before reaching the bottom of the hill.  They hadn’t told her to use her feet as brakes. She ended up with grazing around the eye and didn’t appear to have any fractures, breaks – just some swelling.  Although hesitant those that followed including me gritted their teeth and went down the 100mtr slope.  Everyone’s adrenaline was rushing.  We were ready for the second one, (150mtrs).  But no one backed out not even Heather, we were pumping.  By the third one (200mtrs) everyone was really excited with the challenge and we all did it!  We ended up with sand in our ears, eyes, up our noses and all through our clothes – what fun.  It was now time for lunch at the Oasis and a quick swim to wash the sand off before getting back on the bus !! 

We continued on our trip to Nazca and just on sunset we climbed onto a 30mtr tower where we could just see 2 of the Nazca lines in dim light.  It was another opportunity for Tony to overcome his fear of heights.  It was Ok until another bus stopped and about 20 more people tried to climb up the tower.  Got a bit scary by then. 

Taken from the Air - The viewing Tower,
Pan Americana  and 2 feint images
 of the Nazca lines

We checked into the San Marcello hostel about 2kms along a dirt road just out of town.  That night the effects of the sand, not the alcohol, got to my sinuses and bothered me most of the night.  Next day I decided to stay in and recover in the peaceful surroundings of our accommodation enjoying walking through the fruit trees (mangoes, ice-cream beans, mandarins and oranges) and vege farm they have on the property and mixing with the chooks and ducks.  I also had a quick “Hola” and broken coversation with four young girls who were on their way to the village via the cactus farm. 

After some medication and a couple of days later the sinuses cleared (did I say somewhere that I wasn’t carrying any drugs … not even paracetamol … I lied (LOL). 

Tony took time out to go see an ancient burial site, Chauchilla Cemetary  http://www.mysteryperu.com/eng/co_cemetery_of_chauchilla.html  and took heaps of photos, not only because of the sheer scale of the site, but the desecration, vandalism and looting of the site over many years.  He was surprised that people were walking over bones lying scattered across the desert surface. 

That night we had dinner as a whole group (could possibly be translated as The Last Supper) before catching a double decker Cruz Del Sur Express Night bus from Nazca to Arequipa which is the second largest city in Peru.  A population over 800,000. The journey would take us about 11-12 hours and close to 600 kms arriving at Arequipa at around 8.30am the next morning and at an altitude of 2300mtrs above sea level.  Very comfortable, we were given blankets and pillows, and very safety conscious. In fact the safety message took about 20 minutes, both in English and in Spanish.  Because we westerners were the minority, the English part came second, and hard to understand, but I got a translation the next day from Alim, our guide when we were in Arequipa.

I’m thinking…. On our roads generally a 600 kms trip would take 6-7 hours.  “Why would the Cruz Del Sur Express be taking 11-12 hours with NO stops?” 

We turned up at the bus station in plenty of time – and it was Security Central.  We were asked for our passports and Peru entry visa, we were videoed on going through the checkpoint, we had our hand luggage opened & checked, and we were scanned with a metal detector.  OK!  So in return I took a photo of the bus and driver. 

Within minutes of the bus driving off, one of the Cruz Del Sur staff, video camera in hand, videoed each and every passenger, whilst calling out and videoing the seat numbers.   

All set for a reasonable sleep on the night bus my hopes were dashed when around 1 and half hours into the trip, I woke up with the feeling the bus tyres were gripping sand and the double decker swaying from side to side in taking corners.  I made the mistake of peeking out the windows (conveniently closed by the staff before we boarded), and in the hue of the almost full moon I could see we were ascending up the Andes, with hundreds of feet of sheer drops to the Oceano Pacifico and only seeing the shine of the moon on the water. 

You will recall I mentioned earlier the Pan Americana Highway. This was it!!  The Pan-American Highway stretches from Alaska down Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Central and South America, all the way to the tip of Argentina. It is over 29,000 miles in total, with probably the most dangerous parts in this part of Peru close to the coast, very close to the coast, before it gets to the high points of the Andes. And when the bus wasn’t sidling with the sheer drops to the ocean it was driving through narrow ravines that you couldn’t even see the stars. I couldn’t sleep for the next 9 & half hours.  

I found out the next day that the translated safety message was that:  

• the Bus has 2 drivera through the night;
• is fitted with a GPS linked to the authorities;
•  if the bus stops for more than 15 minutes police are alerted and respond immediately;
• no-one is to approach the driver who is secured behind a thick Perspex door;
• no-one other than bus staff is to walk around the bus unless for toilet relief; and
• seat belts must be fastened at all times. 

Alim told me that over the years, robbers/thieves/terrorists have held up the buses in relatively inaccessible areas on the highway and the high security was to identify those who might be involved.  I had another theory which Alim more or less confirmed for me.  The road is so dangerous that passenger photos are needed to identify the victims should there be an accident.  He also confirmed for me that the Night bus is the preferred method of travel because tourists get really scared overlooking the ocean and the dangerous roads during day travel.  My hat goes off to the Peruvian bus drivers, they might be little blokes driving big buses, but they have plenty of guts  !!!

Our arrival in Arequipa was quite welcomed and ready for a little snooze at the El Solar, feeling a little heady after a big anxious night on the bus.  The headiness actually turned out to be Altitude Sickness going from Sea Level to 2300 mtrs overnight.  The symptoms -feeling nauseous, headache, dry mouth due to high rate of dehydration at that level.  The remedy – Altitude sickness medication prescribed before we left Cairns and about 24 hours to adjust to the lack of oxygen.  Did I say before I didn’t carry any drugs into Peru!  Bad liar. 

Our first impressions of Arequipa were good, even though we had these waves of nausea. Tony’s remedy in addition to taking the altitude medication was to go for food.  Alim took us to a restaurant that served Cuy (Guinea Pig) something Tony had been looking to ever since I can remember in planning Peru.  We weren’t the only ones feeling ill and the other remedy I haven’t mentioned yet is Coca leaves .  Yes, the same leaves used to extract Cocaine.  (more drugs !!).  The leaves contain 14 chemicals ie. Antoxidents, calcium, a range of vitamins and only 0.1% of the extract used to produce Cocaine.  But it really worked!  The shops sell it freely as fresh leaves, Cocoa Tea bags, in chocolate (my favourite), and in a variety of lollies ie caramel and menthol.  Just about every café, restaurant, hotel, hostel has a supply of cocoa leaves or cocoa tea bags available for guests usually at no cost.  The Peruvians swear by it and have cherished it for centuries, as far back as the Incas with rituals and ceremonies dedicated to Cocoa. 


Coca Lollies

We found in the US that each city has a Downtown.  Cities, towns and villages in Peru have Plazas which are overlooked by a Cathedral. 

Arequipa is no different, except it is overlooked by 3 volcanoes, Chachani and Pichu Pichu (not to be confused with Machu Pichu) both dormant and El Misti still active and last erupted in 1985. We would be overwhelmed by the beautiful views of the volcanoes, and the the cobblestoned streets of the city.   And for the first time on our travels we started seeing women in traditional dress.  Our stay in Arequipa was to be fairly short but we enjoyed discovering some great markets down side streets, time in the Plaza and seeing an incredible site in the floor of a KFC that you would never see anywhere else.  And I’m not talking about fresh chicken.  It was actually preserved ruins laid under glass in the floor of the building. 



Ruins under the floor at KFC Arequipa

Our next stop will be Colca Canyon and up to the see the Condors in their natural habitat.  And to the highest point of our travels ie. up to 4950 mtrs above sea level.  Pass the Cocoa Tea please.  

Till next time from Colca or beyond.

Liz and Tony