Back home

I've been home for 4 days now and I have never appreciated warm running water more...

There are a few things, though, that I would definitely transplant from Peru to the US:
1. Bicycle distribution of fresh bakery goods from house to house in the morning (see picture. They also do it with ice-cream.
2. Tuk tuks
3. The law that you don't have to pay real estate taxes if the house is not finished (that's the reason why so many houses there are never completely finished)
4. Government distribution of free solar panels..
5. Hats
6. Llamas

Lake Sandoval

In the morning, we took a one-hour flight to Puerto Maldonaldo in the Amazon basin. When we got off the plane, we were in a different world -- hot, humid and very green. People from Sandoval Lodge were waiting for us. We took a bus to their Puerto Maldonaldo office, where we were given small green duffel bags. We had to put everything we needed for the 2-day stay into these bags and leave the rest of our luggage in the storage room in the office. Then the bus took us to the river and we got onto a long motorized boat very similar to the boats we took on the Mekong river in Vietnam and Laos. Madre the Dios river also looked very much like Mekong, not as wide, but definitely the same color. During the 40 minute boat ride, we got our lunch --- brown rice with tofu and vegetables wrapped in a banana leaf, banana chips and a banana + a bottle of water. After the boat ride, we had to trek 3 km through the jungle to the lake and then take a 20 minute ride in a paddle boat across the lake to the lodge. Luckily, we didn’t have to carry our duffel bags. There was a porter who carried all of them in a big sack. This is the only way to get to the lodge and even the supplies get there the same way.

The road through the jungle was very uneven, but mostly dry. Supposedly during the rainy season, you walk in mud up to your knees. There are tons of mosquitoes everywhere so we sprayed our clothes, hats and all exposed parts of the body. We all smell like hell. During the paddle boat ride, we watched a bunch of red monkeys playing high up in the trees.

When we finally got to the lodge, we were greeted with a glass of passion fruit juice and a lecture about the rules and the daily drill. The lodge is pretty nice -- a spacious wooden building on stilts. The middle part is open and houses a social area --- hammocks, tables and armchairs, a bar and a dining area. On both sides there are two wings with sleeping quarters. Rooms are pretty small and not completely enclosed. The ceiling of the building is very high and the walls of the rooms don’t go all the way up to the ceiling so everybody can hear their neighbors quite well. Luckily, each room has a bathroom.

We had an hour and a half rest and at 4:30 got on the boat with our guide Hebert to watch the wildlife. If was getting dark and the mosquitoes were vicious. We circled a part of the lake and saw some exotic and less exotic birds, but no giant otters or caymans. We climbed a mirador high above the tree level and listened to the evening sounds of the jungle.

Then we got back to the lodge, sprayed some more mosquito repellent on ourselves and went on a night trek through the jungle. It was completely dark by then so we had to carry flashlights. We walked up and down and Hebert was pointing out creatures to us --- tarantulas, scorpion-spider, a snake, a black alligator, lots of gigantic ants, bats, etc.

We got back for dinner, and then had time till 10 pm to enjoy electric light because there is no electricity at the lodge between 10 pm and 5 am. At 5 am we got a wake up knock from Hebert and we had to get on the boat again at 5:30 to see the sunrise and watch how the jungle wakes up. We circled the lake in complete silence, saw lots of different birds, including parrots and tucans, a couple of black alligators… it was very peaceful. Then the group went back to the lodge for breakfast, and I climbed onto another boat in the middle of the lake to take the same trek to the airport for my flight back to Lima. I joined four young Minnesotans and we traveled to the airport together.

I was really surprised at the level of service the lodge provided. Not only did they pack a nice breakfast for me, but when we got to the office in Puerto Maldonaldo, our bags were already waiting for us and we were given boarding passes for our flight. After repacking, they took us to the airport, carried all our bags to the check-in counter and waited until all the bags got checked in. First class service. I am now sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to Lima. I am very relieved that there are no mosquitoes here!!!

Machu Picchu day 2

Part of our group decided to climb the Happy Mountain early in the morning to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu. They were to leave at 4 am, but the weather intervened. It was still pouring at 7 am when we woke up. Luckily around 9:30 am, the sun came out and we didn’t have to change our plans to visit Machu Picchu for the second time. This time only three of us went without a guide. It was a totally different experience. We visited the places we didn’t have time to see yesterday and just relaxed in the shade and took in the many amazing views of this incredible place.

Then, we went down by bus to the town and explored the market one more time. The more we looked, the less we liked the stuff we saw. There are mostly the same things everywhere…

At 5 pm we took the train back to Ollanta. This time the train was much better, with huge windows and a partially glass roof so we could admire the views of snow-capped mountains. They even fed us on this 1.5 hour ride. Great service. Our minibus was waiting at the train station and took us to Cusco. After checking in (the same hotel), we went out to eat. We didn’t get the food until about 10:30 pm, but a group of Inca musicians came and made the waiting a much more pleasant experience. They were really good.

Machu Picchu

In the morning, we took the tourist train from Ollanta to Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu. The train ride was about 1.5 hours with beautiful views of the mountains and the Urubamba river. You have to have reserved seats for the train so it’s very comfortable.

Aguas Calientes is strictly a tourist town for all the people who want to visit Machu Picchu. It’s quite picturesque, surrounded by high mountains, with a river in the middle of town and several rope bridges to cross it. There are tons of restaurants, bars, craft stores and a huge crafts market.

We got off the train, walked through the town to our hotel, left the luggage and got on the bus to Machu Picchu. There is only one company that operates shuttle buses from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu and this is the only way to get there. The buses are labeled “ecological”, but we didn’t ask if they were electric or ran on natural gas or something else. The trip takes 40 minutes to go up the mountain on a zig-zag unpaved road with a deep ravine on one side. The trip down only takes about 20 minutes.

When we got to Machu Picchu, our guide Rony took us to the highest point first. We had to climb what seemed endless steep stone stairs. When we got to the top, the view almost took our breath away. In front of us was the classic view of Machu Picchu with Wayna Picchu in the back, the view that you can see in albums, pictures, postcards… It is spectacular. We spent 4 hours walking around this amazing place and listening to Rony’s explanations about its history. It’s impossible to describe it; pictures do it better.
We were lucky because we came in the afternoon and stayed until closing time so there weren’t as many people there. We had some places totally to ourselves.

At 4 pm (closing time), we took the bus back, walked to the hotel, checked into our rooms and went out to dinner. we were starving since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

The internet here is so slow that I wasn´t able to upload pictures. Maybe in Cusco...

Cusco

I was hoping to post this blog last night, but the hotel wi-fi wasn’t working last night or this morning.

Cusco is just as attractive during the day as it is at night, but completely different. You can clearly see the hills around it and the colors of the colonial buildings around the plazas and the old stones from Inca times glistening in the sun.

The first thing we did is walk with our guide Rony to Qorikancha. Qorikancha is a very interesting place because it combines the Inca temple of the sun with the convent of Santo Domingo built by the Dominicans on the site of the Inca temple, using some of the materials from that temple. We mostly concentrated on the Inca temples and Ronnie told us a lot of interesting facts and hypotheses about the construction of the temples. One amazing fact was that during the two very strong earthquakes in Cusco -- in 1650 and 1950 --- all the Inca structures survived intact while later structures collapsed. They built their temples and palaces with stones of different shapes, some of them interlocking, but without any mortar or connector.

Then, Ronnie took us to two other most important churches in Cusco --- a Jesuit Iglesia de la Compania and the Cathedral, which consists of three connected churches. They are beautiful churches that combine Catholic and indigenous religions and beliefs. There is a lot of gold there with gold-plated altars and chapels and many very interesting paintings of the Cuscan school (Escuela Cuscquenia) painters from the 17th century. We also saw paintings and a sculpture of the Lord of the Earthquakes who according to the local legend stopped the earthquake of the 1650 after the crowd had prayed to him. This sculpture of black crucified Jesus is paraded every year during solstice day around the city of Cusco.

Ronnie also told us that Cusco has about 500,000 inhabitants and two universities -- one public and one private.

After the tour, Ania and I went to see the best hotel in town, hotel Monasterio, which is located in a converted convent, very much like hotel Santo Domingo in Antigua or El Convento in San Juan. It is very lovely and very expensive.

In the afternoon, we took the stuff we packed for a two day trip to Machu Picchu and got on the bus. We were to spend the first night in a little town in the Urubamba valley next to the train station so we can take a morning train to Machu Picchu. We made two stops on the way. The first stop was in the village of Pisaq, famous for its crafts market. We spent about 2 hours shopping. We were disappointed because we had expected a much more variety and better quality of goods. We bought some trinkets, but nothing substantial. We were hoping to find nice alpaca sweaters, but no such luck. We had a very good lunch (obiad) in a restaurant run but a German woman, Ulrike.

The second stop was in a house and workshop of a well known Peruvian ceramic artist Pablo Seminario. Andrew knows him well so Pablo showed us around his studio, told us about his designs and showed us some of the pieces from his collection. It was very interesting.

Now, we are in the village of Ollantaytambo in our hotel (Hotel Pakaritampu), which is new and very nice, but does not have wifi either.

Puno-Cusco

I forgot to write yesterday about a strange contrast we noticed on the islands: the primitive mud or stone or reed houses, often without running water and any other conveniences had solar panels on the roofs.

Most of today was travel day. We left Puno at about 9 am and after about 100 km got off the main road to visit Inka and pre-Inka burial site called Sillustani with chimney-like stone structures high on hills between two lakes. Quite a beautiful place. On the way there and back, we passed several interesting-looking old farms. They consisted of two or three small stone houses connected by stone walls, all forming a square or rectangle with an arch for a gate. Most were llama farms with llamas in front of them.

About half way, we stopped at the La Raya pass located at the highest point we’ve been to --- 4,350 meters. La Raya is the point that divides two watersheds --- that of the Amazon and that of Lake Titicaca. There is nothing much there --- lots of colorful stalls with local handicrafts, but behind the stalls one can see the old train station, the chapel and some warehouses. The train line was there before the road and it used to be the highest railway in the world before the Chinese opened the Beijing-Tibet line. It was built by a Polish engineer Ernest Malinowski.

Once we crossed La Raya, the landscape started to change. Until then, we were traveling through Peruvian desert. The landscape was bleak, sand-colored without any green or trees, just sand, dirt or stones or dried yellow grass. The air was also very, very dry to the point that the inside of your nose was so dry that it was uncomfortable to breathe. Several people have been having problems with nose bleeds. The differences in temperature between day and night were also huge.

After La Raya, we started to go down and the landscape became more “comfortable” with patches of green fields and with groups of trees -- mostly eucalyptus trees. The air was not as dry anymore, either. Once we entered the sacred valley of the Incas along the Urubamba river, it became almost lush.

Small Peruvian towns we passed along the way were not very attractive. They are not nearly as colorful as Mexican towns. The dominant color is grayish brown, the color of mud, from which many of the houses are built. They mostly use mud bricks, probably similar to adobe bricks or stone to build their houses.

We got to Cusco in the evening. Our hotel (Royal Inca) is right in the middle of the old town. It is an old colonial mansion converted into a hotel. It’s quite nice and the location is fantastic. We checked in, left the bags in the room and immediately started walking around Cusco. It’s a gorgeous place!

Lake Titicaca and Puno

The night was very cold, probably close to freezing so getting out of our warm sleeping bags was hard. On top of that, there was no running water to even brush our teeth. We had breakfast in Ines’s kitchen again --- a roll, a local pancake (made of corn and some other things) with jam and coffee. We barely had enough time to gather our things and climb down the rocky path back to the boat. It took about 45 minutes to get to the island of Taquila. We climbed for about an hour to get to the town. The views were beautiful. In town, we visited the local artesania cooperative, had lunch of fresh local trout and took a different, much steeper route to a harbor on the other side of the island, got on the boat for the 3-hour ride back to Puno. Then, a visit to the local market, Puno cathedral and back to the hotel.. Everybody was exhausted after two days on the lake. Tomorrow we are leaving for Cuzco…

Lake Titicaca

This morning, finally we had a buffet breakfast that didn’t conist only of eggs and rolls. We had cheese, ham, sausages, yogurt, fruit, pastry. It was a lovely beginning of an interesting (to say the least)day.

We drove to Puno’s harbor to take a boat to two islands. The first was a floating island of the Uros Indians. There are several Uros islands all built by hand from the totora reeds. When we got there, a group of very colorfully dressed Indians greeted us and took us to the middle of the village where we had to sit down in a circle to listen to their explanation of how the islands are built and about their culture. Then each person from our group was invited by one Uros family to their hut. Ania and I went together to the house of a young couple, Gabriela and her husband. The hut was just one room with a bed and some clothes. They asked us to put on their traditional clothes and then took a picture of us in front of their hut. And then the hard sell started. We had to follow them to their stall and they wanted to sell us their artifacts -- embroidery, necklaces, etc. We had to buy something. We came to the conclusion that this whole setup is a sham just for tourists and nobody really lives in these villages now. The whole concept of a floating island is interesting, though.

After 3 more hours by boat, we got to the island of Amantani. We disembarked with our day packs and sleeping bags and were met by a group of local Indian women dressed in colorful clothes. We were divided into 4 groups and each group was to spend one night in a house of a local family. Ania, Regina, Ola and I went with dona Ines. Getting to her house was an experience in itself. We had to climb up through rocks, dirt and grassy patches carrying our things. It wouldn’t be that bad if it weren’t for the altitude. This island is even higher than Puno -- close to 4,000 meters. Going up takes a lot of effort.

Dona Ines house is a mud house without a chimney or running water. Our rooms were nice, but the toilet was outside and there was no bathroom at all. There wasn’t even a sink. And to flush the toilet, we had to fill a plastic container with water from another, larger plastic container. Our hostess had a 5-year old cute boy called Yon. When we settled in, she gave us lunch, which she cooked on a gas stove in her tiny kitchen. It consisted of quinoa soup with some veggies and then a dish of a few boiled potatoes of several different kinds (some looked like caterpillars) + a slice of fried sheep cheese. Everything, including quinoa they grow themselves. Ania and Ola didn’t feel well so Regina and I went to the center of town to see the fiesta. Dona Ines had to take us there --- through rocky paths and other people’s homes. It was worth it. There were dances around the plaza -- several different groups representing different communities, lots of stalls with local goods and at the end, when it got completely dark, they lit two huge bonfires and danced around them. Ines came to take us back home. We had to walk the same route, this time in complete darkness. Thank goodness we had headlights and flashlights. Ines made us dinner --- vegetable soup + rice and potatoes with garlic. And after dinner, Ania and I went back to town to meet the rest of our group in the community house. We had to get dressed in local costumes -- white embroidered shirts, full skirts (I-blue and Ania --red) and black embroidered shawls. Then in this attire climb up the same route back to town. The dance was disappointing -- a group of boys played and a few people danced. We danced for about an hour and then went back to the house, jumped into our sleeping bags and went to sleep.

Cabanaconde-Puno

After a lazy morning and relaxing breakfast in our hotel, we decided to do something about all the clothes and school supplies Andrew asked us to bring for local Indians and never bothered to take them from us or even tell us when and to whom we will be donating them. We decided to find a priest and give all the things to him as they usually know who the poorest families are. We did exactly that -- found the parish and gave almost everything to the priest. He was very grateful and told us that he and another priest also serve 3 mountain villages where people are very poor and need everything.

The group arrived at about 11 am totally exhausted with legs aching from the steep descent (1 km difference in elevation with the path going almost straight down). We packed everything into our trusty Mercedes van and set out for Chivay. In Chivay, we first went to hot pools to relax sore muscles, then had a delicious lunch with about 15 different dishes, and then had about 30 minutes to see the end of the parade and explore the market. We saw the structure, for which the holes were being prepared the other day. We got lucky at the market and found one stall with traditional Colca hats. Ania bought a brown one and I bought a black one all covered with embroidery. We were very pleased.

Then, back to the van and on to Puno. After a couple of hours of driving on asphalt alternating with dirt road, it got dark and the road became kind of scary. A few times the road ended abruptly with a barrier and lights and there was a detour on completely dark, dirt and very bumpy road. All this was because of road construction or repairs. Roads in Peru are very bad. The only good road in the whole country is La Panamericana.

We arrived in our next hotel -- 15 km outside of Puno -- on Lake Titicaca at about 11 pm. This is the highest location we’ve been so far about 3,850 meters.

Chivay and Colca Canyon

We got a wake up call at 3:45 am and everybody assembled in the hall at 4:30 ready to go. Unfortunately, our bus didn’t come until 5 am. The drive from Arequipa to Chivay took about 3 and a half hours mostly up, first on a paved road and then on a dirt road. Chivay is 3600 meters (about11,000 feet) above sea level and we definitely felt it. Going up was an effort causing heart palpitations and shortness of breath. Luckily, at breakfast we had mate de coca (tea made of coca leaves), which helped. Every day our breakfast consists of eggs, local rolls, butter and jam. Eggs here, especially today in Chivay, are amazingly tasty probably because all the hens roam freely, eat what they like and are happy.

We walked around the town waiting for our leader to settle some mysterious business in the city hall. We saw a parade and lots of Indian women dressed in beautifully embroidered, colorful costumes of the Colca valley. Ever their hats are embroidered. I want to buy one like that, but so far we haven’t seen them for sale. The locals were drilling lots of holes in the street around Plaza de Armas (the main city square) so we asked them what they were for. It turns out that tomorrow is a great fiesta and the holes are for poles that will hold a special arch for the fiesta. Very interesting.

After Chivay, we drove along an unpaved mountainous road to the entrance into the Colca Canyon. We stopped along the way by the condor lookout. Condors have their nests in the rocks near there. We were so lucky… As we were there, many condors appeared flying back and forth above us and deep into the canyon. One even sat down right below the lookout where we were. They are magnificent birds with the wing span between 1.5 and 3 meters. It was amazing and awe inspiring.

Along the way we also saw agricultural areas, terraces established by the Incas and cultivated to this day mostly with oxen, mules and horses, but we saw one tractor, too. They mostly grow corn and potatoes here because it is high in the mountains and very dry.
The little town at the end of the road, Cabanaconde, is a poor village of stone houses, donkeys and mules. It is a starting point for all those who want to trek down to the colca canyon. It’s not easy to get here because the road is very steep, narrow and mountainous, unpaved and uneven so driving creates clouds of dust and you can barely see the road in front of you. At some point we went through a very long tunnel, wide enough for one big car; it was so dark and dusty that you couldn’t see the other side and we were wondering what would happen if there was another car on the other end…

It was worth it, though because the views here are exquisite. Andrew took us to the best hotel in town, and it is seriously an excellent hotel. We had a great lunch of alpaca stew, salad and desert of bananas with honey. It was delicious. The hotel is located on a hill overlooking snow-capped mountains and the whole town. The group unloaded all the luggage here, and everybody was allowed to take only a small bag with indispensable items for the 4-hour trek down the canyon. All these bags were then packed into two gigantic bags and on two mules that will carry them down. We set out at about 2 pm, but…….. Ania and I decided we needed a day on our own and decided to stay in this lovely hotel and explore the town. We wanted a day to adjust to the altitude and also to be away from everybody. It is so lovely here and our room (almost a penthouse)overlooks the town and the mountains and has a little terrace. We just love it here. We walked the group to the edge of the canyon, took pictures, wished them a great time and turned back without the slightest regret…

Arequipa

We spent the whole days in Arequipa. There is a rivalry between Arequipa and Lima, and Arequipans consider this area almost a separate country. It’s a much nicer city than Lima, much more lively, with striking colonial architecture and beautiful setting in a valley between three snow-capped volcanoes. It is a little like Antigua in Guatemala, but much larger.
We first went to Cayma and Yanahuara, suburbs of Arequipa that used to serve as weekend retreats for the city. There are beautiful views of the entire city from there. Then we visited the house of the fundador, and then the enormous monasterio de Santa Catalina, which is a city within a city on 20,000 square meters. It was established in the 1600s as a Dominican monastery for women and has a very interesting history. The whole place is in strong, vibrant colors of terracotta, blue and yellow.

After lunch in a restaurant overlooking Plaza de Armas, we went to see the mummy of Juanita, a young Inca girl that was discovered on top of one of the volcanoes in 1995. It was frozen and very well preserved. She had been offered as a sacrifice to Inca gods. The museum has all the artifacts that were found in her grave. The tour was painfully long because the guide enthusiastically described each single artifact in minute details. It went on and on and on and we began to doubt if we’ll ever see the mummy of Juanita. The rooms were ice cold and almost dark so when we finally saw her, we were all half frozen and extremely relieved that the tour is finally over.

Tomorrow, we are supposed to get up at 4 am to be in the Colca Canyon in time to see the condors …

Ica-Nazca-Arequipa

This was the longest leg of our trip -- 650 km from Ica to Arequipa with a stopover in Nazca. It may not sound like a whole lot, but it’s 650 km of driving on a two-lane mountain road of endless serpentines.
We left at 8:30 in the morning and after two hours we got to the Nazca tower. It’s a metal tower in the desert from which you can see two of the many famous Nazca lines --- the hand and the monkey. We could see these two quite clearly, but in order to see the other ones, you have to fly over them. Ania and I also bought T-shirts from a Polish-speaking Peruvian vendor. We tried to bargain, but vendors there wouldn’t budge.
After a good lunch in the town of Nazca, we set off for Arequipa. We had two drivers so they alternated. Large part of the drive was a mountainous desert and at times, the road was almost totally covered with sand. We even saw a sand plough. When it got dark, Andrew took out his guitar and got us into group singing, probably to distract us from all the “curvas peligrosas” .
We got to Arequipa at 11 pm, checked into a hotel in the heart of town and went out for a walk. It’s a beautiful city --- massive colonial buildings made of white stone. The central plaza (In every city in Peru it is called Plaza de Armas) was beautifully lit. More Arequipa tomorrow…

Ica-Huacachina

It’s kind of hard to write this blog because there is so little free time to do anything and the conditions are not conducive either. Even connecting the computer to the electric outlet is an issue, not to mention the internet connection which is slow and infrequent. Loading pictures takes forever.

Ania and I are having more and more concerns about our leader and his ability to deliver. We decided that we would be much better off on our own, organizing our own travel so we are contemplating a cession. Last night we found a beautiful colonial hotel here in Huacachina and this morning we decided to move there. We approached Andrzej right after breakfast since our “leader” announced last night that instead moving down to Nazca today, we’d be spending one more night in this dump and start our trip down south tomorrow at sunrise.

Our decision to move started a revolt and two other women moved with us -- Regina who is a retired civil engineer and a very experienced traveler, and Ola, a very nice and energetic Ukrainian woman. The rest of the group decided to stay in the dump with our leader. He apologized to us and paid for the upgrade.

After the move, we went to the museum of the cultures of Ica -- starting with the oldest Paracas culture, then Ica, then Nazca and finally Inca. It was a small museum, but quite well done. Then we we drove to a 120 years old winery (Tacama) where we got a tour and also wine tasting. Then lunch in a traditional restaurant and finally the biggest attraction so far --- a 2-hour ride through the gigantic sand dunes in a special sand vehicle with a fabulous driver, Carlos. It was amazing --- the views, the rollercoaster ride up and down, the enormity of the place. Some people also sand boarded. It was amazing.

Now we are enjoying our lovely hotel and the welcome drink of pisco sour in the bar. Life is good.

Paracas

This morning after breakfast we got in a little minibus and drove about 50 km to Paracas to visit Ballestas Islands and a national park. On the way we stopped a gas station and saw something that would never be possible in the US -- right next to the pump was a glass case with bottles of wine, pisco and other alcohols. Everybody took pictures.

In Paracas we got on an open boat with about 25 people and took off for the islands. It took about 40 minutes to get there. They are called “Galapagos for the poor” and there are thousands of birds there -- penguins, pelicans, flamingoes, terns… Nobody lives there except for two guards who alternate and spend 15 days there at a time. For two months each year (May and June), they bring 300 workers on the islands to collect bird poop. We also saw very friendly sea lions, one of them posed for pictures. Maybe he was trained. We were almost expecting him to extend his fin and say “un sol por favor”.

Then we went to a national park -- a desert in between two lagoons --- sand dunes as far as the eye can see. We also had late lunch in a place within the park called Lagunillas -- three fish restaurants on the edge of the turquoise lagoon. Of course everybody had fish -- the freshest you can imagine. On the way back we stopped at a roadside fruit stand where everybody bought large amounts of oranges and tangelos, the only fruit available. Back to our “hotel” by 6 pm. After that, Ania and I embarked on a (successful) search for an internet café.

Lima-Paracas

The morning was slow. All the group (minus our leader Andres) got together in the lobby at 8 am as instructed. I finally got to meet everybody, all 12 of us. An hour later Andrzej appeared and took us to a nearby restaurant for a nice breakfast. Then we got into our very cool Mercedes minibus and drove to central Lima. It must have been a beautiful city once, but now you can see years of neglect. Even across from the presidential palace you can see houses falling apart, with boarded windows, etc. Lots of riot police everywhere and armored vehicles parked in front of buildings. A bit spooky.

From Lima, we drove the Panamerican highway (highway #1)to Ica (about 400 miles down south). This highway is the highway that connects Tierra the Fuego with Alaska and our own PCH is a part of it. It was a great divided highway for maybe the first 60 miles and then it turned into a regular two-lane road with lots of big trucks. The landscape was not beautiful yet, or should I say strangely beautiful --- hill of brownish-grey soil with nothing growing on it -- a real desert with groups of tiny shacks from time to time.

We arrived in our hotel in Ica at about 8:30 pm and were very disappointed with the rooms. They are less than basic -- 2 beds, not a table or chair, no place to put anything and one outlet that barely works. No internet here… We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and went straight to sleep.

Lima

Both flights were easy, on time and fairly uneventful. My companion on the Houston-Lima flight, a young man from San Francisco, was telling me fascinating stories about his experiences with a shaman in Iquitos last year -- out-of-body stuff.

Lima airport is quite nice, modern and clean . The immigration and luggage area are definitely better organized and more efficient than LAX. With 7 planes landing at the same time, I was out in about 20 minutes. Juan was waiting for me in the arrival lounge. I had no problem recognizing him. Unfortunately, before heading to the hotel, we had to pick up one more person at the domestic airport -- another hour of waiting. We didn’t get to the hotel until 1 am, where Juan, a former colonel of Peruvian army, joyfully announced that he’ll pick us up at 7:30 for breakfast. The hotel is very basic but OK. Similar standard to our hotel in Saigon, and similar price -- less than $30/night. I am definitely very happy I decided to take the sleeping bag --- it’s cold here at night, even in the hotel.

Breakfast with Juan was great, in a wonderful deli with lots of freshly baked goods, fragrant coffee and other local delicacies. We had sandwiches with local ham on warm, delicious rolls. The interesting part was a plate of chopped onions in olive oil that they gave us with our sandwiches. You are supposed to put the onion salad inside the sandwich. It’s very good. We also had a Peruvian tamale, which is different then Mexican tamales, both in shape and taste.

After breakfast, I decided to go and explore Miraflores on my own. It is an upscale part of Lima with lots of nice residential streets, restaurants and a spectacular shopping mall called Larcomar perched on a high cliff overlooking the ocean. That’s where I’m sitting now enjoying free wifi and coffee (not free). The sky is full of colorful paragliders.

Unfortunately, the weather is not great -- cloudy and misty --- which I was told is normal for Lima. The rest of the group arrives tonight and the official program starts tomorrow.

A week before...

The trip starts next Friday, but Al suggested that I write something to explain the nature of this trip. Everybody who knows me knows that I strongly dislike group travel and here I go. This is not (I hope) a regular group tour. There will be about 12 of us (I’m still not sure what the final count is) in this “expedition” organized by a Polish explorer who is also a Chicago math teacher, Andrzej (Andrew) Pietowski. He was part of the expedition that discovered the deepest (or second deepest) canyon in the world, the Colca Canyon. He was also part of the expedition that mapped the start of the Amazon. He has been going to Peru since the 1980s, established a school in Chivay, in the Colca Canyon and a foundation to support it. At the end, I posted some links to articles about his exploits in Peru.

He promises that it is going to be Peru from the inside, no frills but lots of amazing experiences. This time my roommate and travel companion is not Al, but Ania, a very good friend from Chicago. We’ve been friends for almost 20 years. It was Ania who found out about this trip and recruited me to go with her. Neither Ania’s husband, Andy nor Al were allowed to go because Andrzej only takes Polish-speaking people in the group.

Here’s our itinerary:

Lima – Paracas (Ballestas Islands) – Huacachina (gigantic sand dunes)- Arequipa (white city) – Colca Canyon (trek to the bottom and up to Chivay) – Lake Titicaca (Puno and 3 indian islands) – Cuzco & Machu Picchu – Puerto Maldonaldo ( Amazon basin) --- Lima

Links

LA Times article about mapping the start of the Amazon

http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/11/local/me-11083

Description of the expedition to discover the Colca Canyon

http://www.canoandes.com/3hist3colca81.html

Interview with Andrew about his travels and passions

http://www.pljournal.com/people/andrzej-pietowski-interview.html