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December
22, 1998 Peru
A big hello to everyone during this holiday season.
I'm enjoying similar Christmas preparations as I travel through Peru, Christmas trees, lights, and
wishing everyone a Feliz Navidad.
I entered Peru at Zarurnilla. This is the most
westerly point of entry. I traveled the day along
the Pacific Coast to Chiclayo, Peru. This area has
mountainous sand dunes on my left and the pacific
coastal area on my right. The sand was blowing
across the road just like our Montana snowstorms.
There would be intermittent irrigated valleys with
crops of pineapple, coconut, bananas, and papayas.
The people are more of the Caribbean culture with a
few indigenous cultures mixed in. I have decided to
travel long days because of the nearing holidays and
wanting to get back into the mountains where it is
cooler. So that has led me to have a few visits with
the Peruvian police. They spot a gringo and you are
immediately their cash income for the holidays. I
have had two tickets, both of which I wasn't
speeding as fast as they stated. But, I must admit I
am not going to argue with the Peruvian police. The
same day, I wanted to visit a local airport in
Chincha Alta. Well I managed to get stuck up to my axles in sand just to see two Cessna Skymasters. It
took the airport administrator, an armed guard, and
a passing boy to help me get out. This emptied a few
more Sols (Peruvian money) from my pockets. The
inside of the car now has a layer of sand and I've
decided no more sand dune attempts.
I arrived in Lima, Peru and toured the Mirflores
area and part of Central Lima. This area has
beautiful colonial cathedrals, shopping centers,
eating establishments, art in the park, and singers
on every corner. The Christmas holidays have made it
a very festive atmosphere. I enjoyed Lima, but was ready to head to Machu Picchu and the Inca ruins.
The next day I followed the Pacific coast to Nasca.
My plan was to head east (inland) to Abancay, a
rutted and dangerous two hundred and fifty mile
section of gravel road that is not recommended in
the tour guide. Well...I took a wrong turn and went
south instead. I discovered my mistake and headed
back to Nasca, but by then it was too late to leave.
This was for the best because Nasca is where the
famous Nasca Lines are located. These are enormous
geometrical figures made in the ground of a dog,
monkey, birds, spider, tree and others that are over
100 meters in length. They were etched by the
Paracas, Nacas and Ayacucho settlers from 900 BC to
630 AD. I flew over the Nasca Lines in a 182
Cessna, making me a little homesick for my airplanes. These lines are perfectly configured and
have great detail. It is amazing to imagine this
took place in BC time periods.
The next morning I got an early start (5:00am) to
head toward Puquio and then to Abancay. It is only
450 kilometer but everyone tells me it can take
between 10 to 20 hours. Well, the travel was
adventurous to say the least. I climbed to 4800
meters (14,600 feet) above sea level. The travel day
included rutted dirt roads with a fair share of pot
holes, going through 3 rivers that were as deep as
in Honduras, switchbacks that were more than 360
degrees, and saw some of the most spectacular
country of the Andes Mountains. I saw herds of
llamas, vecunias, goats, and bird life that are very
different from anything so far. I also managed to
get my first flat tire on this stretch of road. I arrived in Abancay, Peru
at 4:30pm and was exhausted, but would not have
missed this part of the trip for anything.
I have now arrived in Cusco from Abancay and am seeing the city and making plans for Machu Picchu.
These Andes Mountains are called the Cordillera
Vicabamba and Cordillera Urubamba. Cusco is the
ancient Inca capital founded in 1100AD and the
indigenous are Quechua. It is at 3310 meters and we
find ourselves a little winded after climbing small
distances. The people, foods, dress, and culture is
very similar to Bolivia where I grew up as a
child. This is my first visit back and is
filled with nostalgia. I'm off to discover the
city and will write more on this area later.
I wish you a wonderful holiday...Feliz Navidad... Ben |
