Puerto Maldonado & Jungle Excursion – February 20-21, 2011

We left our hotel in Cuzco at 8:30 t head for the airport for our flight to Puerto Maldonado and the jungle rainforest of Peru. There was lots of repacking to do before departure as we can only have one small case in the rain forest. We had a 10:30 flight that was to take us 35 minutes but we had a long delay before and after boarding so we didn’t arrive in Puerto Maldonado until after 1 p.m. From the airport we took a bus to the GAP office where we repack again (mainly due to liquids that couldn’t fly with us) and left most of our luggage at the office. We then had a 45 minute van ride over a very bumpy road that was often very muddy and at one point seemed to cross a river without the use of a bridge.

Puerto Maldonado is a small town with a small airport that allows the locals to get in and out to larger centres and allows tourists to get in. Tourism is growing in the area but the other main industries are gold mining and small scale agriculture. Fishing used to be big in the area but the mining process used mercury and the fish became contaminated so no one will eat them anymore. The export market is totally gone due to the quality of the fish. Some people are trying fish farming now in small areas. The gold miners have a union and everything is tightly controlled now so no more pollution. However, some people still try to mine the gold on their own. They dig open pit mines and use mercury to separate the gold from the other materials so that leaves a lot of destruction. The government is now trying to stop these people and, in our guide’s words, “it’s going to get messy because the government has to shut them down but the people don’t want to stop what has always been their livelihood.”

The harvesting of Brazil nuts is also big here. People have licences to harvest certain areas of the jungle and each harvest time they will go out and collect the seed pods and open them to get the Brazil nuts. Our snack on the bus was three Brazil nuts, a dozen banana chips, a small banana and a juice. It was delicious and just the right size. Our lunch was on the boat and it was cold fried rice with cheese and peppers and mushrooms all wrapped up in a banana leaf. We just at the rice and threw away the banana leaf so it was a great way to do dishes.

We reached the shore of the Tambopata River and had a 45 minute journey by motorized canoe. This river is just one of many rivers in Peru that sits in the Amazon Basin. It seems strange to think that the water runs all the way to the Atlantic when the Pacific is so close but I guess it’s no different than the continental divide in the Rockies. The Tambopata Rainforest Area holds the world record for the most bird sightings but we didn’t see any birds on our journey down the river. The only wildlife we saw along the way was a group of turtles trying to sun themselves on a log and a group of children skinny dipping in the river. The area is definitely very green and the vegetation is very thick. There are tall white-barked trees with branches only at the top and small ferns and shrubs at the bottom. In between there is every size and shape of plant so thick that you’d wonder how anyone would get through.

We docked on the bank. The dirt is very reddish brown, which explains the colour of the river which was also brown, and when wet it’s very sticky and almost bogs you down. We had a 10-minute walk up to the resort and it was an interesting walk. We had to climb some rickety stairs that sometimes had boards missing and were of various depth and heights and there was no hand rail in most places. When we weren’t on steps we were walking through the mud and water. Luckily I had my hiking boots on so I stayed reasonably dry. Once we got to the resort we had to go choose a pair of rubber boots and that’s what we walked around in for the rest of our visit. In some cases, some of the paths had water that was deeper than the rubber boots but our guide managed to avoid those. We just heard about them from other groups.

The resort is great. There are five or six main buildings with thatched roofs. Under those buildings there are room dividers so you have some privacy but the area above the walls is all open up to the roof so the air is constantly circulating. There are no doors on the rooms, just curtains to be pulled for privacy. And there are only three walls to the rooms. The one side is completely open to the elements but with enough of an overhanging thatched roof that you don’t get wet. There are even two clothes lines outside the room and under the roof but they did little good as the humidity was so high that everything felt wet anyway and anything that was truly wet just got wetter. Even the bathroom had the open wall. The shower was a three foot square surrounded by heavy plastic at the end of the room. There was only cold water so showering was kept to a minimum in most cases. Any food had to be kept in a safe in the rooms so the animals would not smell it and decide to come in. Apparently the rodents come in after the food and then the snakes come in after the rodents. Doesn’t that sound nice? We had a frog in our bathroom but other than that there weren’t any incidences with animals coming in. The mosquito nets over the beds were placed on the beds each night while we were down having dinner. There were mosquitoes all over the place but they really didn’t bother me that much. The net and the repellents I had with me, along with the fact that I was almost totally covered every time I went out, saved me.

We were to go to the lookout at 4:30 that first afternoon but it was pouring rain at that point so our guide decided not to go. We relaxed and listened to the rain instead. At 6 p.m. they had a video playing about the macaws. At 6:30 we went to the bar for happy hour and tried various drinks with popcorn on the side and at 7 p.m. we had dinner. And at one point in there we even saw a monkey up a tree by the resort. Just sitting and listening to all the sounds of the jungle is interesting. The guides can identify most of the sounds but to us they are just sounds. Most of the time they were drowned out by the rain but it was still an interesting experience. There is no electricity in the rooms but around 5 p.m. they turn on a number of kerosene lamps. These are turned off again around 9:30 and that is kind of the cue to go to sleep. Even the bar shuts down at that time. The early bedtime is not bad though since some treks start at 5 a.m. so you have to get up early.

At 8 p.m. our guide decided we should go for a night walk so off we went in our rubber boots and rain gear and with our flashlights. We saw lots of small bugs (spiders, crickets, praying mantis, etc.), moths and some lovely spider webs but the highlight was definitely the tarantula. Our guide had spied it crossing the path in front of him so he got a stick ready and told us to get our cameras ready. He teased it out of the hole and played with it for quite some time. Apparently the spider thinks the stick is some kind of prey. It was amazing to see this tarantula because it was indeed black and hairy as expected but it was absolutely huge. It was bigger than the guide’s hand and probably about 8 inches long with thick legs. I had no idea they got that big so I was darn glad that I had not seen him crossing the path! At one point we had to wait while the guide checked out the path ahead and he came back and said we’d have to take a different route. The water was over the top of his boot so he spared us that adventure.

The next morning it was raining hard so we could not go on our 5 a.m. walk. Darn! Instead we were up at 5:45 and had breakfast at 6 a.m. and went for a journey to a lake – one that was once part of the meandering river but then got separated as the river found an alternate route. We walked down to the river bank down the wet, muddy path and the rickety stairs and got into our little motorized canoe for a 10 minute ride. We then walked in through the jungle three kilometers to the lake and boarded a catamaran, which was really just two long canoes with a large platform across them and benches on the platform. It was really quite comfortable and it was not motorized so it was a very quiet ride. The boatman simply stood at the back and moved the central oar back and forth, much like a gondola, so we moved silently over the water. We had some nice weather on the boat, simply meaning it wasn’t raining, but we didn’t see a lot of wildlife. We saw some birds from a distance. Only the cuckoo was close enough for us to see well and they were quite beautiful with their white-tipped black tails, brown wings, light belly and black and white back. They also have a brown crest atop their head and it stands straight up and looks like spiked hair. These birds don’t fly very well so they move slowly through the trees. That might be unlucky for them but it was lucky for us as we could see them.

We also saw the two otters that live in the lake but only from a distance. The guides are not allowed to go near them so you just have to wait and see if they will come close to the boat. They didn’t come close but they were quite easy to follow as they glided along the lake. They are the only two who live in the lake and they scare any intruders away. Even their young must go elsewhere when they grow up. It’s a rather nice lake so I can’t say that I blame the pair. The water was very calm and peaceful and reflected everything around it. It’s too bad they have to kick the kids out but I’m sure it’s nice having the place to themselves. This class of otter can grow to be over two metres long so they are definitely bigger than a Canadian otter.

Well, they are not the only ones around. There are also piranhas in the lake and we took some time to go fishing to try and catch a couple of them. We each had a stick with fishing line tied to the end and a hook at the other end. The guides baited our hooks with red meat and we all sat their trying to catch a piranha. Those guys are fast. They emptied my hook at least a dozen times and I think everyone else did about as well. They could get that meat off the hook immediately and never once touch the hook. However, our guides did manage to catch one each. They are just tiny fish and very pretty. The ones we caught were a golden colour with a redder belly. Their teeth are sharp and there are quite a few teeth in that tiny mouth. We simply took some pictures and then tossed them back in the lake. Despite the presence of piranhas, the setting was very peaceful and we could easily have spent several more hours there but alas, our next adventure beckoned so we went back to the dock, trekked the three kilometers back out to the river, took our motorized canoe back to the resort dock, climbed the rickety old steps and wandered along the muddy path back to the resort. We had a half hour to get ourselves organized before we set out again.

This time we walked to the tower to get a view of the surrounding area and to watch for birds and wildlife, mainly monkeys. The tower is 30 metres high and just looks like a lot of scaffolding rising into the sky in a space between the trees. In fact it has steps – only six between each landing before you turn and go up another six in the other direction – and a short ladder at the very top. As we started climbing the wind picked up and it started to rain. Several people turned back at that point. I made it to the top but it was certainly windy and wet and you could certainly feel the sway of the tower in the wind. The view would have been quite spectacular if it had been clearer. The top of the tower was well above the top of the trees so you could see the meandering river in the distance. Unfortunately, because of the rain, there were no animals or birds to be seen. There were trees with a lot of bright red berries on them – quite a contrast in the otherwise green background. There were also tall trees with white flowers and these were Brazil nut trees. Did you know that you can get over 20 Brazil nuts from one pod or seed from the tree? I had never really thought about how Brazil nuts grow but I assumed they came individually as we see them when we buy them in the shell. In fact, you get over 20 of those nuts in one hard round seed pod. Who knew?

One of the amazing sights on our walk to and from the tower were the ants. The army ants just swarmed over the path and the whole area seemed to be a sea of moving black pieces. More astonishing though were the leaf cutter ants. They did not cover the whole ground but rather formed neat straight lines down trees across the forest floor, across the path and on to another destination on the other side. And all of these ants going in the one direction held a big chunk of a green leaf on its back. The effect was a continual parade of tiny, bright green pieces crossing your oath. The ants who had already delivered their load were heading back to the gathering spot empty so there was definitely two way traffic. Apparently these ants are so efficient that they can strip and entire tree in just one night.

Along the path there were also little towers of red dirt from six to 12 inches high. These were made by the cicadas. There were also termites around and some of them were quite large and ugly looking. They also appeared to be working quite hard. And there were huge bee and hornet nests in the trees. The sounds all around in the jungle were quite amazing and several times we heard a crack and falloff a tree falling. One got a bit too close but more on that later on.

In the afternoon some of the group went back down the steps for a boat ride to a Shaman’s house. I did not go as I wasn’t that interested in the medicinal plants found in the jungle. Or perhaps I was just too lazy to go down and back up those wonderful steps yet again! Anyway, a couple of us stayed behind and had a relaxing afternoon and then joined the others when they returned just in time for happy hour and dinner. They enjoyed their visit with the shaman who talked about the local plants and their medicinal values and how to make the medicines. I think they even got to taste some of his products at the end. Apparently he didn’t have anything to fight off the mosquitoes as they were really bad around his garden and he just kept swatting at them while he was talking to the group.

On our last day in the jungle we were to go for a walk at 6 a.m. if it was not raining but indeed it was raining so we got to sleep in. By 7 a.m. we were up and packing as breakfast was at 7:30 and bags had to be out before we went to breakfast. At 8 a.m. we started off down the path which was much wetter and the puddles much wider and deeper due to the continual rain all night. We wore our rubber boots to the bottom where we would switch into our shoes and continue from there. Those boots were really a life saver! The guide started out in the lead and then there was one other person before me in the line. Part way down the train we heard another loud crack and looked up in time to see a very large tree come crashing down in front of us. The guide continued on to investigate but was soon back telling us to turn around and go back up the trail as the tree was right across the path and we couldn’t go around it. According to our guide we were very lucky as the tree might have “taken out four people” when it came down. I guess it was a good thing us slow folks were in the front. If the others had been at the front they would have been going faster and might have been right in the path of the storm. The new route was okay until the very end where it was very sticky and muddy and several people almost lost a boot in the process of getting from the last stair to the boat. However, we all made it – a bit wet but all in one piece none the less.

Once in our covered, motorized canoe with plastic sides to keep out the rain, we took a 45 minute boat ride. Then we got into a bus and drove for 45 minutes to the GAP office. That road was also a disaster due to all the rain. We were often driving through puddles that stretched totally across the road and you really had no idea how deep they were. At one point we drove through a river that was moving quite quickly but the bus driver seemed to have everything under control. At the GAP office we reversed our repacking from a couple days back and reloaded the van for the airport for our flight to Lima. We were late getting out of Puerto Moldonaldo and yet we still arrived in Lima early since we did not make our scheduled stop in Cuzco. I’m not sure why but there was some explanation about weather conditions in Cuzco I think. It was all in Spanish of course so I definitely did not get it all.

So the jungle adventure was great. It rained a lot, just like it should in the rain forest. It was very humid which made everything quite wet and uncomfortable but the resort was really nice. The only downside there were the pathways and there really isn’t much they can do about that. Our guide says that when it is not the rainy season the forest is actually very dry and the leaves crunch under your feet – much like our fall. I can’t imagine that at all and I certainly wouldn’t have believed that a rainforest would ever be so dry.

This area of the rainforest has the record for the most bird sightings but it was raining too much for us to see anything. There are over 1300 bird species with almost 100 parrot species, which is 10% of the world’s total, 200 mammal species including 4 primates, 90 frog species, 1,200 butterfly species and 10,000 higher plant species. These are all protected within the Tambopata Rainforest Reserve. While it would have been nice to have seen more of the wildlife, I guess it just proves that they are smarter than humans and have enough sense to get in out of the rain! Half of Peru is in the Amazon Basin, which seems like an awful lot since I always think of Brazil in connection with the Amazon, but I guess all that water in the Amazon has to come from somewhere and a whole lot of it comes from the Andes highlands in Peru. And once down from the highlands it is into the jungle and rain forest of Peru before actually making it to Brazil. You definitely do learn something every day when you’re travelling!

Machu Picchu & Aquas Calientes – February 18, 2010

We arrived in Aquas Calientes around 6:30 p.m. by train and walked to our hotel. From there some of us decided to quickly go up to the hot springs for a soak before it closed at 8:00 p.m. I personally had a shorter soak and then a massage, which was greatly appreciated. About $10 for a half hour and it was a really deep massage and just what I needed after the Lares Trail. After the hot springs we went to meet the others but they were just leaving the restaurant. It was raining hard at the time so most people just headed back to the hotel.

We didn’t get a chance to see much of Aquas Calientes but on our way to the hot springs we followed the river and crossed it at one point. The water just seems to come roaring down but that may just be the way it is in rainy season. Perhaps it’s a little calmer at other times. There were lots of people out on the streets at 7 p.m. and at 8:30 p.m. when we were walking around. The local sports field was crowded with kids of all ages (mainly males) playing soccer (or football to them). Even in the rain on our way back, the field was still full. And the next morning when we went by on our way to the bus station the field was busy again but this time with more mature people so it must have been the adult league.

The streets are narrow and very up and down. There are no taxis or tuk tuks to help you get around. Everyone walks and if something needs to be moved it is done by hand cart or wheelbarrow (almost) or simply just carried. The train track seems to run right through town but no one gives it a second thought. The buses all hang out on the river street and there are lots of them. I think they leave every 10 minutes for Machu Picchu and run from about 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. There are many small stores all along the streets and lots of restaurants and beverage places. The main industry is definitely tourism and they sure make the most of it. At night everything is well lit up and the town really seems to be alive. People from both sides of the street are trying to get your business so it gets a bit hectic at times. However, generally speaking it is a really fun place to walk through. The town square has a statue of an Inca warrior in the centre and the usual church and larger buildings around the square. They have lots of outdoor cafes, despite the weather, and people seem quite contented to sit around under canopies watching the rain fall and the people go by.

We were up early the next day to get our bags out for safe keeping until later in the afternoon, and to have our breakfast before we left at 7:15. We walked to the bus station and then caught the bus up to Machu Picchu. The route is along the river for a while and on the other side of the river you can see part of the Inca Trail. Then we cross a bridge and start to climb up a mountain side. The road is a continual bunch of switchbacks on a very narrow, very bumpy dirt road with quite a drop down. And then of course you have to make room every time a bus comes back down the mountain and that can get really scary because there just isn’t much room at all and someone is literally hanging over the edge. However, these bus drivers do this dozens of times each day so I’m sure they are used to all the twists and turns and they know all the available pullouts to get more room. When you later looked at the road from above you really had a good picture of exactly what the road was like.

We arrived at Machu Picchu around 8 a.m. and had a two hour guided tour to the main portions of the city. Then we had a couple of hours on our own to explore the great lost city. The first thing you notice is just how high it really is and how many different levels of terraces there are and how many different mountain peaks surround the city. It was an overcast day and the clouds were moving in and out of the peaks and over the terraces all morning. By afternoon it was totally socked in and the view was definitely limited. However, it was still fascinating. And when I say “high”, it really isn’t that high. At just over 2,400 metres above sea level it is one of the lowest places we’ve been to in the last couple weeks but it is high in the sense that it is on top of a mountain and very isolated from everything around it. The area is actual a rain forest and right on the edge of, or as they say “the eyebrow” of the jungle.

They estimate that the city was built for about 400 homes and that the water supply would have handled 800 people. The city is built on igneous rock over 250 million years old and the most common stone found in the region is a grayish-white granite, which is easy to shape and made great building material. Machu Picchu was first mapped and named in 1874 but it wasn’t until 1911 when Hiram Bingham rediscovered the lost city that it really became known. It was Bingham who referred to Machu Picchu as the “The Lost City of the Incas”. Yale University and National Geographic then got involved in excavations to uncover more of this lost city. When discovered it was totally overgrown by the vegetation in the rain forest.

Our tour guide took us to the main locations such as the agricultural sector and the terraces where the Incas grew corn and potatoes. We then went to the Temple of the Sun and the fountains right near it. We wandered through the remains of homes and even went to the King’s home, which was much more spacious and had a private bathroom. Today you only see the walls. The roofs were thatched and those have long since decayed. The walls were thick stones cut and placed together with no mortar. In the case of the King’s house, the stones were very close together and well polished. In other homes the stones were not polished and in some cases the stones did not fit as closely together. Of course one does have to remember that these are 500 year old remains and have survived several earthquakes so some of the spacing may be the result of that. We saw at least one building where the right wall was sinking lower than the left and of course the stones on the adjoining wall were now separating.

There was one room that with trapezoidal alcoves in it and it was acoustically amazing. We each stuck our head in an alcove and on the count of three started humming softly. The sound was incredible it was magnified so much. The Main Square was really a large grassy field between terraced sides. It too was acoustically amazing. A single hand clap or foot stamp from the side wall would echo throughout the facility. Apparently there were other such acoustical accomplishments around the city.

The Temple of the Condor was a place for sacrifices but one of the stones was drawn out in the shape of a condor. Of course if our guide hadn’t told us that’s what it was we probably wouldn’t have guessed but that’s totally irrelevant. Above the stone there was a rock formation in the shape of a condor with its wings outstretched. It definitely did look like a bird one he pointed it out to us but otherwise we might have walked right past it. We also went to the Temple of Three Windows, all of which provided excellent views. It and several other buildings were in the Temple Zone

I no longer remember exactly what came in what order but we seemed to be doing a lot of climbing around on our tour. Following the tour we had several hours to explore on our own and everyone seemed to head in a different direction. Shortly after the separation it started to rain and apparently half the group just headed back to town. I had my poncho so just kept wandering around through some of the balcony areas then back up to some of the higher points on the north and east sides. Many of the areas are like labyrinths so it’s very easy to get lost and start repeating your steps. However, I did work my way back to the west to try and find the route to the Guard House to get a better view of the whole city. After several dead ends I did make it. There is a look out at the top of one of the mountains but I definitely wasn’t going to try doing that climb. Getting to the Guard House was enough for me. The clouds certainly obscured the view but it was worth the climb anyway. Occasionally the clouds would part for a second and you’d get a glimpse of the whole thing. Certainly there won’t be any award winning shots but it was still beautiful with the clouds moving in and out of the scene.

So what else can I say about Machu Picchu? They have llamas around on the terraces to keep the grass trimmed. That seems to happen a lot around this area. The original steps are very steep so the Incas must have been in very good shape. Their diet of potatoes and corn and not much else would definitely get boring after while even though I like both. The King apparently wanted this city as a retreat but the scientists don’t think he ever really came here. The city seems unfinished and they don’t know whether it was abandoned so the Spanish wouldn’t find it or whether everyone was killed off by some disease. They did find about 130 human remains most of which were female but that still didn’t provide any answers. The Spanish never once mentioned the city so scientists and historians assume they never saw it. There are certainly more unanswered questions than answered questions with Machu Picchu but regardless of the uncertainty it is a beautiful site even on a rainy day.

I am definitely rushing through this as it´s almost midnight and this will be the last internet we have for a few days as we´re heading for the jungle. I´ll probably think of many things I missed in this write up but I guess I can always add them later. Cheers! And Happy Birthday, Max!!!

Cuzco, Peru – February 13-14 & 19

We left the hotel at 7:30 a.m. to catch a local bus at 8:00 a.m. The trip to Cuzco is to take 6.5 hours but it is a nice comfortable double decker bus with a toilet so it will be okay. The first part of the journey will be a repeat of the journey into Puno but the rest will be new. We will be on the upper deck and have a great view of the countryside. We just turned into the new area and it looks pretty much the same with rolling hills and some flatter agricultural land. There are mud huts along the way and every once in a while there are people out in the fields. The road is very bumpy so I’m glad I’m typing and not writing.

We just had our first bathroom break in some small town. Banos weren’t great and cost 1 soles or about 30 cents. One would wonder why we pay when there is a bano on the bus. Oh well, the break gave me a chance to have an ice cream bar, which was delicious. Dear John is playing on the TV on the bus but it’s pretty hard to follow since the sun is coming in the windows and reflecting on the TV screen and the movie is in Spanish but with English subtitles that are hard to read. The Blind Side came on later and it was easier to follow since I’d already seen it.

The countryside is now flat and wet looking but lots of cattle and sheep around and they are enjoying the lush green. There are small farms everywhere and a few people around. And of course you have the rolling hills in the background. No mountains in sight at this time.

We passed through several small villages and at one of them some people got off the bus but no one got on. The buildings in town are no more than two storeys high and mainly made of brick. Some are pointed bright colours. The mountains are obviously much higher in the background now as some of them have snow on them. There are animals and small fields between some of the buildings in town and lots of smaller buildings that I assume belong to the bigger buildings. The train track is running parallel with the road but we haven’t seen any trains. The crops look incredibly healthy and the corn looks just about ripe. The valley we are now going through seems to be much more populated and there are homes everywhere even when not in a town. Some of the farm homes are two storeys as well in this area so obviously a more affluent area.

I keep missing good shots as we are going too fast. It’s obviously wash day so at every stream or pond there are ladies out doing washing. Once washed they simply lay the clothes out on the grass so it makes for a very colourful scene as their clothes are bright red, green, yellow, etc. I’ve even seen a few people with their cars right in the water and washing them.

We arrived in Cuzco around 3 p.m. and took a van to our hotel, which is just two blocks from the main town square. We had lunch and then a quick walking tour of the area. At 6 p.m. we met with our guide for the Lares Trek so he could tell us all important details and, in my case, scare my totally about doing this trek. What was I thinking? I might walk 10 km once or twice a year and totally on the flat. We have an afternoon, a full day and a morning to do over 25 km going up 1000 metres in altitude and back down and then up again before finally descending and all at high altitude 3400 to 4400 metres above sea level. I can barely breathe walking around town so how am I going to climb a mountain? And it’s cold – possibly -10 degrees Celsius so we have to wear layers of clothes, and it’s rainy season so we’re probably going to be wet most of the time. Who in their right mind would do such a trek???? Okay, enough of that. I’ll tell you all about it later, assuming I actually survive the ordeal.

After the meeting we went out for dinner. The next day some of us decided to go to the archeological sites in Puno. Our intention was to go to the highest and most distant one, about 11 kilometres from town, and then walk back down to each of the three other sites. Well, it was a bit cool and rainy so we managed walking from one to two, took a taxi from two to three, walked from three to four and then took a taxi back to the hotel. We were all soaked by that time. Do you suppose there will be taxis on the Lares Trail?

The sites were actually quite interesting and they were all Inca remains. Tambomachay was the first and it is the location of a natural spring. The Incas built three waterfalls in the area so it is quite intriguing seeing the water through the huge stone walls. It was built around 1500 AD and is considered a religious site related to water and the regeneration of the earth. Puka Pukara was the second site and it was a fortress like structure with reddish stones on the walls. It was apparently a great place for the Incas to watch what was happening in the valley as it is on the side of the hill above the city. Q’Enqo was the third site and the name means labyrinth. This was a sacred Inca shrine where ceremonies tot eh sun, moon and stars took place. There was a semicircular amphitheatre on one part of the structure. There were narrow winding pathways through the stone, sometimes just wide enough for one person to pass. At the bottom of one of the tunnels was a cave with a large smooth slab of rock that looked like a table. This was apparently the altar for sacrifices. Mummification also took place in this area. Saqsaywaman was the final site and it was huge. It is thought to have been either a religious centre or a military fortress. The walls are high and three tiered and form a zig-zag pattern. The stones used in the construction were huge with some of them weighing as much as 125 tons. The Incas did not understand the concept of a wheel so it is amazing to think that they move these huge stones over many kilometers to get to the tops of these hills. This site was the closest to town and from the top tier there were wonderful views of the city of Cuzco. Of course we would have seen more if it hadn’t been raining and if the clouds hadn’t been so low. Cuzco was the main city for the Incas and it was laid out in the shape of a puma. This site was the end of the planned city and the zig-zag pattern of the walls was actually to represent the teeth of the puma.

After returning to our hotel and drying off a bit, and after the rain had almost stopped, we went out for some lunch and some shopping and made it back just before another downpour. We spent some time repacking for our trek as we’re only allowed 6 kg on the trek. The rest of our bags will stay here in anticipation of our return in 5 days after the trek and Macchu Picchu. I will pick up more on Cuzco at that time.

We arrived back in Cuzco around 8 p.m. on the 18th. Half of the group went out for dinner and drinks and half of the group stayed at the hotel. I had an orange some chips and some water with Crystal Light in it for dinner and spent the rest of the evening trying to unpack and rearrange. I had things hung everywhere in hopes of drying before morning as laundry is done based on kilograms and wet clothes are heavier. After a couple of days in plastic bags the wet stuff was getting just a tad smelly so it was not a nice process. Oh well, it all went in this morning and it just arrived back as I typed that. 4.5 kilos of dirty laundry in at 9 a.m. and back at 4 p.m. all neatly folded for $13.50 soles or under $5 Canadian.

Today was a free day in Cuzco so I think we all slept in a bit later and relaxed a bit more. I headed out about 9 a.m. and went to the Sun Temple or the Convent of St. Domingo – Qorikancha. The last part of that name refers to the “golden enclosure” of the Incas dedicated to the celestial deities (sun, moon, stars, rainbow, and lightning). Excavations still continue on the site but it is believed that there were four main buildings and three of them are still intact while the fourth is half destroyed. The three remaining buildings and the partial building were all empty so it was just the Inca stones that were visible. More excavated stones were also on display and it was interesting to note the carved designs and holes that were visible in some of them.

When the Spanish arrived they took over the area and gave the land to the Dominican Order in Peru. On the land and using some of the bricks from the other buildings in the 16th century they built the Church of Santa Domingo, which now runs the tours. The church itself is a light brick and it has a beautiful square bell tower complete with Baroque stone carvings. Inside the convent there is a two-storey cloister with beautiful arches. However the centre of the square is quite barren looking with only a few flowers around a centre fountain, which is from Inca time and carved out of one piece of rock. The gardens outside the convent are gorgeous and the flowers are beautiful with many different colours and mainly types I didn’t recognize. The complex is on a hill so the gardens are tiered and some archeological findings are on the bottom flat area, specifically a drainage ditch. The views from the upper patios were also quite nice and the architecture, especially the doors, was quite impressive.

At one point in the exhibit they have a piece of art that explained the various components or symbols from the time of the Incas. It was neat to see all the symbols together in one place and try to relate them to what they were supposed to mean. Some were easier than others. In another place they had the Inca calendar both agricultural and ritual so it was interesting to see what was involved in each month of the year. I definitely felt sorry for the young people of the tribe as young people were often sacrificed in the rituals. I think there were three months where sacrifices of young children were mentioned and one of them noted that they were simply buried alive, which sounded quite horrifying. One of the exhibits involved Inca astronomy and it was quite interesting. While we tend to see the milky way as being white on black and find images in the white stars, the Incas found images in the black spaces between the stars and considered the dense white the river or pool of water where all animals would come to drink. It took me a while to find some of the images but their hint boards helped. Next to this exhibit was one on the seque signs of the Inca empire and how the four provinces were divided. It was also interesting but much harder to describe. Suffice it to say that Qorikancha was the centre from which all lines radiated to the other areas.

From the Church side of things, there was a good exhibit of garments that the priests wore. They were incredibly detailed and beautiful with lots of gold and other medals and jewels. The cabinets and other artifacts were also quite impressive. I also have to mention that the doors throughout the complex were absolutely beautiful. Many were heavy wood doors with intricate carvings and detail. And there were a couple of rooms of religious art work. Most were from students in one school but three of the paintings were by Tito and they were very impressive. They had a couple of other art exhibits of a more modern era but neither of them impressed me as much as the old art and architecture.

My ticket to the first site included a visit to the Monastery of Santa Catalina so I went there next. Along the way there were lots more excavations but they seemed to be locked so I guess the general public doesn’t get to look around. The llamas and/or alpacas were inside but then they are actually working so I guess that’s allowed. Everyone uses these animals to keep their grass cut and it seems to work well. But I digress. Back to Santa Catalina or Saint Catherine of Siena. During Incan times, this area consisted of a compound called Aqllawasi or “house of chosen maidens”. Females from noble families were chosen from all over the empire for their beauty and high lineage. They entered Aqllawasi very young and spent their entire lives here with no contact with men. Instead they were thought to be wedded to the sun or other deities. They spent their days making the textiles and beverages needed in special ceremonies. When the Spanish arrived they called these women nuns.

In the 17th century, the Monastery of Santa Catalina was officially formed in this location. It is still active today with 13 nuns in residence. The museum included some art work, furniture, vestments, etc. from the Spanish period and later. Most of the rooms were set up as they would have been in the 17th century and you had the sleeping quarters for the novices and for the head nun (not sure of that terminology!), the working area, prayer room, etc. It was interesting but very quick to go through, which was a good thing.

I then went to lunch at a local bakery and it was delicious. From there I walked up to San Francisco Square to see the Church. The church was closed but the square was really busy with a stage set up in one end and some young people singing. There were food stations and there were lots of vendors selling their wares. And of course it just had to rain because that’s what it does in Cuzco in February so everyone was squished under the few tents that were available. I made my way out and put on my poncho to continue my journey.

From there I went back up to San Blas Square but didn’t go into the church as I really didn’t want to pay to do so, especially since they wouldn’t let me take pictures. San Blas Square was quite nice with a lovely curved fountain at one end. There were vendors in that square too but everything was under cover because of the rain. I wandered around some of the streets, which are very narrow at this stage, and which have lots of galleries with nice artwork. Then I started the walk back to the hotel. I think every street vendor in the area was out today. You couldn’t move a block without being hounded by someone. And there were lots of people wanting you to take their picture. They were in costume and had their babies on their backs or they had alpacas or llamas or baby sheep with them. They were cute but it did get tiring saying, “no gracias”, over and over again. I stopped for a drink up on a patio overlooking the main square and then went back to the hotel for a few hours of blogging. I then met the group for a meeting and dinner and that was it for the evening.

Puno, Peru – February 10 -13, 2011

We left the Colca Valley at 7 a.m. and headed out of the canyon by the same route we had arrived. This time it was sunny at the top, the 4910 meter level, and we had a reasonably clear view of the surrounding volcanoes. One of the volcanoes was where Juanita was found and the other volcano was the one that erupted when Juanita rolled from her thawed frozen tomb. (If you don’t know what I’m referring to you’ll have to go read my Arequipa blog.) There was snow all over the ground and someone had taken the time to build a snow man as well. Of course we had to take pictures. There were also hundreds of stone innukshuks (sp) all around the area so it looked like really ragged volcanic landscape. And of course they have a different name for these figures but I don’t remember what that was. Five minutes before or after that point the snow was gone.

We then saw some vizcacha, which are short eared rabbits (by our description or a cross between a rat and a rabbit. We also saw flamingoes and other birds in the wet areas and lots of alpaca, llamas and vicunas out in the fields. We stopped at the same tea spot as when we came in so I had another cup of triple tea. Again you have to read a different blog to find out what the tea is and why one drinks it – probably the Colca Canyon blog as that’s where we were heading last time. The market was open so some folks went shopping. A couple of alpacas strolled by where we were sitting having our tea and then proceeded into the market area where no one even blinked an eye so it’s obviously a regular occurrence.

Back on the bus we had Spanish lessons again because after Puno we have a homestay coming up and our families will not speak any English. It should be interesting trying to communicate as my Spanish is pretty limited. We will be on an island in Lake Titicaca at the time and the people there speak Spanish now but their native language is the third official language of Peru along with Spanish and Quechan but I don’t’ remember the name right now.

The landscape continued to be flat and dry and rocky with just small cactus and short grass growing. Further from the road there were rolling hills that also looked dry and barren. Beyond that we could, when the cloud cover was right, see high mountain peaks some covered with snow. For most of the trip we had the trail track right beside us but we never saw a train so I’m not sure how much it is actually used. The road is very good and appears to be quite new. I’d like it better if it had wider shoulders. The passing would seem so scary if you knew you had a bit more leeway if you did meet another vehicle. You’d also have a good space to pull off on to if you had car trouble. As it is it is just two lanes and nothing more before you hit the rocky dirt or the drainage canal beside the road. At least there are no big drops off the side so I guess I should be thankful for that.

We drove for miles without ever seeing a home or village and then when the villages appeared they were very small with few buildings over one storey and most of them just mud brick and stone. Small shops lined the highway and sold everything imaginable from pop and snacks to kitchen sinks. Usually there was only a street or two off of the highway so the villages were very compact. There is no farmland nearby so I assume they raise animals and then sell their wares in the markets for a living.

Eventually we got into the more rolling hills and things looked a bit greener. At one point there was a sign for 4,500 metres so we’re still pretty high. We stopped at a rest stop with brand new toilets so that was nice. They cost one soles but toilet paper was provided. That’s amazing around here and all for about 30 cents. The view was also spectacular. We were on a low hillside that rolled down to a small lake and then up the other side to rolling hills will snow capped mountains in the background. And just to top it off there was a market for more shopping. Shortly after we pulled over again to take pictures of some flamingoes and cormorants in the lake.

The greener hillside is creating a different landscape and different agriculture. There are large herds of animals in the fields and that includes cows and sheep with the llamas and alpacas. The farm homes are occurring more readily and all of them have a bright blue outhouse, although we did see one that was green. The homes are sometimes just mud and stone and built against the hillside. Others are more elaborate and include several homes and many stone corrals. Some of the homes have plywood on the outside – some of which is painted and some of which obviously came from somewhere else as there are ads and signs, often upside down or sideways, on the sides of the buildings. Many of the homes have thatched roofs while others are tin. There are nice littler streams running through the fields as well, just to add to the picture.

We eventually got to the point where we had trees again and the towns were much larger in size. The buildings were mainly brick with tile roofs and they were almost all two storeys high. They don’t look big but I assume this is the size they are used to and perhaps they are bigger inside than they look. The stores are the usual variety. There are many more wet places around the landscape now and many more homes and corrals. Each farm has more buildings now and there seems to be more agricultural activities. Some of the fields are obviously planted but I can’t figure out what the crop is. Most of the land is still just grazing for the animals as there are still a lot of them around.

We then went back into a flatter area and lost the taller trees. Now we have more people around and can see people building their mud brick homes. In fact you can see people building what look like kilns and all have one side open and frequently have smoke coming from them. We don’t know whether there are a lot of independent people making bricks or if they are just making their own or what. There is also a lot of garbage around some areas and it’s not a pretty sight.

We reached Juliaca which was a much larger centre and has the only airport in the region and a main train station. There are 200,000 inhabitants and the main activity is business of buying and selling. There was a festival going on and the main square was full of people and there was a band playing. Some of the costumes on the street were absolutely beautiful. Two of them were in gold and really stood out. Others are in colourful dresses and many are wearing bowler hats. There were vans all over the place and I assume they were the local taxis going in every direction. There were also tuk tuks if you wanted a private ride. The buildings were all brick many had several floors but no more than five or six. There were large playing fields and stadiums and very nice looking schools. As we left we seemed to be in an industrial area or at least an area quite different than the downtown business district. In one building they sold Mazda, Ford, Hyundai and another that I can’t remember right now. At the very end of the town was a large, new university complex that said it offered 19 professions but didn’t say which ones.

Outside of town the green fields returned. Cows were tethered at the side of the road. Some were actually given green hay or something to eat despite the fact they are standing in a green area. Three men were out hoeing a field and you could certainly see where they had been so they were doing a great job. Another man was out plowing with his oxen. I couldn’t see how well he was doing but he was working hard.

Eventually we arrived in Puno, a town of over 150,000 on the shore of Lake Titicaca at 3,820 metres above sea level. Puno is the dividing city between two of the official languages: Quechan in the north and Aymara in the south. The main economic activities are agriculture and tourism. Agricultural products are barley, potatoes, quinoa, milk, cheese and alpaca farming. Silver mines were very important and people were forced by the Spanish to work the mines. The Spanish gave the worker coca leaves to keep them working longer hours. In November 1668 the Spanish founded Puno or San Carlos de Puno in honour of Carlos II, King of Spain. Puno is 3,810 metres above sea level and about 4.5 hours from La Paz, Bolivia.

Puno has two universities with one free public university offering 42 programs and serving over 20,000 students. The other university is private and very expensive. According to our tour guide, only the students whose parents are smugglers can afford to go there. Apparently Bolivia has no taxes so people go across Lake Titicaca to guy goods and bring them back to Puno for sale in the Mercado Negro, which is a well established and perfectly legitimate market.

Puno is having a big festivity this week in honour of the virgin of Candalin (sp). It is always the first full week of February so we are just catching the end of it. Throughout the week there are parades, dancing, traditional costumes, fireworks and music. We caught a lot of the parades in time we were in Puno. They seemed to be small groups who just marched around the streets non-stop playing music and dancing, some in costumes, and carrying their honoured virgin. It was fun to see but definitely disrupted traffic, even pedestrian traffic.

After arriving in Puno we took a walking tour around the city to get our bearings. I then took off and went to see the Cathedral and the Church of San Antonio. The Cathedral was right on the main town square, Plaza de Armas, and it was a light brick colour with two main towers. The inside was also brick with altars along each side and a large stone altar at the font. It was very nice but nothing fancy. The Church of San Antonio was much smaller but the front altar in it was elaborately decorated with banners above the main statue. I wondered if this wasn’t perhaps the Virgin of Candalina, that we were honouring this but there was a service going on so I couldn’t get any further information. The inside of the church was white and very plain with blue pillars and ribbing. The stain glass windows at the top were round and yellow/green, yellow/blue, etc. and shed a neat light on the white walls. The main square was quite large with a statue, benches and garden areas but didn’t’ have a lot of large important buildings around it as is the usual case.

I went from the churches to the Carlos Dreyer Museum. By this time it was raining so it was good to be inside. Carlos Dreyer was an artist and collector who lived in the area for 30 years. He donated the building and its exhibits to the museum. The building may have been his home but I was unsure about that. There were eight rooms in the museum but they were very small so the whole museum only took about an hour. The exhibits covered the Nazca, Chimu, Chancay, Paracas, Pukara, Tiahuanaco, Curacazgos and Inca cultures. There was pottery, textiles, sculptures, jewelry, paintings and religious artifacts. One room displayed over 500 gold pieces from the Sillustani. It was very impressive. The gold was taken from the Sillustani funerary towers that were located about 30 miles from Puno. Three human remains from the tower were also displayed in this room. The whole museum was interesting but there were no signs in English so it was a bit hard to follow the specifics. After the museum I went back to the hotel and met the others for dinner and then we were in bed early for our early departure for our cruise on Lake Titicaca in the morning.

On the 12th, when we returned to Puno from our cruise on Lake Titicaca, some of us took a trip to Sillustani to see the funerary towers. They are built on a peninsula of a small lake and of course they are up at the top of a hill that we had to climb. There were Inca funerary towers that were made of huge smooth cut stones placed in a circular formation and built about 25 feet high. There were many of them on the peninsula but few were in good condition. Most had at least one side caved in or the top now supported by metal strapping. The site also included many pre Incan funerary towers that were just piles of rocks in a large igloo shape. These were built by another culture but not many years before the Inca. It was amazing to see how different and vastly improved the Inca techniques were. The towers, of both types, covered a very large area so it was obviously a very important burial ground. Only the rich and famous and important people were buried in such towers. Normal people were just buried under ground.

On the way back from this tour we stopped at one of the farm houses for a quick visit. It was a mud brick compound with triple entrance gates and two separate sections within. We never heard what the first section was for but we wondered if the smaller animals came in at night. The inner section had five separate buildings of different sizes, some round and some square. One small round one was piled about five feet high with cow patties that they use as fuel. Another of the buildings was obviously sleeping quarters. It was much larger, rectangular in shape, and had a large bed at both ends. Another slightly smaller building was the kitchen. There was a clay oven both inside and outside for cooking. The one outside was much larger. The cupboard in the kitchen made me think of Old Mother Hubbard as it was just one shelving unit with about three shelves and most of them seemed bare. Mainly they seemed to have flour, sugar and various other grains as well as a few cans and bottles like condensed milk and oil. Obviously they do not store a lot of things but rather get them fresh daily. The other buildings were closed so we did not go in. It seemed like a very nice comfortable place except for the dirt floor and animals, both of which would produce too much dirt for my liking. Oh yes, I mustn’t forget that they had llamas and alpacas out front for us to take pictures of, and they had guinea pigs inside. And they had ceramic bulls on most of the buildings and on their gates as bulls bring good luck. I should also mention that the guinea pigs are considered Peruvian x-rays. If you are sick you put the guinea pig on you and it will absorb the illness. Once removed, the guinea pig is killed and examined to find the exact problem and then the patient is treated accordingly. It doesn’t make sense to me but what do I know? My doctoral studies didn’t include guinea pigs as x-rays.

Back in town we went to the Coca Museum. The first part of the tour was watching a video about native dances. The room also had various costumes on display for these dances. After that we actually got into the coca exhibit. By the time you had read everything it was clear that the coca plant could cure anything. It even mentioned the fact that Coca-Cola used actual coca in its recipe originally. Once the cocaine drug connection was made, they changed the formula. Generally speaking though, it seemed like coca (not cocaine, which has to go through a whole other process, was a valuable drug tot eh Peruvians and others who needed more energy at the high altitude. It was only one room but it was very well presented AND it was in English as well as Spanish so that was an added bonus.

Now I mustn’t forget to say that after we returned from Lake Titicaca at noon and before we left for the Sillustani tour, I took another small trip in town. I walked from the hotel to the start of the steps to the Condor Lookout and then climbed the 590 steps straight up to the top to get a view of Puno and Lake Titicaca. The climb took me a very long time as it was very hot and sunny and it was very hard breathing at the altitude. I think I was stopping about every 30 steps at one point. Just getting to the start of the stairs was challenging enough as it was basically all uphill from our hotel. Anyway, after a lot of panting and many stops I did reach the top. It was over an hour from bottom to top and I only had two hours to spare so I quickly took my pictures and started the downhill climb. The view, by the way, was quite spectacular looking over Puno and Lake Titicaca. Going down was much easier from a breathing perspective but it was certainly hard on my knees. Near the bottom, as I’m grunting and groaning, I meet two Peruvians going up and each was carrying a 50 pound bag of flour. How do they do it? There were houses all along the route so I’m not sure how far they had to go. It certainly wouldn’t be to the top but it still seemed like a lot of work to me. I also should add that had I known how much of a climb there was at Sillustani I might not have done this climb as well.

After the museum we went back to the hotel for a few minutes and then went out to dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Parque Pino. It was delicious and probably the best meal I’ve had. Tomorrow we are away from our hotel at 7:30 to go to the bus station for an 8 a.m. bus to Cuzco, a 6.5 hour ride.

Colca Canyon, Peru – February 8-9, 2011

It was a wet morning when we left Arequipa. As we climbed out of the city it was very socked in and almost looking foggy. We couldn’t see any of the volcanoes that were supposed to be visible. The road is just two lanes, one in each direction, and sometimes it is slow going if we get behind a slow vehicle. Then of course it gets scary if the driver tries to pass as it’s a very windy road, which would be bad enough even without the fog. There are a lot of cactus and large rocks on the hillside and it’s a very pretty combination. When we get a view through the clouds to the valleys below they are still very green and lush and obviously farmed as there are many small patches of various colours around.

We stopped to take pictures of some vicunas. They are light coloured (white, tan, brown) animals that look somewhat like a deer. Hunters used to come to the area to kill the vicunas because their wool was worth a lot of money. They could have just sheared the animals but they killed them instead because it was easier. The vicuna is now a protected animal. They have one baby at a time and can do so every year. The highway has both warning signs for vicunas and llamas. We saw a llama a while back but didn’t stop for pictures.

The area right now is very flat with low rolling hills and very dry with just small cactus like shrubs. This is a reserve so the animals are protected and some of the local tribes look after the reserves. There are shearing periods. The locals have corrals that are wide at one end and narrow at the other. They drive the vicunas in and put a tag on their ear for tracking (if it’s first time) and then shear them. A ceremony is held before the shearing giving thanks to bacha mama (mother earth) and a special cheecha is drunk. Vicunas can be sheared every two years with about 200 grams of wool per vicuna per shearing. The vicunas are later released. The native people clean the fiber and then it is sold to the factories for processing.

There was a toll gate just before the road split with Puno and Cusco to the right and the Colca Canyon to the left. Shortly thereafter we stopped for a bathroom break and a cup of tea about 4,900 meters above sea level. There were only a couple of small buildings in the area and yet there was a small market. I guess people walk in to sell their wares in the market. It was raining and yet they were still out there trying to make sales. Unfortunately most of us went indoors to the little restaurant. We weren’t hungry but we all had a cup of triple tea. Of course this was purely for medicinal reasons at the high altitude and we do all feel fine. The triple combination is coca to get those red blood cells moving quicker and moving the oxygen around, mint to counter nausea and chachacoma (sp) for stomach ache. I don’t even like tea but it was pretty good. Of course it was just the plant leaves in our cup so you did have to do a bit of straining with your teeth to get to the liquid.

Coca leaves are part of the culture in Peru and Bolivia but they are not allowed elsewhere in South America. The plant grows in the low jungle area and the coco leaves are considered sacred by some tribes. It is a long process to get cocaine from the plant so very different than just coca leaves. When you chew the leaves for the first time, pull out 5-10 leaves and place the stems together. Pull off the stems and scratch the leaves with the catalyst that is in the bag to get some of the powder on the surface of the leaves. Roll or wrap the leave and them place them in your mouth and suck them. This starts a small chemical reaction in the mouth and your tongue may feel numb. Swallow the juice and when it goes to the stomach it is not digested but goes directly to the blood where the red blood cells go crazy. The red blood cells transport oxygen sit having them move faster gets oxygen more quickly through your body. There well may be some nausea and headache but you should have energy. Farmers chew a whole bag at once and it lasts all day – something like chewing tobacco stuck in the side of the cheeks and spitting when necessary. If we tried this we’d be sick. The catalyst is made by the people and it sounded almost like cooked and dried vegetable.

The land around this area, and we were still climbing, is very rocky with just some small green plants poking through. Because of the rain and the foggy windows there won’t be many pictures to enjoy. Hopefully the clouds lift and the rain stops so we can see some of the Colca Canyon today and tomorrow and perhaps a bit of this scenery on our return journey.

We passed a local bus that had broken down and the people were standing everywhere and blocking the road trying to get us to stop and give them a ride. We did stop at the end and pick up a lady on crutches and a man who I guess was with her. The rest we left behind even though we still had four empty seats and lots of rooms for bags and standing. I guess the tourist buses or vans aren’t allowed to transport locals but we thought we’d get away with one or two of them. We can now see higher mountains in the distance and some of them have snow on top. If it keeps getting colder I may have to trade my sandals for hiking boots and pull out my fleece. I was fine yesterday but some of the others said they were really cold and wore their flannels to bed.

We just stopped again because we saw a large herd of alpacas and some flamingoes and a heron. The alpacas were very cute and their colouring went from white to dark brown or maybe black. Most of them were very thick with fur so they are likely keeping quite warm. The land here is very wet and green as we seem to be in a very flat valley or shallow basin. The surrounding hills are still the same barren, rocky looking land but this basin is a beautiful lime green almost like moss but I think it was mainly young grass with a little moss. Just a bit further down the road we had some llamas crossing the road so had to stop. I think I’m going to have a rough time keeping my llamas, alpacas and vicunas separate despite the fact I thought I knew what llama and alpaca both were before I even started the trip. I shall take consolation in the fact that all three are members of the camelids species so they are indeed related.

The land is now back to rock and a few green plants and some yellow moss or lichen-like patches. Every once in a while you see a person out in the field as well and some homes and fences all made of stones and mud. They certainly have lots of stones around to use for this purpose. Some of the fences seem to go straight up the hill side. And of course they are all around the terraced areas on the hillside as well. Some of these terraces are 1,500 years old so that’s quite impressive. And apparently the stones were used not just because they were readily available, but because they hold the heat so well and that keeps the ground warm and helps the crops grow faster. Because the terraces are on the hillsides and most of them are very small, all the work has to be done by hand and with oxen as tractors can’t get in.

We’re still climbing. The road is straight and I think the speed limit is 80 but we certainly aren’t going anywhere near that speed, which is just fine with me. While everyone else is worried about altitude sickness and thus eating coco candies, toffees, cookies and anything else they can find, I’m more worried about motion sickness on these winding roads. We are higher now and the flat plains have disappeared. We are now into rolling hills and quite high peaks with the clouds floating along and between them. It’s quite mystical looking. And now the cliffs are right beside the road and the rocks are obviously falling on to the road. The clouds suddenly appear below and rise up over the road and then just as quickly disappear. There are very lush green patches with waterfalls coming down the hillsides. It’s quite foggy right now so I’m really glad there is not much traffic and the road is well marked and our driver seems to be quite cautious. We now appear to be going down but I don’t know if it’s just an illusion or just a little drop before another climb or we’ve actually passed the summit and are now heading into the canyon. I guess we’ll find out soon.

We definitely were on our downward journey. We wound around switchbacks and corners and eventually could see the towns below. We stopped at a view point and again for a little shopping in the middle of nowhere. The view was great. The town is small and surrounded by small farm plots, which are very green. I guess there is always a good side to the rain, even if we tourists don’t necessarily like it. Tourism and agriculture are the main industries here. The area is very isolated and only Peruvian soles are used. The more popular areas in Peru take US dollars as well.

There is a protest going on and there are people blocking the roads in the process. We made our way through several groups as we came down into town. I’m not sure if they walked all the way up and back or if they were taken up and back in trucks. At the check point into the Colca Canyon area there were hundreds of people around and we had to wait yet again. However, we eventually made it. The locals at the crossing are in their traditional costumes which are very bright colours and a lot of embroidery and flat hats. Well, I should say the ladies are dressed like that. The men are just in blue jeans and t-shirts.

We stopped in Chivay for lunch. It was a buffet with several different soups, hot dishes, cold salads and dessert. What I had was very tasty and a very good deal for 20 soles or about $7. We continued through the town and crossed the main river to the other side to get to our hotel at Coporaque arriving around 3 p.m. At 4 p.m. we went out for a walk despite the fact that it was pouring rain. We walked to the town square and the church and then back around a back way which was more mud than anything. The road up to the square and church was stone so the water was just running over it. I liked that much better than the mud. It is a very small town with only small buildings and no real stores to speak of. It is in a beautiful setting and I’m sure it’s absolutely lovely when the sun is shining. Let’s hope I get to witness that before we leave! Dinner was at our hotel and that was it for the day.

Mining is popular in the area with copper, silver and gold being the most important. Agriculture is important as well and they grow corn, quoivai, potatoes and many other vegetables. Paprika was the main agricultural product from Arequipa. (I think I forgot that part in the last blog.) Tourism is of course big as long as the weather agrees, which it does not seem to be doing at the moment. Oh well, as Annie says, “the sun’ll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun.” I hope she’s right in this case and then I too will “love ya, tomorrow” which is “only a day away”. Okay enough of that. It’s time for bed.

Well, Annie was indeed right. The morning was much warmer than yesterday afternoon and the clouds had lifted substantially so we could actually see a patch or two of blue sky when we left at 6:30 a.m. Yes, that’s right. Our wake-up call was at 5:30 and I think tomorrow is the same. These tours are hard work!

Anyway we had about a two hour drive to get to the point in the Colca Canyon where we would go for a walk along the edge and hopefully see some condors soaring. The Colca Canyon is the deepest canyon in the world at over 4,000 metres in depth. We were only going to the beginning of the canyon so it was not quite that deep but still very impressive. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

The road was a dirt road with some paved sections. It was very windy. Often there were rocks on the road and several times we had to go through rather deep puddles that covered the whole road and even had to drive across some very fast moving streams. Again, there was not much traffic so it was okay from that perspective although you did have to look out for cows, donkeys or other animals who just happened to have strayed on to the road or who were being herded down the road. Luckily for us the driver is great and the scenery kept us enthralled throughout the trip.

The clouds moved in and out of the mountains as we drove along and made it all seem very whimsical or make believe but the landscape was stunning. There were more rock fences outlining small fields and terraces from the bottom of the valley to high up on the hillside. This is just the start of their rainy season so everything is incredibly green and lush looking. The fields of varying shades of green and some with coloured flowering plants of yellow and purple, along with the stone fences and terraces, against the mountainsides with the clouds moving in and out, presented breathtaking views. And for much of the time we could see the Colca River and its gorge, but not always. I hate to think how many pictures I took and then just how many of them might turn out. Snapping pictures out the window of a vehicle that is bouncing all over the place and keeping your camera steady in the process is not an easy feat.

At this stage we were still in the Colca River Valley and not yet to the Colca Canyon where the river cut right through mountain and left no room for a valley or land on either side. The rock was more stable and harder to cut away in the canyon area. The valley was covered by glaciers at one time and the river either just runs through the valley or through a smaller gorge that has been dug out by the flowing water. The valley is on a fault line and the ground shifts from time to time. Our guide showed us one crack, at least six inches if not a foot wide, in the rock face and that is where the shifts are now occurring.

We passed several small villages along the route. Each one had a central square and a church and usually the churches were white stone or brick with two steeples. We stopped at one and it was beautiful inside – all white with a rounded, vaulted ceiling and a gold altar at the front with three or four smaller altars on each side. One of the towers collapsed during a recent earthquake but has since been rebuilt. The streets of the towns were generally stone and/or mud and very narrow. In some cases they were white washed but generally they were just the mud colour. Except for market areas and the town square, there were very few people to be seen in the town. I assume they were all out in the fields or inside their homes working. Several times there were fields with a dozen or more people in them. I asked the bus driver and he said they would likely be family members invited for the harvest but if there weren’t enough family members then they would pay workers to come in. The ladies we saw were of course in their traditional dress but the men were in blue jeans and jackets. Several of them today did have on their black hats that looked traditional.

We stopped at several viewpoints along the route and they all presented magnificent views. Hopefully those pictures will turn out even if the ones taken while driving along do not turn out. The final viewpoint was along the Colca Canyon and it took us about two hours 7:02 to walk the paths between the various viewpoints. There were a lot of ups and downs in the process but it was sure worth it. The canyon at this point is straight down on both sides and the mountains on the other side were absolutely gorgeous as they slipped in and out of the clouds. The canyon itself also slipped in and out of the clouds (or should I say fog or mist if it’s reaching that far down into the canyon?). It was a real workout especially since we were close to 4,000 metres above sea level and breathing was just a tad difficult.

Along the pathway there were some lovely small white flowers and some blue lupins and yellow daisies and some kind of cactus just coming into bloom with a pink flower. We didn’t see any condors soaring through the air but I did get a picture of another little bird. It was small consolation but better than nothing. Then, at one viewpoint on the drive back to our hotel, we did see two condors sitting on a rock way down the hillside. I took some pictures but my camera is just not that great at zooming in on things so they won’t turn out very good. And finally, at the last viewpoint back in the valley not in the canyon, and mainly due to the sharp eyes of our tour guide, we saw about six condors soaring above and below us. We stayed for ten to fifteen minutes and it was really beautiful to see. Hopefully some of those pictures turn out well because it really was quite amazing. These birds can live to be over 50 years old and their wing span can be 3 meters. When they fly above you, you certainly can’t miss them as they are all black and stand out against the blue sky or white clouds. And when they fly below you they stand out as the adults have black and white designs on their wings. The younger birds are more of a grey/black and harder to distinguish against some backgrounds. They truly were awesome to see. And at this point in time it was very sunny and hot and we all rushed out of the van without any thoughts of sunscreen or hats so we all ended up quite red after only those few minutes. The sun is definitely hot here when it actually decides to shine.

We finished our outing by driving to Chivay and having lunch and spending a half hour or so wandering through the town. In the main square there were three little girls in traditional dress and each with an alpaca, and one little boy with a llama and an alpaca. They were so cute we just had to take their picture, which is of course what they are there for so they can make some money off our donations. The animals were incredibly cute and soft and quite impish. The one kept trying to chew the one girl’s pigtail and another one was trying to eat the bow at the back of one of the dresses. The boy was going into grade four (it’s their summer break now) and his animals were Jack and Ronnie. He was quite the talker so some of our group were speaking to him in Spanish for quite a while.

Back at the hotel we were free for a couple of hours. That seemed like a nice prospect when it was so hot and sunny but of course it clouded over and was raining within a few minutes of our arrival. That did allow me to do some more of this blog though. At 5 p.m. we headed off to the hot springs and spent an hour there. I had a 30 minute massage for 30 soles (about $10) and then spent the last half hour in the pool. It was 38 degrees Celsius so very enjoyable in the cool air. From there we went directly to dinner and also enjoyed some local Peruvian music and dance. The five musicians (four male and one female) were enthusiastic and the music was enjoyable. Again it was guitars, drum, pan flutes, flutes, etc. There were two dancers and they came out three different times to do a traditional dance. The first was a courtship dance. The second was a farm dance. The third was a little harder to interpret. It was supposed to be funny but since we didn’t know the story behind it, it didn’t seem that funny and it went on and on for quite some time. However, the evening was enjoyable and we were back at our hotel by 9:30 to get ready for bed (or finish this blog). Tomorrow is another early start as we move on to Puno for another adventure.

Nazca, Peru – February 6, 2011

Our bus is delayed for an hour and a half so I thought I’d try to summarize what we’ve been doing since my last blog. Basically we finished the drive into Nazca last night, had dinner at our hotel, got up this morning for breakfast at the hotel, went for a quick flight over the Nazca lines, had lunch, took an afternoon walk through the Chauchilla Cemetery, visited a local pottery studio, went back to our hotel and packed our bags, came in to town for dinner and we’re now sitting at the bus stop. So let’s see what I can tell you that was exciting about the above.

I think I ended the last blog as we entered the hills above the dessert. The road, the Pan American Highway to be precise, wound up and down hill sides and we seemed to be flying around the corners. The highway only has one lane going each way so anytime a truck was slowing traffic down everyone was driving in the wrong lane even if it was a solid double line. It was rather scary at times and I found it much more relaxing to be looking up the side windows at the scenery. We had been talking about how flat it was and how much dessert there was and all of a sudden we were into the hills. After too many minutes of winding roads and hills, we suddenly found ourselves overlooking incredibly lush valleys. These were a colourful treat after the non-stop grey of the hillsides. We would go down into the valleys and then immediately start climbing on the other side to get over another pass. And as we approached Nazca and someone wondered how on earth they carved drawings with all these hills, suddenly we were back on totally flat land that was as barren as any we’d ever seen. There was absolutely nothing on the ground except for a few rocks, which I guess made it a great place to draw lines and images. If you were just driving along the road you would not know that there was anything special around you. At one point they have a tower you can climb up, probably about four storeys, and from there you could see two figures ( a tree and a pair of hands) and some of the triangles and lines – but more on those later.,

We arrived at our hotel sometime after 7 p.m. and met for dinner and a meeting at 8 p.m. Our resort is about 20 minutes outside of town on a very dry, bumpy dirt road. However, the resort itself is very nice and very quiet. Although we didn’t have any hot water for showers we all did get a good sleep. Breakfast was okay but nothing special and soon we were off for our next adventure. We drove to the airport and checked in for our flight. Because we were flying in small planes (maximum 8 seater) we had to be assigned seats to keep the plane balanced. Our co-pilot was very good at explaining what was going to happen and telling us to just look down the wing and shoot wide angle when he said something was in sight. It was good advice and something that the other flights didn’t get and some of them were sick as they tried to look through their view finders and use their zoom lenses. I’m not sure any of my pictures will be worth saving but at least I wasn’t sick during the flight.

The Nazca Lines are Peru’s second most popular tourist attraction after Machu Picchu. These famous geoglyphs can only be seen from the air so were not discovered until the last century and weren’t really studied until the 1930’s. A German mathematician, Maria Reiche, spend over 60 years studying the lines and much of the area is named in her honour. There are various theories about who made the lines and when and how but there are still a lot of unknowns. The best guess is that the lines were made between 100 and 750 AD. They were made by clearing away the dirt or top lay so that the second whiter layer of dirt was exposed. The figures are precise in measurement and the lines are straight (some are 30 miles in length!) so the people were obviously trained in engineering or something similar. The meaning and use of the figures is more confusing. Some thought they were based on constellations and some thought they were indicating water sources, but in reality no one knows. They are large with some the size of a football field. And while the lines and triangles are quite basic, some of the other drawings are quite intricate with geographic patterns. My favourites were the hummingbird and the tree. Some of the others are the monkey, whale, astronaut, spider and the condor.

The plane ride was only 30 minutes long but we were at the airport from about 9 a.m. until after noon. It’s low season right now but we still had to wait. Given how they fly their routes you certainly wouldn’t want too many planes up there at once so I really didn’t mind the wait. (I did mind the weight thought!) The pilots fly a given route and we each have a map of what’s coming up next. The co-pilot announces what’s coming up and on which side. Then he lets us know the precise moment it is under the tip of the specified wing. And, as they let people on both sides of the airplane see the drawing, this means you do a lot of leaning left and right during the flight. It really was quite a roller coaster ride, and most of the time I just kept snapping pictures because you couldn’t actually see what you were looking for until after it went by. I don’t think many of my pictures will turn out but I bought a book so hopefully the pictures there will make up for my poor photography. I will say the figures really are quite amazing whether you are looking at them from a plane or the tower or in pictures. It really is incredible to know that someone did these so long ago and they are still in existence. But in a barren land where you only get a total of 15 inches of rain a year, the lines would definitely last for a long time.

Another thing that lasted for a long time were the burial sites. The people who lived here from 500 BC right up to the 16th century all buried their dead in this area. The Chauchilla necropolis was our afternoon visit. All we knew is that we were going to a cemetery. When we got there we realized it really wasn’t anything we had expected. The government has opened and covered 10 tombs in the one area. The cemetery itself is one kilometer long and 350 meters wide. There are thought to be over 500 tombs in the area each with an average of 10 people interred. The bodies are well preserved and it is amazing to see them still in their funeral chamber. When buried they are wrapped in clothes and cotton and placed in a fetal position in a basket. Grave robbers have removed any valuables from the tombs and from the area. Special leaves and herbs are included in the basket to preserve the body. There were shallow graves for the young and deeper graves for the older people and the royalty. They were buried with some important items and valuables but most of those were taken by the grave robbers, whom our guide says were Spanish. All bodies were buried facing the east for the sunrise. Some had very long hair and some had short hair and some had no hair. During certain periods they practiced skull elongation so there were some oblong heads. The Nazca people were reportedly very healthy as witnessed by the healthy bones and teeth. This was likely the result of a healthy diet rich in fish fresh from the sea and the vegetables and fruit that they grew. Each of the ten sites had a different arrangement but basically they were all the same. Because there is no rain in the area the bodies stayed dry and because the bodies were bound in cloth and cotton and lots of leaves and herbs, they have remained in a very well preserved state for over 1,500 years.

The highest sand dune in the world is in this area and it is over 2000 meters. It looks like a snow covered hill amongst all the other darker hills so it really stands out. They grow cotton in this area and they obviously have for centuries. As you drive along the road you see large white stones in amongst the grey ones and we found out today that this is salt as the area was formerly an ocean. We also passed one area that had piles of green in it and that turned out to be seaweed that was trucked from the Pacific for processing and packaging. There are fields of planted cactus which seemed really strange row after row and field after field but apparently the cactus attracts a certain beetle called a cochineal and that bug is important in producing a die for food colouring and other purposes.

Nazca is a lovely little town with busy streets and nice central squares. The people seem very friendly and the food is very good with a variety from Chinese food to Italian as well as traditional dishes. Unlike the surrounding countryside, the city seems reasonably clean. There are lots of little stores and shops selling everything imaginable. I didn’t spend a lot of time in town so can’t say much more about it.

The temperature is always hot and it seldom rains so it should be an ideal place to live in my opinion. The wind was blowing continually while we were in the area and the dirt and sand were driving my contacts crazy. Otherwise, I liked the climate. However, with only 15 minutes of rain a year, it is also a very dry place. There is a big river bed with just a tiny stream in it at the moment. For eight months of the year it is totally dry. In January or early February (now) the water starts to return as the rains start to fall up in the mountains. By March the river will be flowing in full and then drop down again in April and dry up in May. The inhabitants of the city have water piped to their homes. The farmers have wells. When the water level gets low no one has water. When it gets bad in the city they get 30 minutes of water every second day so they really have to collect their water and store it and use it very conservatively. I’m not sure that I, or most of the people I know, would be able to survive like that.

Okay, I guess that’s it for Nazca. It’s now 11:40 p.m. and our bus was supposed to be here and ready to leave at 11:30 p.m. so I’d better shut this off and pack up and get ready to go. We will be on the bus for 10 hours so we’re all hoping to get some sleep. I can’t normally sleep on a bus but I might be able to do so tonight. At dinner she mentioned that it was a long winding road so I just took their equivalent of a Gravol and hopefully it both puts me to sleep and keeps my stomach calm. If not, it could be a really long night.

And I sure hope this is complete and correct because I forgot about it and don’t have time to go back and check it all again now. My apologies for any errors.

Pisco and Paracas, Peru – February 4-5, 2011

The first part of the day’s trip was leaving the city of Lima and details on that will come in the Lima blog, or at least that’s the plan. There are seven of us on the Peru portion of the tour: five females and two males, five from Canada and two from Australia. Our guide is from Lima. The small group size is nice and everyone seems very friendly so it should be a good journey. I’m not the oldest of the group but I have a feeling I’m second oldest and will be the oldest on the Lares Trek. One of the younger ones is not doing the trek as he didn’t want to hold everyone else up. I fear I may indeed be the person doing that!

What follows was basically written on the bus on the drive from Lima south to Pisco, Peru. Hopefully it makes sense. We basically followed the Pan American highway along the coast and the trip took about 3.5 hours by public bus. Three buses left Lima within 10 minutes of each other, all on the same route, and we picked up people and dropped them off all along the way. We had assigned seats and got on at the first stop so we were quite comfortable. The bus was not air conditioned but there were enough windows open to keep it very comfortable.

Beaches and big surf with lots of sand everywhere. The area gets little or no rain (2 mm per year) so the land is very dry and sandy looking everywhere. There is nothing growing as far as I can see right now and we’re on the bus heading south from Lima. Okay, now I see an orchard or vineyard off in the distant hillside. That must require a lot of irrigation. The houses are small and brick with lots of clothes hanging on the roof. It is literally colourless out the window except for the clothes. I can see dirt then sand and then ocean and low clouds and the buildings are all sand colour bricks. A lot of the homes do not seem finished so perhaps the rule is the same here as in Mexico in that you don’t have to pay taxes until the house is completed so they just never complete them. There is dust or sand blowing everywhere so even on the bus with the windows open I have to wear my sunglasses. Now the rolling hills are getting higher and we are obviously heading more inland as I have higher hills on the ocean side as well. You get really bad smells at times and we’ve just passed a feed lot and a chicken farm, which might explain the smell. There appear to be roads leading into the hillsides and some appear to end at solid walls so I don’t know whether it is mining or gravel or storage or what. Even the hills look like big sand dunes but I assume they must be rock underneath.

We just hit another flat stretch and there are very small wooden structures on it and I assume they are houses. Some have smaller structures which I assume are outhouses. Each one has a small plot of land with it. Now we’re into another clump of brick buildings and stores right along the side of the road. These are all pastel colours such as yellow, pink, purple and lime green. The other side of the road has trees again so I guess this area gets more rain. We just passed a river bed that was deep and wide and totally bone dry. I guess even if they don’t get much rain here they do get the run off down from the hills and mountains further inland. We stop along the side of the road from time to time and pick up more passengers. Some go short distances and some go a long distance. Once mother and child just arrived at the bus stop via a taxi that looks like an Asian tuk tuk with a motorcycle pulling a covered cart.

Some gated communities with nice looking 2-3 storey buildings along the beachfront; otherwise the beach seems to be a public one. There are not many people on the beach but there are a few. The surf seems to be quite strong but I only saw one surfer. The road is sometimes right on the coast and sometimes a kilometer or two from it. In some places there are wooden or sand brick or mud corrals with a few cows or other animals inside. There has been one river with lots of water but the rest is dry, dry, dry. We have passed some little outdoor eating spots but I don’t know how one could stand all the sand blowing around while eating. Another area of small shacks and lots of construction. Some cactus plants and small shrubs around now. Okay it’s now barren again with men every once in a while working on a road construction project I think. They are definitely working by hand (pushing wheelbarrows full or bricks or dirt/sand, shoveling, leveling, etc.) and it is really hot out there.

Lots of garbage at the side of the road and at the edges of the buildings and fences. I guess the wind blows it all into a few places but it certainly looks messy. In other places the garbage appears to just be gathered together and buried in the sand. We have now just driven through miles and miles of nothing but sand dunes on each side of the road – or at least they look like sand dunes. I suppose it could be very hard rock underneath for all I know.

We turned off the road following the ocean and started inland. There are now corn fields and other crops and nurseries and it is much greener. There is water in the small irrigation ditches. The homes are of brick again and the farmlands around the homes are much larger. The villages are still quite rustic but certainly livable. There always seems to be lots of construction and lots of empty shells or partial buildings. The bus stops along the road are often just posts with signs. We are currently sitting at one of the bus stops and it’s larger and open air and looks quite comfortable. The roofs of the homes have been tin, thatched, brick, tile and even mud.

These comments are added about the journey after the fact:

We hit fog at some point. We seemed to be climbing higher at that point so perhaps it was just low cloud, although we weren’t that high and it seemed to be drifting in from the ocean. We passed several very large oil refineries, or what we took to be oil refineries. I didn’t realize they had oil in Peru so this was surprising. There were chicken farms all along the way and some had dozens of huge barns. A lot of them were empty and appeared to be in ruin but some were full of chickens that were loose and some had chickens in layered pens, which we assumed were for egg laying chickens.

In talking to our guide after the trip she mentioned the almost 7.0 earthquake that hit the area in 2007 with Pisco as the epicenter. Hundreds of people died and many more were injured, and of course many of the buildings were destroyed which explains why so much of it looks like it is in ruins and other parts look like it is new or under construction. She also explained that the “new subdivisions” are really indigenous people who come in as a group and map out their own territories and squat there for 3 to 5 years until they become the owners. There is certainly lots of land to squat on but it seems like prime land to me, right on the beach, so I’m surprised they are allowed to do this.

Paracas, Peru – February 4, 2011

We arrived in the small seaside town of Paracas about 6:30 p.m. Our hotel is on the highway but that is only two very small blocks from the beach. We dropped our bags in our room and walked to the beach and had dinner and our first Pisco Sours at a restaurant overlooking the boardwalk, which is really a large brick walkway and very impressive. It is of course all new since the 2007 earthquake and it is a lovely walk along the ocean for the distance of the town. The countryside around the town is very dry and desolate but there are green patches where there is irrigation (I assume). There is a large military compound between Paracas and Pisco, and a large oil refinery. I’m not sure of the distance but the trip from Pisco to Paracas took about 30 minutes along the beach road with a lot of very large speed bumps.

Paracas is not very large with maybe 2,000 people in the town and surrounding area. The main business is definitely tourism as there are small hotels (no 4 or 5 stars!), hostels, restaurants, shops and tourist agencies everywhere. The second largest business is fishing and there are lots of fishing boats anchored in the bay. The natural bay is large and well protected and the town is at the north end of it. There are beautiful palm trees and acacias and lots of smaller plants with colourful flowers. The fishing boats themselves are also brightly coloured. Most of our boats would be white but they have various colours so they look very bright and colourful in the water.

There is a long pier in the centre of the town. It was deserted last night when we were walking around but this morning it was very busy with long line-ups of people waiting to get on the speed boats and go to Ballestas Island. The three new people on our tour went for this optional boat ride. Those of us who just came from the Galapagos did not go as they refer to Ballestas as a mini Galapagos and we figured we had seen enough of that.

Last night was lovely temperature wise and very comfortable even with shorts and short sleeve top. There were no bugs around at all so the window in the hotel room stayed open all night to cool off the room (no air conditioning here). This morning even before 9 a.m. it was hot and you could feel the sun burning your skin if you were out for even a few minutes. I am now sitting on the covered roof top patio at the hotel and it is lovely. There is a cool ocean breeze blowing and that makes it very nice indeed. Some of the markets and shops were open when I was out walking. They don’t officially open until 9 a.m. so many of them were closed. It’s so comfortable here that I’m not sure I want to go out again just to check out the rest of the stores along the street or the stalls in the market place. We leave at 10 a.m. so I’m quite content to just sit here blogging and enjoying the view. This patio is also the breakfast room so breakfast was very enjoyable.

Once the group got back from Ballestas Island we piled into a van to drive to Nasca. The first hour of the journey was the flat dessert sand dunes with little vegetation. However, in places there was vegetation of various types from small shrubs to tall palm trees and with crops from garlic to grapes. Our first stop was at a pisco refinery and we took a tour through the operation and past some of the vineyards. They grow 8 kinds of grapes and I believe it was an even mix of what we refer to as red and white grapes. They do not make wine in the area because their growing conditions are not appropriate. However, they do make pisco for pisco sours and a lot of other drinks. The grapes are pressed by stomping according to our tour guide and that involves a lot of dancing people drinking a lot of pisco. The only press he showed us was way really old and only used at the end of the process for an extra press of the remaining skins after the stomping. The juice then runs through to another area simply by gravitation and it is put into pottery crocks for two weeks only. Each of the crocks weighs about 100 pounds when full. The juice then goes into a huge vat which is heated to 100 degrees. The ethanol rises first and goes out the top vent and down through the pipes which are submerged in water which acts as a coolant. The ethenol is collected in the next step and stored. The propenol comes next and is collected for the actual making of pisco. The methanol comes last and it is also collected and stored. The three gases are referred to as the head, body and foot of the process and each is produced at a separate temperature so they can be collected separately. At least I think that’s how it works. After our tour we went to the tasting room and had at least six if not eight, different pisco samples that ranged from straight pisco to a tangy tangerine blend to a milky almost kahlua like blend. That last one was my favourite as it was very smooth and tasty. The alcohol content ranged from 17 to 43% so some of it was very powerful stuff. I was amazed that we all, myself included, drank all the samples because they were quite generous as samples go and the stuff was quite powerful. However, we did all manage to walk out so all was well.

About another half hour down the road through a lot of sand and some incredibly high sand dunes, we came to Huacachina Oasis, which truly was just a small lagoon surrounded by palm trees and a few buildings (restaurants, hotels, etc.) in the middle of high sand dunes that towered above everything else. We had about two and a half hours here and it was very relaxing. Well, it was very relaxing for some of us who sat and had lemonade (not pisco sours) around the lagoon then went for a swim and at the end had our lunch. For the rest of them it was a bit more hectic as they went for what we heard was a really wild dune buggy ride over the sand dunes and then sand boarded down about four of them. They came back very hot and very sandy but no one had any serious injuries so that was good. They also had some incredible pictures.

From there we drove for another hour or so in sand but could see hills in the distance. Suddenly we were driving through the hills on incredibly winding u-turn roads and then finally we could look down on incredibly green and lush valleys. It was such a contrast after driving through so much dessert. I hadn’t realized that Peru had such a large dessert area. According to our guide it is the second driest dessert in the world with about 15 minutes of rain a year. Anyway, that’s where I’m stopping this and I’ll pick up the next part under my Nazca blog as that is the day’s destination.