Wonderful, Amazing, Beautiful
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
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10
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Trip End
Jul 30, 2008
Cusco,
Peru
Friday, March 28, 2008
Leaving our mountain hideaway, we found there had been so much rain while we were in Cajamarca that the bad road up into the Andes was even worse and more washed out when we came down. John did yeomanīs work getting the Jeep around the curves, over the broken pavement and through the small streams that crossed the road. We finally made it back to the Pan Am Highway and headed south to see how far we could get in the rest of the day. Luckily, there wasnīt much traffic, and we knew the road because we had taken it north, so we cruised along smartly and got ourselves back to Barranca, where we had stopped on the way up. It was a funny feeling to walk into a Peruvian hotel and be recognized by the owner. We had gotten to know him when we spent the night, including his collection of parrots and canaries in the lobby, and he welcomed us with surprised delight. The Jeep went back into the secure parking behind the hotel, and we went to the Chinese restaurant in town.
Easter Sunday dawned bright and sunny, and we headed on down the coast to Lima. The objective was to get through Lima without hitting the major construction that had tied us up on the way out. From our extended adventures in the port of Callao getting the Jeep out of customs, we knew that we could pass by the airport, head into Callao and get onto the coastal freeway that avoids the center of Lima, which didnīt seem like a good place to be on Easter Sunday. Following the signs, we did manage to get to the airport and find the road to Callao, where John recognized our shipping agentīs warehouse and knew the way to the coastal road from there.
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We had taken it many a time between customs/warehouse and our hotel on the south side of the city. We breezed along the coast and managed to find the Carretera PanAmerican Sur, which did, in fact, lead us to the PanAm Highway outside of Lima on the south side. For a good stretch, we had a new superhighway taking us south and even managed to find a good Wongīs super-center to stock up on needed supplies on the way. In the parking lot, as we loaded our purchases into the Jeep, two young Americans walked up and asked "Did you really drive here from San Diego?" They were living in Lima doing development work and quite surprised to see a license plate from home.The super highway version of the PanAm highway ended too soon for our taste, and we were back to passing every version of vehicle known to man. The sand deserts stretched for miles on all sides of us; it was like driving in a moonscape. But the Pacific was beautiful and blue, and we had some wonderful cliff-top scenery as we pushed our way south. Pisco was something of a surprise when we turned off the PanAm to find a place to stay for the night. It had been hit by an earthquake 8.2 on the Richter scale several months before and looked like the ruins of Berlin at the end of World War II. We followed the directions in our Lonely Planet guidebook to the central square, where part of a tower of the once cathedral was standing. Nervously, we headed down the main street to see if we could find the recommended hotel, wondering at the ruins on all sides and the huge potholes and cracks in the road.
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When we did spot the hotel, it was in one piece and to us a beautiful oasis of modern buildings wrapped around a multi-form swimming pool with a bridge across the middle and trees and flowers everywhere; like walking through the mirror into Wonderland after the ruined town. So we settled in for the night, and John had a Pisco Sour.Monday we headed in tourist boat for the Balesteros Islands, second only to the Galapagos in number and variety of wildlife species. On the way, we saw an example of "the Nasca lines". These are huge patterns cut into the side of a hill, 150 by 100 yards, in an intricate pattern that looked like a baroque candelabra. Eric von Daniken thinks they were made by people from outer space. Our guide said they may have had some ceremonial or navigational purpose. No one really knows, but it was quite imposing and mysterious.
We spent the rest of the morning bobbing off the shores of these huge rock formations thrust up out of the water, watching birds of infinite variety, including red-legged boobies and Humboldt penguins - little guys, but with all the proper attire. The rocky islands were also home to hundreds of sea lions, many with young at their sides, and one rocky beach was so covered with them and their barking that you could hardly hear yourself think. The rock formations - bridges, caves, cliffs - were fantastic, and our boat captain was adept at keeping us very close to the rocks as we washed in the rolling Pacific, but never coming too close for comfort.
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The abundance of species on a relatively small island area makes it easy to understand the effect that Darwin wrote about when he first saw the Gallapagos Islands.After the sea, we did the desert, going to the Paracas Nature Reserve, which has been set aside by the government to preserve desert, coastline, and 1000 of acres of marine life. It is much like a lunar landscape except when near the coast. The road through the preserve was a combination of clay and sea salt with the black coloring being provided by the rubber from vehicle tires. We had a fabulous lunch at one of four little restaurants in a small cove, protected by a sizable hill but not big enough. We had the freshest scallops we have ever tasted, with the tails still on in the French manner. At the end of our lunch we learned that the small cove had been devastated by the tsunami caused by the earthquake (8.2 Richter scale) that occurred in the ocean and devastated Pisco. When the tsunami hit last August, it sent 3 separate 23 meter waves crashing into the cove. As they tell the story, there used to be seven women living there - now there are only 3; the rest were gone when the waves hit.
Later that evening we were having a picnic by the pool - every once in a while we get lucky with a hotel - when the power went out in half the town. We got out our trusty flashlights and continued with our respite while those who were eating in the restaurant came out to join us by the pool.
March 25th - 27th
We set off bright and early - 6:30 am heading for Cusco, a distance of maybe 400 miles, and Machu Pichu with no idea how far we would get or how good the roads would be.
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After several hours we ran across a little village near Palpa, which sported an archeological site, according to the guidebook. With some searching and many conversations with locals, we found a dirt path pointing to the supposed site. We headed up the path, which quickly got worse. Thank heavens for the Jeep suspension! After ten more minutes of seeing nothing but a path getting worse, we looked at each other and decided to turn back. As we did, we saw a little walking path, and Carol got out to see where it led. After a few minutes, a woman appeared on the top of the hill motioning us to come on up. So up went the Jeep went to a very nice parking lot. We know where they spent the money on this site - the parking lot. As it turns out, it was a reasonably well-preserved line drawing, which some believe to be a very old agricultural calendar. There are many other theories, including Erik van Daniken and people from outer space. Look at the photo and develop your own story - be sure to turn the picture different ways. From there we proceeded to view the more extensive and somewhat younger Nasca lines, which turned out to be something of a disappointment from a 75 foot tower. There is a picture or two which show a drawing of a bird and some other lines. We are sure a view from a plane would be much better and would disclose why a German researcher - Maria Reines - spent 35 years or so of her life trying to figure them out. We did meet some other travelers who had flown over them and were fascinated.
Shortly after leaving this area, around noon, we started to climb from the lowlands into the arid mountains.
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As we went, the road began to deteriorate a little bit every mile or so. By the time we turned from desert to green and still climbing, we were definitely congratulating ourselves for having the Jeep. As we approached 2 pm, it started to rain - and well it should since we were now driving in fog or clouds depending on your viewpoint. We were now getting worried. Cusco was out of the question. At this point, we had covered only about 80 miles; the closest town was still 30 miles away with the next one at least 180 miles. It took us until 5:30 to make it to the lovely mountain village of Puquio. The road had turned into a deeply rutted path of mud, as were the streets of the town. They claimed some kind of construction project. We found a place to stay; the guide book described the available Hostels (no Hotels) as uninspiring, and it was well put. After an evening meal in the local Pollaria (the routine inexpensive chicken grill), we retired for the evening. John spent a sleepless night worrying about the road or lack thereof ahead of us. Fuel was also a concern since El Jeepo loves fuel in the fresh mountain air. We had gone as high as 4333 meters twice on the way from Nasca to Puquio. Dawn came and found us on the road before 6 am. We slogged through the town heading for good old highway 26 for ten minutes. Things were not looking good at this point. We needed to get to the next town which was 180 miles, and we were averaging 10 miles an hour. As we hit the edge of town in two feet of mud we had to make a left turn up on to the road - a real road. Our hearts leaped with joy. Even if this lasted for only a few miles it was a blessing. John and the jeep took off like a racing grey hound, heading up once again into the mountains. It seemed like we were flying, and the road was still good - twisting and turning like crazy, but still a real surface. We climbed to almost 15,000 feet - a number of unbelievable pictures of snow caps, lakes, Llamas and Alpacas are included but they still fall short of showing the beauty we were able to experience. We drove across the Andes, across the very top of the world, surrounded by snow-capped peaks and scattered upland lakes. The altitude was so high that John was exhausted just getting out of the jeep to take pictures. Before the day was out we made it to Cusco - the good surface continued, and we went down and back up again to finally arrive in Cusco - elevation around 12,500 to 13,000, and very happy to be here! 
Comments
What a Journey
Cherie and I have been following your adventure with anticipation of when you will arrive back in Chicago! We were in San Diego last month and obtained your travel blog ID. We were wondering about your adventure in Columbia when we firt heard about the border war -- before you did. Hang in there and continue having fun on your adventure.
Fred & Cherie
What an adventure!
Today I read the last two chapters of your trip and was exhausted just after reading them. We were in Colorado with modest altitude and I can imagine John trying to take pictures at 15,000 feet. Among the war, customs morass, post-earthquake villages and washed out roads you have had quite the time. Can't wait for the next installment.
Best
Michael