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The cold Humboldt Current running down the Peru coastline creates two things; a desert and fog. When we went to explore the Lunahuana Valley the locals told us that the fog would lift in the afternoon, sadly it didn’t, but we saw enough to mark it down as a trip to do on our return. The Lunahuana River has excellent river rafting possibilities as well as providing water to all the vineyards scattered along its course. Vineyards that make undrinkable semisweet wine and Pisco, a 42% schnapps type drink that is drunk with lime and a variety of mixers. We stayed in a really interesting campsite which was aimed at the climbing fraternity. It had a huge climbing wall and while we were there a Costa Rican company Costaricanopies had just finished building the ultimate jungle gym (Arial structure) and a huge fuffy slide across the valley and back

Neblina is Spanish for fog. It normally blows away by the afternoon, except in Lima, where it remains for eight months of the year. I really don’t think that I could live in a city that does not see the sunlight for the majority of the year and hardly ever sees rain. On top of the unusual weather Lima must have the worst drivers in the world! They have to be seen to be believed or rather experienced to be believed, yet despite the mayhem of hooters and car alarms the city has a charm that is appealing. The sea with its amazing waves is cold but very accessible, all one needs is a wet suit, which is exactly what I will don when we return, as the opportunity to try and catch those endless waves cannot be missed. 

View from cliff walk

Lima is a large city of about 10 million people. The high density housing is broken up by numerous plazas and neighbourhood stores. It has a downtown area which is on the USESCO Heritage list. 

Downtown Lima

Punte 

Old houses in Punte

Yours truely

The luxury apartment blocks that are strung along a cliff edge overlooking the sea and beaches below, would do justice to the smartest Mediterranean Coast line, and the historical Punte area where the mainly Italian forefathers arrived has very pleasant feel to it.

Santa Maria with Llama's!

Food is a big priority in the lives of Peruvians and Lima is the centre of a gastronomic delight, but it is the friendliness of the people that gives this city an edge. In the main downtown plaza there is an amusing sculpture of Santa Maria. The sculptor was commissioned to do the sculpture and was told to include a crown of flames, but was not told that the Spanish word for   flames and llama is the same, so now Santa Maria has little Llama's delicately placed on her head! 

Love Park sculpture

There are some really interesting sculptures around the city. We really enjoyed the one in what has become the Love Park.

Guillermo (Chino) and Ewa

On arriving in Lima our fortune continued. We somehow played real life “dodgem cars” and arrived in Lima at 5.00pm in the afternoon. I parked the bike while Ewa went to negotiate our accommodation. As I stepped off the bike the very first person who walked passed stopped to chat. Guillermo was a member of the MOTORIDERS motorcycle club and invited us to a meeting the following evening. Why this was such a fortuitous meeting was because we had to leave the motorbike in Peru for what could be a year, but the normal permit lasts for 90 days. We were told we would need all the help and influence that we could get and here we got it within the first minute of arriving in Lima! Fate? I think so. We were further told that we would have to grease many a palm to legalise the terms of our motorbike, so it was with intrepid steps that we entered into the offices of the Aduana. We expected a formidable battle with entangled beaurocracy. How surprised we were to deal with two exceptionally bright and helpful ladies, who sorted out or permit in a flash and bid us bon voyage. It was an experience which was the complete opposite of what we expected. At the end of the day we have decided that it is all about education; the less educated, the more officious the individual.

We met some really wonderful people in Lima as a result of our motorcycle and Carlos and Monica were no exception. Carlos must be the only Moto Gussi owner in Peru as well as the owner of ten other motorcycles in various states of repair and disrepair. They gave us a wonderful Sunday driving us around the sights of Lima and introduced us to Peruvian cuisine at a really local restaurant in the Pueblo Libre area of Lima, where we had humita verde (corn pate), tiradito (raw fish and yellow chilli), coritos (mussles with olive oil onions and corn), papa rellena (mashed potato wrapped around mincemeat) and cau cau for lunch. 

Monica and Carlos

Traditional lunch spot

Lunch as described

After lunch and a visit to Carlos’s home to see his array of bikes, we capped the evening by a visit to the artistic, somewhat Bohemian area of Barrancus, where we ate anticuches ( the heart of cattle), picarones (a dessert made with pumpkin and sweet potato and topped with honey) and chichi morade (a drink made from purple maize). It was all really delicious and sat well with the Pisco Sour aperitif.  

Barracas library

Oldest pub

We have always said that it is the people along the way that makes travelling such a delight and the friends we made in Lima were no exception and we will certainly look forward to meeting them again on our return.

It was with a tear in our eyes that we said goodbye to our motorbike, which has been our home and reliable means of transport and adventure partner for the past five months. Wrapped up in its blue plastic cover in the basement of Arellio’s building and watched over by Manuel and his son, it looked a little forlorn, but I know we will return in a year to find it exactly as we left it and it is very comforting to know that it is being legally stored and has a police certificate to prove it!

Wrapped and guarded!

That is the end of an amazing five months. We have had the time of our lives, made wonderful friends, seen astounding sights, tasted tantalising food and above all we have and remained healthy. Long may it last?

Our home!

High to low and back again.

I am lying in bed just thinking, I am wondering about blogs. I am wondering how best I could communicate some of the feelings, sights, smells, fears and emotions that we have crammed into our lives the past months. I am wondering if it is necessary to record the quietness in our hostel room at this moment, a quietness which is broken by the creaks of the wooden planks on the balcony outside as some early riser scrambles to get away to catch the first bus to Aguascalientes in order to be ahead of the masses wanting to catch the first light over Machu Picchu. I wonder at the age of the squeaking planks, and of the efforts of the craftsman who carved those balconies that so elegantly adorn many of the buildings in Cusco. 

Cusco Balconies

I wonder who it is and why someone would wish to let off firecrackers so early in the morning and how the bangs frightened the little dog.

I am thinking how I have skimmed through countries, countryside and people, hoping that when I read what I have written at some time in the future I will remember the feelings I had as we climbed some gravel road and I looked ahead at the next hairpin bend and all I saw were little round stones that I knew were bad enough to ride on a flat road, let alone up a hill, round a corner, with an oncoming bus bearing down upon us!

I wonder how I will remember Yamil with his semi-dreadlocked hair, his squat physique, wide Peruvian features which were broken by a broad smile, revealing worn teeth that like his hands bore evidence of a tough rural  life; or his young goffer who trotted between errands, instead of walking, in an effort to please.

We need time to write about such things, the things we want to store in the memory bank that has only ever functioned erratically and has shown not  to improve with age. I also ask myself who would possibly be interested in reading about our travels in the years to come?

As a student I got a job at RCA records in London where I picked and packed records in the warehouse.  I remember having a nightmare where whichever direction I walked there were huge vinyl records rolling down the street towards me! I thought the world had been over-run by records and wondered where people would find the space to store all of their records! Where have they all gone?

What has happened to all those stamp albums which were going to be so valuable, and the Scalextrix sets and Marklin Trains? Blogs no doubt will suffer an even quicker fate. Maybe it would be better to select or paint just one picture that would remind us of the past months and could be hung on the staircase wall with all the other happy memories instead of all the masses of digital pictures. If I had to do choose such a picture I think it would be the picture Ewa took of our shadow as we dashed back to Cusco in an effort to beat the sunset. Life is but a shadow.

Chivay to Cusco is a trip of about 600 kms. That does not sound a great distance to do in a day, but if you consider the finger test it can become a real challenge. The finger test is how I estimate altitude. At 3200 metres I can feel all my fingers. At 3800 metres the tip of my left-hand index finger starts to tingle. At 4000 metres my index finger goes numb and all my other fingers start to tingle. At 4800 metres I am essentially driving with no hands.

Warming up

We left Chivay at 7.00am. The road twists and turns up to 4800 meters over the next 86 kms and takes close to two hours to travel. My hands were freezing and I had to drive with alternative hands warming up on the cylinder head! Thank goodness the sun started shining and we descended down to 3800 where I started driving again with nine fingers. A coffee break at the side of the road and a quick bask in the sunshine got us on our way again.

I have always thought Cusco was really high. Well at 3200 it is not that high. I was really baffled as the road follows a river from Lake Titicaca to Cusco and my internal compass told me that the river should flow into the lake and not away from it as Cusco is high. As it happens you can paddle from Lake Titicaca to the Amazon River via Cusco. Any takers?

Cusco is a really beautiful city, but the outskirts are tatty like most of the big towns we have been through, but to arrive from the East at sunset is a nightmare. The traffic has a mind of its own, the road is full of diversions, potholes and dust and the people are completely oblivious to the fact that the descending sun makes it impossible to see two feet in front of you. How we made it through to the town centre I really don’t know, but we did. It made a big difference to know that we had accommodation just off the Plaza de Armas at Hostel La Pasada Viajero, where we once again drove through the reception into the courtyard!

Cusco Crafts

Cusco Plaza des Armas

Cusco Cathedral

Hand made by the Inca's

It is impossible not to enjoy the vistas through the narrow lanes. The architecture is almost organic as it climbs up the surrounding hills. There is no doubt that the tiled roofs and the mud coloured walls of the residential areas and the splendid stonework of the formal buildings and churches make Cusco a photographic paradise. Cusco is a tourist city of note, but it was really interesting exploring the real life of the markets and areas away from the tourist attractions.

Free. Life is but a shadow

Cute Kids

Inca Grain Storage Ollantaytambo

Volcano over Sacred Valley

We decided that Machu Picchu would not be on our itinerary for a number of reasons, but we did have a really memorable drive through the Sacred Valley from Pisac to Ollantaytambo the launching spot to Machu Picchu. There is no doubt that despite the tourism, there is a real spiritual feeling to this fertile valley. We also had an amusing time haggling at the market stalls of Pisac. The roasted guinea pig (Cuy) on display didn’t do a lot for my appetite, especially the exposed teeth!

Guinea Pig with teeth

How do you imagine Peru? Most probably you would say “dry and mountainous”? Well 60 % is Amazonian forest, 30 % is Alti Plano and the balance is the narrow dry coastal area. As a result Peru has an incredibly diverse eco structure with a wide variety of flora and fauna. It is a fascinating country that is going to require a much bigger chunk of time than we had bargained on.

We left Cusco and headed west to Nazca. I thought we would descend from Cusco. We didn’t, we went up to no fingers, with snow all around the surrounding hills. I had been told that it was a scenic drive but we certainly were not prepared for this road. The road to Abancay winds up, down and through various valleys for 250kms. I estimate that we turned a bend every 200 metres. Allowing for the length of the bend that would mean that we negotiated 1000 bends! I am not talking about gentle bends, these are right-angle and hairpin bends.

1000 to go

We rose up to the barren Alti Plano, then descended marginally to Abancay, before dropping down to the coastal region of Nazca and the Ica valley. I turned off the engine 50 kms from Nazca and free-wheeled into town, a saving of two and a half litres of petrol! I had the utmost respect for the couple who were riding bicycles in the opposite direction and even afforded a wave and a smile. I wonder if they have reached Cusco yet!

Free wheeled for 50km to Nazca

The old adage that says “all I need is a roof over my head” does not apply to the coastal region of Peru. There is no need for a roof as there is no rain! The area around Nazca and the Ica valley is a desert, but fortunately because of the underlying rock formation there is abundant water that flows down from the Alti Plana and is stored below to desert sands, making this area extremely fertile and the centre of the wine and fruit industries.

It is impossible to make head or tail of the Nazca Lines from the ground, but a visit to the Museum in Nazca was really worthwhile as it gave the background to the various cultures that developed in the area dating back to 4000 BC. It would appear that there was a cataclysmic change in the weather about 2000 years ago, which changed the west coast of South America from a fertile vegetated area to a desert. This was coupled with major volcanic action which combined to see the collapse of the sophisticated Tawanaki, Nazca and Paracas cultures around 700 to 900 AD. The Inca only ascended in the 15^th Century, but it was interesting to see how they picked up the skills of their predecessors.

Landing Strip?

Nazca Lines

The Incas only came in 15th Century

Nasca Lines

The scale of the Nazca Lines is astounding. Despite research by numerous scientists they have no clue as to how they came about or their purpose.  What is really fascinating is the fact that the lines are visible at all. I expected that they would be carved into the ground, but they are not. The area where they are found is covered with small rocks and stones. Imagine taking a large vacuum cleaner and sucking up all the stones along a dead straight line ten kilometres long, or conversely blowing all the stones away along a tapering path for the same distance, it would cause an image on the ground. That is how they appear. If you used a jet engine and angled it downwards it would make the same path on the ground! Whatever, the lines are clearly visible and although you can see them on the ground, the patterns only become apparent when viewed from above and have have not been covered by wind or sand for thousands of years. I wonder if they can be seen on Google Earth?

Why is it that the disc jockeys who start playing their music at 1.00am, think that everybody in a 5 km radius wants to listen to them until 7.0am. It is really arrogant. I want to find the DJ who was playing his music in Hauachina, a quiet oasis outside Ica. I want to find out where he lives and start playing the same sounds at the same volume when he decides to get some rest. 

Our new car

Huacachina Hostel

Huacachina Dunes

The owner of the Hostel was surprised when we checked out in the morning and decided to move on to the Paracas Nature Reserve, which was the complete antithesis of our sleepless night. Absolutely nothing but quiet colourful desert sands and tracks that appear to be going nowhere, but by random selection take you to a bunch of four small buildings and a tiny fishing harbour where you can indulge in the best and freshest fish meal you can imagine, surrounded by a myriad of sea birds, including double chinned Pelicans who look as though they should be Trombone players.

Cathedral Rock Paracas Nature Reserve

Paracas Nature Resurve

Where?

Trombone Players

Fish Restaurant

I love the concept. You decide to open a fish restaurant in the desert, miles away from civilisation, with no marked roads leading to it, only tracks that may or may not be leading in the right direction!

That is it. One more blog from Lima and we will be home in time for our wedding anniversary and my birthday.


I love presents!

JoJo engaged, Arequipa and Colca Canyon

It is not possible to see everything in a country; unless of course you have unlimited time and money. If you are driving a motorbike there are a number of other considerations: 1) Your backside; 2) the road conditions; 3) the weather. By luck rather than design our trip has been perfectly timed, we have kept just ahead of the weather by avoiding the rainy seasons, the on-setting winter season and the heat of the summer season,  as well as the people seasons. It was our attention to keep going north along the west bank of Lake Titicaca to Cusco, but my wife’s avid reading changed all that. Her suggestion was that we should head west to Arequipa then North East along a road that doesn’t exist to Cusco, taking in Colca Canyon along the way! As always I listen to Ewa. We headed West for 323 kms to Arequipa and I am very pleased we did.

Arequipa or The White City as it is called because of its buildings made of Sillar, a volcanic stone that shines in the bright sunlight, takes you by surprise. From Puna the road rises from 3808 meters to around 4800 meters from where it drops down to Arequipa at 2358 meters where the city sits comfortably at the base of three Volcanoes, Misti,  Chachani and Pichu Pichu all three of which have snow-capped peaks throughout the year. The road is not straight; it twists and turns at every opportunity. The surrounding outlying areas of Peru’s second largest city are uninspiring, we enter via Ciudad Del Dios (City of God) where I noted that even God doesn’t finish his buildings, it’s a mess with traffic and trucks coming at you from every direction. We head for the city centre where we are suddenly surrounded by some of the most beautiful architecture you can imagine. It is small wonder that the centre of Arequipa has been proclaimed a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Bridge into Arequipa

Plaza at night

We found a Hostel called Home Sweet Home, in the middle of town. Parking for the bike was not available. Bolstered by my ability to drive the bike right through the dining room of the Hostel in Puna, I suggested to the receptionist that I could make it through the front door and a bike of such quality parked in their entrance hall could only increase their occupancy. She agreed!

We had an even bigger surprise when we went online to catch up on our emails. The first email was from JoJo to say that Richard (Christer) had been trying to phone me for the past week to ask me for my daughters hand in marriage! As someone said “You have had the rest of her, so why stop at the hand!” Ewa and I are absolutely thrilled and immediately phoned them and shed tears of happiness throughout the entire call. I have absolutely no doubt that they are extremely well suited for each other. Great news and certainly good reason to walk into the city centre of Arequipa seeking a vendor of fine champagne!

Talking to Richard

Champagne and Artichoke

We were really happy, and to be surrounded by such beautiful buildings was the cherry on the top. Arequipa is the sort of city that reveals its self-more and more over time. We walked ourselves silly and kept on coming across hidden jewels of architecture, galleries and shops. After so many months of somewhat basic living, it was a real pleasure to have a touch of sophistication. We drank our champagne on our rooftop lounge overlooking the lights of the city and watched over by the three snow-capped guardians of Arequipa. Driving West was a good decision.

I wonder how many people have heard of Colca Canyon? Colca Canyon is the second deepest Canyon in the world with a depth of 1700. No it is not second to the Grand Canyon, it is second to Corahuasi Canyon which is only 168m deeper and is situated in the next valley to Colca Canyon, and is not on any tour schedule as is accessed by only one small gravel road, where Colca is accessed by three gravel roads and the occasional bit of asphalt!

We left the warm sunshine of Arequipa by retracing our steps back up the twist and turns to 4800m where cloudy weather turned to snow and we nearly froze!

Going Down

LLama's

Taxi

Chivay

There is good reason why those volcanoes have snow on them. A quick unpack saw us don fancy warm underwear, under-coats over-coats and everything in-between-coats to keep us warm before descending down through hairpin bends to Chivay where by the time we arrived I thought I was in a sauna I was sweating so much.

Chivay is a delightful town at the head of the Colca Canyon; it is the starting point from where the Colca River irrigates ancient Inca Terraces that climb up the gentle sides of the canyon until the gentleness gives way to near vertical walls that disappear into the river 1.7 kms below you. 56 kms downstream from Chivay it is village called Cabanaconde from where it is possible to walk for two and a half hours down a tortuous path to the “Oasis” on the floor of the Canyon.

Tunnel to where?

Inka Terraces

The road to Cabanaconde is scenic beyond my dreams and passes through picturesque villages which all have impressive churches with large domed roofs. Some of the villages can be seen way up on the opposite side of the canyon in seemingly inaccessible places. The thin thread of a donkey track can be seen zigzagging down the mountainside providing an umbilical cord to the world below.

Village Church

Looking 1.7 km down

Colca Canyon

No mass tourism or rush hour here. There are tours but the level of luxury is not high. Transport by large tourist busses are few and far between, 12 seater taxis are the order of the day or donkey if you choose not to walk.

Yamil, the owner of Hostal Valle Del Fuego in Cabanaconde could not have been more helpful. You would imagine that the path down the second deepest canyon in the world would be sign posted. When we enquired where we could find the path Yamil said “You are on it just carry on down the track past the mud hut and keep going”. Tranquillo.

Room with a view

Hostal Valle Del Fuego

Ewa on email

Cabanaconde Church

Inside village church

Two and a half hours down, a swim in the river, a few sketches, then two and a half hours up.

The path down

Keep walking

Donkey's on the way up

Oasis

Very cofotable

Oasis

Rooms to rent

It was a strenuous walk which your calf muscles reminded me about the following morning every time I changed gear or touched the brakes on the return journey to Chevay. It was a Sunday and Mother's Day. All the mothers put on their fines outfits and provided a wonderful display of colour and festivity in all the villages we passed through.

Tired Mother

Mother's Day