Once More Into Peru – Before the Attempted Coup

After our brief travels through Bolivia, it was back into Peru to continue exploring the south coast and Lima.

Arequipa

Our first stop was the beautiful old city of Arequipa, one of the highlights of Peru. It is smack dab on top of the Pacific Ring of Fire. It is surrounded by (mostly) dormant volcanos and has been ravaged by earthquakes. After a major earthquake in the 19th century, much of the city was rebuilt with white volcanic stone. Misti Volcano towers over the city at 19,098 feet.

The historic center has beautiful colonial buildings from Spanish times. Plaza de Armas with its manicured garden and palm trees is the center of the action. Our hotel overlooked the plaza. (Pro Tip: Before booking a room overlooking a public square, check to see if the military holds ceremonial parades there at 7 a.m. every Sunday morning, complete with marching bands and loud speeches. That week the parade happened to be in honour of healthcare workers). From early morning to late at night the square was a hive of activity. Our hotel’s rooftop bar was the perfect place to enjoy sunsets, military parades, political demonstrations, orchestral recitals, and family gatherings.

Colca Canyon

Near Arequipa is what Peruvians claim as their “Grand Canyon” – the Colca Canyon. It was a few hour drive through the Pampa Canahaus National Park but there were steaming volcanoes and herds of vicuna (small relations of llamas) to keep us occupied. At the Canyon you can hike down to the oasis at the bottom, stay overnight and hike back up 1,100 metres the next morning. Or you can wimp out like we did and take a bus then do a short hike in the canyon.

We hired a local guide, Fredy, who spoke great English, except with a crazy Cockney accent. He regaled us with stories on history, native customs and local folklore. Halfway through the hike he made us traditional tea from his grandmother’s recipe. He had told us that to her dying day she’d been addicted to chewing coca leaves so of course the recipe included coca. We sat back and relaxed (perhaps aided by the coca leaves) to enjoy nature and the view before setting off uphill again.

The next morning we stopped at the Cruz del Condor viewpoint to watch the majestic Andean condors glide effortlessly scanning for dead animals to scavenge. With their three metre wingspan, even at long range, condors are impressive.

Enroute back to Arequipa we made the obligatory stops at tiny local villages filled with women selling tourist trinkets to provide for their families. Stops like this are an eye-opener no matter where we are in the world. They are a harsh reminder of how lucky we are. Even if it’s the tenth key chain, scarf, wallet, or (as it was in these villages) glasses of local cane sugar liquor and big bags of humongous popcorn, we buy something. That few dollars means a lot to a small rural community.

Penguins, Vultures and Sandboarding

Not having learned from our overnight bus experience in Bolivia, we took an overnight bus from Arequipa to Ica. Ica is a sad looking town with few tourist amenities or attractions. We stayed in the best hotel in town. Fair to say, it’s been a long time since they’ve had any foreign guests.

The main reasons to visit Ica are the nearby Huacachina Sand Dunes, Paracas National Reserve and the Ballestas Islands. We started with a visit to Huacachina. A heart-stopping dune buggy ride was followed by sandboarding. Lots of fun, but a lot of work climbing back up the dunes.

The next day we acted more our age. We enjoyed a scenic boat trip to the Ballestes Islands. They are a group of protected islands with large colonies of marine and bird life. They can only be viewed from a boat. To protect the environment no tourists are allowed on the islands. The highlights were our first views of Humboldt penguins and turkey vultures. Enroute to the islands we viewed the enigmatic 181 metre tall figure of the “Candelabra” carved into the hillside. It is believed to be from around 200 B.C. but nobody knows for sure how it got there.

The surrounding coastline makes up the Paracas National Reserve. Being from the west coast of Canada, we assumed the Reserve would be a big forested park. In fact it is a desert where only 3mm rain fall per year. Golden sand, blue skies and the Pacific ocean all converge for some beautiful scenery.

Lima

Our last stop was Lima. It is a massive city of 11 million people. We stayed in the Miraflores neighbourhood, favoured by tourists and expats. The oceanfront Malecon boardwalk went for miles, filled with cliffside parks and couples strolling in the sun.

The historic centre where most of the tourist sights are was about a 12km walk from our hotel. Unfortunately walking is not an option. Most areas are safe but because of street gangs, petty criminals and drug turf wars, some are not. During our first visit to the centre with a guide it seemed safe. There were lots of tourists and locals going about their business, not to mention large teams of riot police monitoring potential demonstrations outside the Presidential Palace. The centre is beautifully maintained. The grand Plaza de Armas is surrounded by the Presidential and Archbishop’s Palaces, City Hall, the ornate Metropolitan Cathedral and the posh Union Club.

Taking a Wrong Turn

Our second visit didn’t go so well. We ventured downtown on our own. There is no map that shows the bad areas vs the safe areas, as we learned that first hand. The day went well until we started back to our hotel as dusk approached. We couldn’t get an Uber because the downtown streets were gridlocked with commuters. We decided to walk to the Sheraton hotel about ten blocks away. Google Maps made it look easy.

Within five blocks we were in a seedy neighbourhood and the feeling was not good. We picked up our pace. A good Samaritan saw George on his phone and warned him to put it away before it was stolen. A block further on a second good Samaritan came after us. She warned us we were heading into a dangerous neighbourhood and insisted we turn around. She was our angel and guided us back a safer way. The worst thing in this situation is that every street looks equally bad. Unless you know the area you have no idea of where the best escape is. Google Maps sure doesn’t.