Highlights of the Peru Trip
I had set up the dates for this trip when I was in the USA visiting my brother, Terry, and sister-in-law, Gerry, as well as old friends Tom & Eileen Riordan. As the date approached, John found he was not able to get everything done that he needed to do in the States (he had sold his property in the Seattle area and was trying to do a 1031 exchange for a duplex in the San Francisco Bay area). Sailing friends, Nancy and Herman of the sailing vessel SEA TERN decided to join me on the trip. The following are excerpts from my log of that five-week trip:
Sat., Nov 5. Piura. We walked around the Plaza de Armas and visited a Cathedral on the s
quare then managed to get a colectivo (this is like a VW bus with several seats in it) to visit the craft market in the village of Catacaos. This village is noted for their basket weaving, filigree jewelry, wooden utensils, pottery, and carved gourds. Our ride back to Piura was in a 12-passenger vanwith 18 people in it!
While walking back to our hotel at 3 p.m. and while in a busy intersection, a guy ran up, punched Nancy in the arm (as a distraction) and stole Herm’s change purse off his belt. The guy almost got Herm’s camera, which was on his belt right next to the change purse. The guy went running down the street and was gone before anyone could give chase. Nancy ended up with a large bruise on her arm but amount of the theft was less than $10.
Sun., Nov 6. Chiclayo. We visited the National Museum of Sipan, where artifacts of the Mocha Indigenous People of Sipan who lived in the area about 2000 years ago (well before the Inca) were exhibited. These people used gold, copper, and silver to make their elaborate clothing and armor. They used spondylus shell from Ecuador and thread of cotton to make great neck coverings. Their graves were filled with these riches, which were uncovered after some grave robbers had broken into a minor grave in the area but fortunately did not get into the richest one.
“Motos” are a popular means of transportation in the cities of Peru. These are mo
torcycles that have 2 wheels in the back with a seat between them. They have a roof and side curtains. Some are quite elaborately decorated. This mode of transport is cheaper than a taxi for short distances.The next spot we visited was the village along the coast where they still use the reed boats for fishing. We examined the boats and watched the fisherman go out and come in to the beach in them. Nowadays, they use styrofoam with the reeds around the outside but they still don’t look very sturdy to go out on the ocean.
Tues., Nov 8. Trujillo. The ride on Impresa Buscama was most comfortable. This was our first time on such a comfortable bus. On the bottom floor, the seats are only 3 across. They are like recliner chairs with leg rests and huge picture windows for viewing. Terrible videos are played as on most long distance buses south of the US/Mexican border but the scenery is great and we try to block out the noise of the full volume speakers.
We visited Museo Cassinelli and saw an amazing collection of 3000 pieces of pottery dating back to 1200 B.C. and up to the Moches period. This was quite an experience. We arrived and a man opened the door. He had great difficulty getting the ticket book in the right position for us to sign the tickets. We guessed he was almost blind. After we did the tickets to his satisfaction, he hunted for the door lock to let us into the basement museum. Even though he did not speak English, and our Spanish is “poquito”, he managed to explain quite a few of the pottery pieces to us. He made us quite nervous handling these 2000-year-old pottery pieces and several times knocked pieces off their little stands but his luck held and none of them broke (there were a few stands where things were evidently “missing” but we didn’t want to know!).
Wed., Nov 9. Our tour of the day was to the Temple of the Moon. These ruins turned out to be over 6 levels high. New buildings built over ruins of other generations with painted walls of many different patterns. The Moche god “Decapitator” was depicted in various moods from anger to happiness. Grave robbers had destroyed part of the temple and removed unknown riches and ceramics from the 1600’s. Later, at the museo in Trujillo, we saw some that had been recovered.
Thurs., Nov 10. The Banco Central museum was the first item on our list for today. It was a wonderful museum as are most Banco Central Museos in Peru. There were 3 tables with double legs in each corner and a marble bathtub in the garden. We explored colonial buildings and museums and ate wonderful turkey sandwiches and ice cream. We visited the ruins of Chan Chan where the Spaniards had taken all the riches from the graves and destroyed most of the ruins. Chan Chan was a large development and the grounds cover several miles. There are many intricate designs in the adobe walls.
Fri., Nov 11. After an all night bus ride, we arrived in the beautiful town of Huraz at the elevation of 3200 meters (just under 10,000 feet). We immediately noticed the elevation upon alighting from the bus. Getting up the stairs to our rooms at our hostel was a chore that had us gasping for breath. After a short nap and shower, it was now 7:30 a.m.; we had some breakfast and a chat with Edward of Edward’s Inn. He is an interesting fellow who has learned English from the tourists that visit his inn. He is also an accomplished mountain climber and has scaled every major mountain in South America. He leads climbs in season. Edward set us up for a tour of the area. We visited Laguna Cullicocha, which is a glacial lake of brilliant blue water. The view of the
mountain peaks covered with snow is unforgettable. We went out on the lake in a rowboat and hiked around a little, still trying to get used to the “thin air”. Several stops were made along the way back to Huraz; one of which was Yungay. In 1970, there was an earthquake that caused an avalanche, which buried Yungay killing 18,000 people. The guide was a child at that time and his life, together with those of several other children from the village, was saved. The children were attending a circus away from the direct hit of the avalanche. As there were so many orphaned children who had lost all of their family, the government decided to allow these children to be adopted by people all over the world. Our guide had some family so he stayed in the area and was raised there. There is an impressive monument and a very large crypt housing several of the bodies.Sat., Nov 12. We got a taxi to a viewpoint over the city of Huraz. I decided to climb to the highest point for a spectacular view of not only the valley, but also the snow capped mountains surrounding the valley. Nancy had on shoes with no traction and had a hard time going down the hill. I loved the hike but it was hard on both Nancy and Herm. I ended up on some steps overlooking a farmer’s fields with him watering his alfalfa. It was a beautiful view and felt good just sitting there. Nancy and Herman went a different way and Nancy fell and got all scratched up. It was not a good hike for her but she does darn well for 78 years old!
Sun., Nov 13. I decided to take another tour to Chavin ruins, which were totally different from the adobe ruins we had seen previously. This ruin was made of stone and was the home of about 200 priests. The courtyards were laid out using exact measurements, taking into account the sun, and solstices. The interesting thing was that an impressive stela is in the center of the buildings underground. It is obvious the stela was done first and then the building built around it. These priests slept underground in very small rooms with vents for fresh air. We were able to go into these halls and small rooms underground. Getting to Chavin required going through a tunnel in the mountain at an elevation of 4500 meters (14,800 feet). There are people living at this elevation! The guide told me that they live in stone huts with grass roofs that I had seen on the ride up but thought they were for grains or animals. He said that families averaging 8 people live in these huts. They eat only 2 meals a day. They cannot raise crops at this elevation but raise sheep and llamas, which they use for food and wool, which they sell or use to make items to sell. They have no doctors or schools in this area. They watch over their animals all day and return to their homes in the evening-a very hard life.
Mon., Nov 14. Later in the day, Herm decided he would go back to the room and Nancy and I walked around the market. We got down to the Mercado and I felt a person right next to me. I turned to look at him and didn’t like the looks of him. Another guy was on the side of Nancy. I stopped and yelled for Nancy to stop. The guys stopped also. I backed up to a car and told Nancy to follow me. We walked into the street and into the boulevard in the middle. A woman came up to us and said “robbers”. I said, “si, robbers”. The two guys, both with a jacket over their shoulder covering their hand, took off and we walked back to our hotel feeling very lucky. I had just gone to the bank and had money in a back pocket but had my jacket tied around my waist hiding my pockets, which seems to work for me so far.
Tues., Nov. 15, Lima. We had a ceviche lunch that was delicious after being hounded as we got out of the cab by representatives of all the restaurants. When finished, they wanted to charge us way too much but I said no and we only paid the price on the menu. Had our first pisco sour (rum, egg white, and lime juice), the national drink of Peru.
We tried to get a moto to take us back to our hotel but they can’t go on some streets. I had waved to some policemen that went by in a car and they turned around and stopped. They asked where we were going and told us to get in. We were told we were not in a safe neighborhood and they took us to a museum. It was great fun talking to them and they were concerned about us. Nancy took a picture of Herm and me with the policemen. They were great guys and we had lots of laughs even though we didn’t speak the same language!
The museum they took us to was great. We really enjoyed the tour and explanation of the pictures that the indigenous people painted for the Spanish after they had Catholicism shoved down their throats. They revolted in subtle ways like putting cuy (Peru delicacy of guinea pig) in a painting of the last supper.
That evening, as prearranged, Gerry, Terry, Eileen and Tom arrived at 11 p.m. in Lima. I felt they had missed so much all ready but more was to come!
We visited Museo de la Nacion, which is a huge museo on several floors. We had a guide that explained all the different indigenous peoples in chronological order. Each floor, from bottom up, was of a different era and a very interesting 3 hr tour. We then toured a San Francisco convent and church and catacombs filled with bones.
Sat Nov 19. At an elevation of 3326 meters, Cuzco was the Inca capital and the hub of travel in Peru. Cuzco has a great Plaza de Armas and lots of colonial buildings. We took a tour, visiting several churches as well as some buildings built on top of Inca ruins and the ruins of Sacsayhuman, Qenko, Puca Pucara and Tambo Machay. On another day, Terry, Tom and I revisited Sacsayhuman again and spent about 3 hours viewing these awesome ruins. One of the rocks that they moved to build one of the walls weights over 300 tons. How did they do it???
Sun, Nov 20. The Sacred Valley Tour started with a visit to a large craft market at Pisca and
then to various ruins
one of which was Ollanntaytambo. These ruins feature interlocking rocks that are virtually earthquake-proof. The site, a massive fortress, is one of the few places the Spanish lost a major battle during the conquest. The village was divided into blocks called canchas, each cancha with just one entrance leading into a courtyard. Individual houses were entered from this courtyard, not directly from the street.
The huge, steep terraces guarding the Inca fortress are spectacular. Ollantaytambo is the fortress to which Manco Inca retreated after his defeat at Sacsayhuaman. In 1536 Hernando Pizarro led a force of 70 cavalry here in an attempt to capture the Inca. The steep terracing was highly defensible and Pizarro’s men found themselves continuously showered with arrows, spears, stones and boulders. They were unable to climb the terraces and were further hampered when the Inca, in a brilliant move, flooded the plain below the fortress through previously prepared channels. Manco Inca’s victory was short lived, however, as the Spanish attacked again with 4 times the forces and finally took over.
Tues, Nov 22. The Big Day. We met our guide at 6:15 a.m. at the town square in Aguas Callentes and bussed to Machu Piccu, the “Lost City of the Incas” found by Hiram Bingham in 1911. It remains a mystery as to its’ function but is the least damaged ruins in Peru. The two-hour tour was very informative and then we were free to explore on our own. Terry, Gerry, Eileen and I climbed Huayna Picchu from Machu Picchu. Terry and I went on to find a geocache, climbed to the Inca Drawbridge and then up the Inca Trail towards the gate of the Sun. Terry made it to the gate but I couldn’t keep up and started down as we were to get the last bus down the mountain at 2:30 p.m. I got lost and ended up way too far down, exhausted, but got to the bus at 2:30.
Wed, Nov 23.The next adventure was to fly to Puerto Maldanoldo and then down the river by boat to a jungle resort where we stayed for 5 days in a secondary rainforest. The visit to the Monkey Island was disappointing for me as the monkeys were “planted” there and bananas are brought to the island daily and hung from the trees to feed them-a guarantee that the tourists will see monkeys on their trip to the jungle.
Thurs. Nov 24. Wonderful chirping of birds awoke me at 5 a.m. after good night’s sleep. It is Thanksgiving in the US. Went by boat across river and 4K hike to Lake Sandoval. Canoed around lake and hiked back in the rain. Visited a viewing tower. Saw prehistoric looking birds called Hoytzin, and some red howler monkeys. We returned covered with mud and wet but it was a great hike. On a night walk, we were shown a female tarantula and a poisonous caterpillar.
Fri. Nov 25. Today’s excursion was to a Research facility where we saw monkeys in the trees that had been at the reserve because they were sick or injured. They were now free to come and go and one came right up to one of the women and sat on her lap. It was raining and finally let up a little so we could see the animals in the cages that had been saved or were healing from injuries. There is a puma that was saved as an infant when the mother was killed. Unfortunately, it will never be placed in the wild as it is too used to humans. It ran and jumped on the fence where a guy was standing and would have jumped on his back if the fence weren’t there.
We saw lots of birds and other animals in cages and a couple of toucans that landed in the trees close by; quite different from ones I had seen before. There were also some different butterflies and spiders. When the rain let up a little, we hiked to a canopy bridge that was up 200 feet and about 300 feet long. We struggled across and back-not for those that are bothered by height. It dipped in the middle and, with the rain and wind, was a difficult crossing. There was a great view from the observation tower on the other side. From there we went to a farm where they were experimenting growing different crops and animals and teaching the people in the jungle to farm so that they wouldn’t kill the wild animals. Back at the lodge, we went on an early evening boat ride to try to see the caimans. The water was high due to all the rains but we managed to see a few. Edwin, one of the guys working at the lodge, caught a caiman about 4 yrs old and brought it on the boat so we could all see one up close and personal.
Edwin had come to my cabina on our first night there to install a new light bulb and we sat and talked for a while. He really wanted to learn English and when we left, I ended up giving him an old translator that I had. He was very grateful. He wanted me to work more with him but we didn’t have the time. Tom did work with another fellow who was very appreciative and gave Tom a bracelet made with jungle seeds. It really meant a lot to Tom and he enjoyed working with the guy. I don’t think he has taken the bracelet off; I wouldn’t either; those are really special moments shared with someone of a totally different culture.
Tues, Nov 29. Lake Titicaca. We visited an old steamship, the YARAVI that was the first steamboat to navigate Lake Titicaca, the 138-mile-long highland lake that straddles the Peru-Bolivia border. The ship is under renovation to sail again on the lake. The steamer weighed 200 tons and was built in Scotland in 1862. That same year it was sailed from England to the southern Peruvian coast. There it was completely dismantled, and since the railroad to the lake was not completed, the pieces of the ship were portaged on mule back through some of the most rugged of all Andean country. At Puno, on the shore of the lake, it was reassembled by Indian laborers under the direction of a Scottish engineer who knew neither Spanish nor any of the Indian languages.
Terry and I went to Sullustani, a very interesting burial sight of great towers the tallest of which is 12 meters. The towers are either round or square and house the remains of Colla nobility who were buried in family groups complete with food and belongings for their journey into the next world. On the way there, we saw unusual homes with arches and ceramic bulls above the doors. It is believed that these bulls guard their homes and keep them safe.
Wed, Nov 30. We did the Lake Titicaca tour in the morning visiting the floating islands and a school on one of the islands. These people lead a totally different life on these islands located on the highest navigable lake in the world. Here is an interesting tidbit I read in the traveler’s bible, the Lonely Planet book of Peru. “How Indians Adapt to Altitude”. At an attitude of 10,000, feet most people begin to suffer from lack of oxygen. The Andean Indian, who lives at altitudes up to 17,000 feet, has developed certain physical characteristics to get the most use of what oxygen exists at those heights. His lungs are bigger than normal, so that he inhales more air with each breath. In the walls of every person’s lungs, there are tiny sacs in which oxygen is transferred from the air to the blood. In the Indian’s lungs these sacs are permanently dilated to provide maximum surface for the oxygen transfer. The circulatory system is also modified, the Indian has about two quarts more blood than do lowlanders, and the red blood corpuscles, which carry the oxygen, are considerably bigger. Finally the heart itself, which pumps blood and oxygen throughout the body, is larger than normal by almost 20 per cent.”
Thurs, Dec 1. Arequipa. This is a beautiful colonial city with lots of museums, beautiful buildings, and good food.
Fri, Dec 2. Left Arequipa with our guide for Chivay and the Colca Canyon. I took some drug N & H got in the morning for altitude sickness, that horrible headache that plagued most of us. Because we were going to 5052 meters (16,600 feet), our guide suggested we chew on coca leaves. I chewed the leaves and after 64 years of no drugs, immediately got high. This feeling lasted a couple of hours and was very scary. When my head finally cleared, I was able to enjoy the great scenery. We saw lots of vicunas and were told their wool sells for $1,000 per kilo! They can run at a speed of 40 kph. We stopped at a small town for coca tea where a medical team from the US arrived about the same time and started treating people that were lined up. We got to the pass at about noon and then started down to the Colca Canyon. People had made “Apacheta”, a Quechua word, at the top. It consists of a pile of rocks at least 3 rocks high (and lots higher), which symbolizes a connection to the sun. That evening pan flutes and folklorical dancers entertained us at the restaurant where we had dinner.
Sat, Dec 3. Up early to go to the place where the Condors hang out.
They can live up to 75 years and have a 9-foot wingspan. They eat animals that have been dead about 10 days. We saw 2 flying at a distance and a young one closer to us. The beautiful view of river 1200 meters below and mountains at 3200 meters high was spectacular. We saw a boulder with Pre-Columbian carvings and a map of terraces. Back in Arequipa, we had dinner that night at a roof top restaurant. Ponchos were provided as well as pan flutes. Brides and grooms walked the Plaza de Armas below us. It is a tradition that they walk the different plazas for two hours between their wedding and reception.
Sun, Dec 4. Terry and I went river rafting and really enjoyed the mostly class 3 but some class 4 rapids with giant mountains all around. Great fun! We took the 10 p.m. bus to Nasca where we flew over the mysterious Nasca lines which are huge geometric designs drawn in the desert and visible only from the air. They were made by the simple expedient of removing the darker sun-baked stones from the surface of the desert and piling them up on either side of the lines, thus exposing the lighter colored soil below. Some designs are animals and figures as well as lines. We also toured the aqueducts made by early indigenous peoples so that they could have water in this desert country.
Mon, Dec 5. Terry, Gerry and I bused to the desert town of Paracas, which is on the coast and took a tour of National Reserve, which was along the sand dunes and beaches. We explored a large cave and saw boobies with babies, and red-footed cormorants. The SEA TERNS decided to head back to Bahia and Tom and Eileen wanted to go to Camana located further south on the coast.
Tues, Dec 6. Took the tour to Isla Batista where we saw lots of birds and sea lions and on the way to Peru’s “Galapagos” we were able to see the candelabra which is a giant figure etched into the coastal hills rather like the figures of the Nazca Lines. No one knows who made the ancient drawing or what it signifies. The amazing thing is how is stays there.
All to soon, it was time to head to back to Lima where the group flew back to the U.S. I returned by bus (a mere 36 hour bus ride) to Bahia de Caraquez where John was waiting on HAWKEYE.
Some cruising friends, Ray and Bernie, had left Bahia and were touring Peru at the same time we were. We met them in the hotel in Puno. From there, they bused up to Cuzco. They chose the night bus not the tour bus that we had taken from Cuzco to Puno. About 1 a.m., the bus stopped to pick up a passenger and the guy that handles the luggage got off to put the man’s luggage under the bus. He was held a gunpoint and others joined him from the brush. They got the driver off the bus and then drove the bus to a deserted area and took all passengers off the bus by gunpoint and robbed them. Ray had the presence to hide most of his money and their passports in the cushions and overhead on the bus before they were made to get off. The robbers got their wedding rings and about $40 in cash. Ray kept telling them that his wife, Bernie, didn’t speak any Spanish so they left her alone other than taking her ring. They were very lucky and were still very shaken up when telling their story upon return. They were the only foreigners on the bus and the Peruvian people on the bus were very sorry this happened to Bernie and Ray. They were told that they must have had a far greater loss than the Peruvians as Peruvians don’t have much to lose anyway!
Sorry to have rattled on and hope I didn’t bore you too much. I know that these emails get long, so if you don’t find them of interest, please let us know, (it won’t hurt our feelings.) and we will delete you from our mailings. Linda
[JSK1] Buacama
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