Peru 2010/11 Part I

Following the arrival of my dearest Opal via a man-made gigantic steel bird in that hectic South American metropolis known as Lima on Thanksgiving night (mas o menos treinta minutos), we rekindled our love for one another and exotic travel among the excellent clubs and restaraunts in cosmopolitan Miraflores, with the waves of the Pacific crashing below.  We took our sweet ass time in getting motivated to leave behind the pleasant climate of the West Coast.  However, eventually, an overdose of smog and a realization that our neighborhood resembled New York City caused us to purchase 1 way bus tickets to the Ciudad Blanca, Arequpa, located over 16 hours south and east along the Pan American highway toward Chile.

The long bus trip was the typical 3rd World affair of obnoxious blaring music, uncomfortable seats, and a drunk guy loudly snoring in our ears throughout the restless night.  Just as I was starting to doze around 4 am, there was a loud noise and the bus came to an abrupt halt.  It was obvious that our groggy driver (who could have been nicknamed Speedy Gonzales) had collided with something or someone on this extremely curvy mountain road.  Shortly therafer, it became apparent that we had run into a guard rail and that any attempt by the driver to maneuver in reverse was futile because we were stuck.  At this point, hysteria kicked in on the bus and people started screaming Äbre la puerta (Open the door) with frantic urgency.  When I took a look out the window, I could see the cause for alarm since all that I could see was a few hundred feet of sand dropping off vertically into the ocean.  Following much commotion and insistence, the door was opened and all of the passengers spilled out into the night.  Eventually, a large group of local men pushing on the bus, combined with the efforts of the driver managed to remove us from the guard rail and get this painstaking journey underway once more.  However, before we departed, an old tribal lady made a dramatic speech to the entire bus in which she broke down sobbing and thanked the Father, Son, Mother Mary, and all the Saints for allowing us to live through the ordeal.

Arequipa, El Ciudad Blanca (The White City), is considerably more atmospheric than Lima with its historical central section consisting of impressive colonial churches and cobble stoned courtyards.  It is surrounded by majestic towering Andean peaks such as the famous Ël Misti¨, which at 19,212 feet and with it´s perfect shape is reminiscent of Japan´s Mt. Fuji.  Regardless, with over a million people Arequipa ranks as peru´s 2nd largest city and is not exactly what one would describe as ¨quaint¨.  So after a few days spent sipping coffee, playing cards, and sampling the local cuisine at balcony cafes overlooking the beautiful plaza, we decided that it was time to head for the wilderness for a heavy dose of nature and tranquility.

We ventured to the small town of Chivay, which is situated at the southernmost end of the Canon del Colca.  This canyon (over 10,000 feet deep, over twice as deep as The Grand Canyon!) is the 2nd deepest canyon in the world, with the deepest known canyon in the world being the seldom visited Canon del Cotahuasi, which is only 50 miles to the north and a mere 450 feet deeper.  Our plan was to do some serious hiking in the canyon and hopefully lay eyes on the illusive and beautiful Andean condor.  First, we went for a soak in the area´s famous La Calera hot springs.  The warm mineral laden water definitely helped to soothe our road weary bones.  It was quite ironic that we visited the area in an attempt to get away from the chaos and noise of city life since our first night in town happened to coincide with the Fiesta de Concepcion de La Virgen, a major party complete with a roving marching band and plenty of ruckus.  We did not get a lot of sleep that night due to the festivities, but the colorful tribal customes and pageantry made this a unique and gratifying experience.  We boarded a bus the next day for Cabanaconde, a village a few hours away, that allowed access to the hiking trails in the deepest and most gorgeous section of the canyon.  However, boarding that bus was quite the debaccle indeed.  I have dealt with cramped and inferior travel arrangemnts all over Asia, Mexico, and Central America but I have to say that getting on the bus to Cabanaconde took 1st prize for craziness!  Evidently, there was a shortage of buses going that way on that particular day because a group of 70 or 80 people were waiting when the bus pulled into the station.  Tickets were only available on a first come-fist serve basis.  There is no concept of a ¨line¨in the 3rd World hence all 80 people tried to bumrush the door at once.  Old tribal ladies were being trampled.  People were pushing and shoving to a level unlike any that I have ever seen.  It was only due to my large size and sheer insistence that we were getting on this GD bus that we managed to get seats!  In typical South American fashion, the same people that were elbowing me in the ribs and stepping on my feet a few minutes before, smiled and joked with me on the bus as if to say ¨Hey, we know this is screwed up but that is how things are around here!

Cabanaconde was definitely the mellow place that we were looking for.  We had an entire hostel to ourselves, including a livingroom area with a spectacular view and access to the upstairs kitchen for about $4 a night.  Our first hike into the canyon verified just how massive and impressive Canon del Colca was and we even got up close glimpses of a few of the legendary Andean Condors in flight.  They are truly magnificent creatures whose wingspans exceed 10 feet.  In fact, they are considered to be the largest flying bird in the world!  Our love for the canyon´s beauty, the village tranquility, and the super friendly staff at Pachamama (Mother Earth) backpacker hostel caused us to extend our stay in the area for 4 nights.  The zenith of our experience involved an arduous hike all the way to the Rio Colca at the bottom of the canyon and a beautiful place known as El Sangalle (The Oasis).  It definitely lived up to it´s name since it is a lush green place by the river amid an arrid desert landscape.  The sheer cliffs and mountains that surrounded us were quite spectacular.  The 3 and a half hour hike straight up from the bottom of the canyon
was most likely the toughest trek that I have done since the Himalayas in Nepal.  We were a bit sad to leave this mellow scenic location when we hopped on a bus back to Arequipa.  Still, we had Lake Titicaca on our minds!

Opal and I were both happy to see some green land and a few trees en route to Puno and Lake Titicaca because we were burnt out on the desert moonscapes of Western Peru.  We saw flamingos and vicuna, endangered animals similar to llamas but more deer-like, in their natural habitat on the high plains.  Upon arrival in Puno, we got our first look at the famous enormous highland lake and agreed that Puno was a laidback lakeside city.  Puno sits at over 14,000 feet in elevation so it took us a few days to acclimate, especially since our hotel was located at the top of a big hill.  This afforded for lovely views out across the city and the lake so it was worth the uphill trudge.

In a bizarre ¨coincidence¨, a guy named Scott from Ohio (one of my Facebook friends, whom I had never met) and I had been exchanging internet messages for a few weeks prior to our arrival in Puno.  We had been loosely trying to make arrangements to meet during his 3 week trip to Peru but I was pretty sure that it wasn´t going to happen.  However, by a completely ¨random¨act of the universe, Opal and I had not been in Puno for more than 5 minutes when this white guy comes beboping up the street to me and says ¨Hey, you´re Flow from Telepathic Productions and the Spring Fling, right?¨ My head was starting to swell with misconceptions of worldwide notoriety before I realized that this was the guy that I had been trying to meet up with.  It turned out that he was even staying at the same budget hotel that we were trying to go to!  Scott turned out to be a really cool guy and we enjoyed the short time that we had together before he split for the jungle and a much anticipated ayahuasca ceremony.

Our time in Puno was pleasant overall (except for the fact that Opal got sick, probably due to the cheap food joints that I prefer to frequent).  We saw a smoking hot live band in the plaza where locals shared their pisco (grape brandy) with us and were amused by our different gringo style of dancing.  We visited the Coca museum and learned about the fascinating history of this sacred plant that was so important to the Incas and earlier Pre-Hispanic cultures.  In fact, it remains a staple food and stimulant down here to this day.  When walking in the mountains of Peru, if you meet someone along the trail, it is customary for both parties to exchange coca leaves to provide energy for the walk.  It is a damned shame that our stupid government is intent on eradicating this plant through harmful herbicides etc since very little of it is actually made into cocaine.  The Coca Museum also featured several of the colorful costumes used in the traditional dances of Puno, some of which are absolutely outrageous!

Rather than doing the usual tourist thing and visiting one of the islands on Lake Titicaca
by boat, we decided to be adventurous (shocker!) and go to the seldom visited Capachica peninsula and the tiny village of Llachon, which is just as beautiful as the islands without the crowds.  We stayed with a delighful family there for two nights at a very mellow place beside the lake.  Our days were spent strolling down the sandy beaches and hiking to some small ruins atop a nearby mountain.  Then it was off to Cuzco, the so called ¨belly button of the world¨because it is the oldest continually inhabited city in the Americas.

The ride to Cuzco was quite scenic, granting us views of several snow covered jagged Andean peaks.  Just was we were hitting town, everything was getting geared up for Christmas.  A massive holiday market overtook the beautiful central plaza where one could purchase any type of handicraft imaginable.  Basically, we spent our week in Cuzco eating (great pizza and lasagna!), drinking, and making merry for the holidays.  The bohemian neighborhood of San Blas was especially good for nightlife.  We caught a neo-tribal-funk band there that was undoubtedly the grooviest music that we have seen down here thus far.  Cold rain moved into Cuzco so we figured that it was time to split for lower elevations in Santa Teresa, the backdoor to Macchu Picchu, on the edge of the Amazon jungle.

Santa Teresa is green and lush and is definitely tropical jungle but at 6000 feet, it´s just high enough not to have malarial mosquitoes, yellow fever, etc. so it was the perfect place for us to explore the outer edge of Amazonia.  One of our motivating factors in going there was to visit Cocolmayo hot springs, where one could supposedly pitch a tent for cheap and has been described as being extremely beautiful.  Unfortunately, we were very disappointed to discover (the hard way, by hiking down a steep jungle goat trail and back with our heavy backpacks) that the springs has been wiped out by a landslide and the river had swallowed up the surrounding area.  So we made due with one of our nicest rooms thus far on the trip ($4 a piece), which had a big flat screen TV and a REAL hot shower (unusual for budget locales).  We had heard about a place in the jungle near Santa Teresa called Cola del Mono where it was possible to camp and they have the highest ziplines in South America.  This seemed a bit over our budget but after meeting with the extremely friendly owners, they ageed to cut us a deal which included 3 nights of camping and free food so we opted to go for it anyway.  The location is a fantastic setting in the vibrant tropical forest.  We pitched out tent in a perfect spot, surrounded by flowers and coffee plants, and next to a rushing river.  The husband and wife owners (from Lima but transplanted to the jungle) were some of the nicest people we have met on this trip and they went out of their way to make us feel at home.  As far as the zipline experience goes, it was completely awesome!  This place is truly a must go location for thrill seekers!  We literally flew 500 feet over the gorgeous forest canopy on 6 different ziplines.  Unlike most ziplines, which are anchored to trees, these are attached to platforms on mountain tops which is why they are so high.  I would have to say that flying through the air on those ziplines constituted 2 of the best hours of my life.  It was incredibly fun and completely safe!  The owner and I got along so well that he even offered me a job as a zipline guide.  I am seriously considering taking him up on it!  Cola del Mono was undoubtedly our favorite place that we have visted in Peru.  Camping for free in the jungle for three nights was a nice break on our wallets and was definitely our style.

On our last day in the Santa Tersa area, we embarked ona 5 hour hike to Llactapata, an Incan ruin on a mountaintop that overlooks Macchu Picchu.  Opal picked wild strawberries while I imbibed with San Pedro cactus on what was a most memorable and magickal day.  The ruins are only half cleared and we had them all to ourselves.  We could see Macchu Picchu on a mountain ledge directly across from us, as the clouds psychedelically swirled among the peaks.  It was an ass kicker of a hike but well worth it!

So we left behind the remote jungle and cloud forests where the only travelers were of the adventurous thrill seeking type and took an over priced train to an expensive place overrun by tourists, Aguas Calienta aka Macchu Picchu pueblo.  We woke up early and hiked the few steep miles to Macchu Picchu rather than paying $15 US for the tourist bus.  It was a cloudy morning but overall, we were lucky because this is the beginning of rainy season down here so it could have been much worse.  After visiting this most famous of archaeological sites, I can see what all of the hype is about.  Still, the $45 US entrance ticket is a rip off.  The ruins are massive and picturesque, covering the top of a large mountain.  In ways it is as impressive as pyramid complexes in Mexico but mostly due to its gorgeous mountainsetting rather than the architecture.  Clouds and fog swirled all around us, making it hard to get good photos.  When the clouds started to produce a hard rain after we had been there for a few hours, we put on our raincoats and boogied back down the mountain to Aguas Caliente.  Due to it´s inaccesible location and high prices, I may never go back there but at least I have now seen it with my own eyes, the mythic Incan city of Macchu Picchu.

Now, following another over priced train ticket (Screw Peru Rail and their racist ways!, foreigners are charged exponentially more than locals), we are chilling back at our favorite little budget Mom and Pops hostel in Cuzco.  In a little over 3 weeks, we return to winter in the USA.  Looks like we better get our asses to the beach!

Peace and alpaca grease,

Flow Baby