The Big Trip Report # 20 – Peru - Thu, 29 Jul 2004

Previous | Home | Next | Map

The American tourist, which seems to have become an endangered species throughout the world, has been found alive and well in Peru. For the first time in our travels since we were in Europe much of the English we are hearing is not of the Queen's variety. So why do they come here? Two words: Machu Picchu. Of course we were here to see Machu Picchu as well, but our journey through Peru began at Puno on Lake Titicaca. Here we visited Los Uros, a series of 'islands' constructed out of reeds by the inhabitants. They were originally built in pre-Incan times to allow them to escape their enemies, but now have become a huge tourist attraction. From there it was on to Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca empire. It is a very attractive city, with Spanish colonial architecture built on Incan foundations. In Peruvian cities a Catholic church was built on every Inca temple to impose Christianity on the natives (there are a hell of a lot of catholic churches!). By the way technically the term Inca only refers to the ruler. The proper name for the people is Quechua, which is also the language that many of them still speak. However it is easier just to say Inca, so we will! We were lucky enough to be in Cusco for Inti Raymi, the mid-winter solstice festival in which the Incan ceremony to propitiate the sun (and ensure good weather and crops for the next year) is recreated. It didn't seem to do much for the good weather as, even though this was the middle of dry season, it rained for the next 10 days. This was particularly bad for us as we were out on a 4 day hike to Machu Picchu. It was not the famed Inca trail (you have to book several months ahead if you want to hike that route), but a far less crowded hike that still ended at Aguas Calientes the town near Macchu Picchu. We reached Machu Picchu at dawn hoping to see the sun rise over the ruins, but it was not to be. There were only clouds and rain. Luckily the sun did show its face later on. For us the most impressive thing about Machu Picchu was its location. It is perched among fairytale mountains like a city in the sky. There is some amazing masonry work, but overall we thought that the architecture was not as interesting as some of the ancient monuments we had seen in Asia. But as the real estate agents say, location, location, location!

Click on an image to view it full size

We spent the next week in Cusco recuperating from stomach problems (courtesy of Bolivia), trying to keep warm at 3400m (still no heating). At least there were many good restaurants serving non- Peruvian food to tempt our flagging appetites. It sometimes seems like the only food down here is chicken, chips and rice or guinea pig, which in fact tastes just like chicken.
Arequipa, at a balmy, sunny 2000m was our next stop. We used this as a jumping off point to trek in Colca Canyon, the 2nd deepest canyon in the world (the deepest is right here in Peru too, not Arizona). Our 4 day trek culminated in a 2 hour 1000m hike up the canyon in the pitch dark to reach Cruz del Condor at dawn, where we watched several of these magnificent birds (up to 3m wing span) swoop, dive and soar on the thermals.
Nasca, our next stop, is best known for its mysterious geoglyph images carved into the desert floor. They are so large that they can only be truly appreciated from the air. Unfortunately bad weather prevented us from taking the tourist flight, so we had to make do with the BBC documentary and a climb up an observation tower to see 3 of the images: the tree, the lizard and what appears to be a pair of hands or frog depending on your point of view.
We were rushing to reach Lima before the day of a national strike, which could have shut down the country. It didn't seem to affect Lima too badly however. Downtown most businesses seemed to be open, and we saw more riot police than demonstrators. Lima is a sprawling city with a perpetual haze of pollution. However there were enough interesting museums and architecture to enjoy a couple of days here.

Click on an image to view it full size

For our final trek in Peru we chose Huaraz, jumping-off point for the Cordillera Blanca. It is a mecca for trekkers and mountaineers (see Touching the Void). We spent 4 days surrounded by glorious snow- covered peaks and glacial lagoons. It was beautiful but the mountains were beginning to lose their 'wow factor'. It was time for the beach. On the way we passed through Trujillo to see the interesting Moche (pre-Incan) ruins with their colorful depictions of 'the decapitator' god.
Then it was on to Mancora on the northern tip of Peru. It is a proper little surfing resort complete with white sand beach and surf bums. This is the winter low season, however throngs of rich Peruvian kids had descended to enjoy the Independence Day holiday here, so we were driven out by the noise of the all night bars, and the price increases. We found our antidote just before the Ecuadorian border at a tranquil eco-resort with room for a handful of guests, a menagerie of animals (including weird Peruvian hairless dogs), endless white sand beach, hammocks and all the good fresh seafood we could eat. We visited a local animal rescue center and finally got to see some Pumas that were waiting to be re-introduced to the wild. You would think that now we are well into the tropics we would be having sun filled days. Unfortunately not. At this time of year the Pacific coast of South America is often overcast, but at least it is warm.

Click on an image to view it full size

Peru is possibly the only country in the world where Coca Cola has less than 50% of the soft drinks market. Here they like their own version, Inka Kola, which looks like urine and tastes like shit. There's no accounting for taste. We have found out another interesting fact: Coca Cola exports 800 tons of coca leaf from Peru and Bolivia each year to flavor the drink. Go corporate America!
On July 29th, we crossed the border into Ecuador. We have a flight back to NY from Quito on August 18th so have about 3 weeks to explore.

Previous | Home | Next | Map