Pisco sour

Trip Start Feb 10, 2006
1
53
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Trip End Feb 01, 2007


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Flag of Peru  ,
Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Pisco - famous for the drink and a jumping off point for the Ballestas Islands (the ¨Poor man´s Gallapagos¨ as our guide book put it. And ´poor´ is about the only word to be used when describing the tours to the islands. Other than paying a fisherman some exorbitant price you have no choice but to take a tour. All round the main plaza are tour agencies and you run the gauntlet trying to get anywhere without being pounced on by a tout. They all sell the same tour, they all pool people together on the same buses and boats with the same guides but, interestingly enough, all charge different prices and all promise different things.

And so the ¨two hours at sea, we promise madam¨ turned out to be about an hour and a half of racing round a couple of islands along with a dozen other boats, scaring the life out of any poor creature that happened to be around. Noisy speedboats which go far too close to the islands along with noisy tourists all desperately trying to get a photo and a good look at the wildlife before the boat moves on and a stupid guide who shouts and waves at the seals like he´s a Disneyland performer meant a very disappointing trip A) Pisco church
A) Pisco church
 .

The afternoon was a little better with a lovely guide who was eager to explain and discuss everything, and in Spanish slow enough for me to understand. Spent most of the day driving across the desert but reached a really beautiful spot where the cliffs had eroded away into amazing shapes - The Cathedral they called it. Marie Helene (our guide) pointed out where the ground had given way the previous week due to the earthquake - the same one we felt up in Lima!

Seems earthquakes are a way of life here as we discovered the next day when our internet shop shook and shuddered and everyone dived for cover. Turned out just to be a little tremor but shook me nonetheless.
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Comments

suspiria
suspiria on Nov 9, 2006 at 07:34AM

Nasty
Pisco has the most nastyass bar in the world. I saw a Canadian guy tumble down a flight of stairs, as they were slippery from the raw sewage running from the toilet next to the bar. The beer I bought (cheaply, in all fairness) was allready open when I got it at nicely warm.. The Pisco Sour's were all mixed and stood ready to be sold under the counter (nor refrigiated.. Did I mention Pisco Sour is made from eggs ?)... A group of very atractive, but also very stoned, israeli girls bought those Pisco Sours.. Oh yes, the room was completly hazy from the massive marihuannasmoking going on...
-Kåre

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