Peru Part I: Gold in the Desert

Man, did we hear some crazy stories about Peru! The most common is the rampant practice of strangle mugging – where the victim is strangled until they lose consciousness (haven´t they heard of using a knife?) Then there are the folks who lost earlobes and fingers when robbers went for their jewelry. And of course, the old classic, being drugged with a mystery Incan formula and waking up in a strange hotel, having been parted from all your worldly possessions. Peru may be the ancient capital of the Americas, but it is the modern capital of tourist assault. This led us to be fearful, to the point where our first week in Peru was spent with our back the wall, giving the evil eye to anyone who dared look at us (doesn´t exactly breed good local-tourist relations.) But in reality, the north of Peru was just as safe as Ecuador, and once we stopped giving every Peruvian the once over, people were downright friendly! When we got past the hype, we saw Peru for what it is – a very large, very poor country with an overabundance of mindblowing historical and cultural riches.

We really weren´t prepared for the heat. Or the sand (quite a bit of sand in the desert…). In fact, we didn´t know that Northern Peru was desert – all desert – until after spending our first night in Piura, and then another 10 hours in a bus without airconditioning. This arid land of dunes and sandstorms could not have been more distant from the idyllic garden paradise of Vilacabamba. Things were made even more Mad-Maxesque by the scattered straw-mat huts, slowly losing their fight to stay upright against desert winds and flying garbage. Out of all landscapes of poverty we have seen, this one tops them all. We would take city tenement or tin mountain shack over a straw desert lean-to anyday.

The major cities on Peru´s Northern coast are oases in the desert, usually located upon the sites of the great ancient capitals, of which Peru has many. Something about this dry desert land gave birth to not one, not two, but over a dozen great ancient civilizations, and was the heart of Spain´s conquest of the continent. Combined with mindblowing outdoor destinations, Peru is an overwhelming destination that could warrant a several month trip on its own. Our short visit to Peru was like drinking history from a firehose – a dirty, dangerous firehose.

We start our historical tour in the steamy capital of the North – Trujillo. Approaching Trujillo from the desert, we see a sprawling series of mismatched cement block buildings, the outskirts hardly hinting to the impressive colonial buildings at its core or the nearby architectural treasures. We arrive during the Marinera festival, a national competitive dance event drawing couples from throughout Peru. The Marinera consists of a bouncy, spinning routine in which pairs of dancers continuously wave handkerchiefs. Although we did not attend the festivities, the whole city buzzed with excitement – artisan fairs, live music, and various other celebrations bursting out of plazas. Not huge fans of the desert heat and sand, we stayed around just long enough to visit two ruins that made us understand why people come to Peru. The Temples of the Moon and Sun were the central temples of the Moche culture from around 700 AD. They were not considered particularly interesting or important until 1997, when a series of painted reliefs were discovered, leading to the uncovering of almost completely intact structures with brightly painted, intricately carved reliefs. The detail, age, and size of these works is pretty overwhelming. After a rousing lunch, we then continued on to Chan Chan – the ancient capital of the Chimús – who dominated northern Peru until the arrival of the Incas in the mid 1400s (see more in best moment below). A strange law requires that a Peruvian hairless dog guard each archaelogical site in Peru.

We then head inland – away from the heat and back into the Andes. We take an unpopular locals´ bus that weaves through the dramatic Cañon del Paton, one of the deepest and steepest canyons in South America. The beat up bus weaves along the skinny, cliff-hugging mountain road for over six hours, crossing under 30 tunnels carved out of the mountain face. We pass through dusty mountain outposts with faded adobe houses decomposing into the canyon soil. Rounding a desolote bend, we come upon a giant American-owned hydroelectric plant, surrounded by a complex of two-story American-style suburban houses – complete with lawns and even a pool! The difference between the complex and the world outside its high fences is one of the strangest contrasts we have seen to date.

We arrive back in the valleys of the Andes, filled with indigenous tribes and ancient archaelolgical sites. Archaic buses rumble along dirt roads, overcrowded with people and giant packages. We get off in the city of Huaraz, a windswept Andean mountain town. Huaraz is filled with expats eager to serve the stream of international tourists that come to this hard-to-reach corner of Peru to visit one of the world´s greatest natural wonders – the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. Our hostel terrace has a view of almost a dozen glacier-capped peaks. We enjoy several relaxed and comfortable days in Huaraz, hiking, lazing about in cozy cafes and even finding a place that is able to repair our packs (which have had minor damages for months!)

From Huaraz, we curve through the Cordillera´s national parks surmounting rock strewn ravines that go for hours before reaching the mountain village of Chavín – a two-street town lacking power for most of our visit, and consisting mainly of abandoned colonial buildings, slowly collapsing into its bordering mountain streams. Chavín is the namesake home to the remains of Peru´s oldest great civilization. There we visit the famous Chavín de Huantar ruins, whose highlight is a series of underground galleries forming an endless labyrinth of stone corridors – dating from 900 BC! Our detour to Chavín is extended due to a minor bout of food poisoning, and by the time we are ready to roll, we are eager to leave behind the Andes and head towards the great colonial capital of South America – Lima – seat of power and poverty in Peru (see misadventure below). Once again we leave the mountains behind and move to the steamy coast, ready to see what more Peru has to offer.

Best moment: Running through the ancient capital of Chan Chan, which once housed 30,000 people and was the largest pre-Colombian city in the Americas, after hours with our native tour guide. Appearing straight-laced in her crumpled linen suit and a straw hat, she has “seen it all” in her time. She tells us stories of tomb robbers, political intrigue, and attempting to protect Peru´s treasurs and hallowed ground from the desperate and unscrupulous. She even tells the story of how she snagged her British husband, an ally in her fight to preserve endangered archealogical treasures before they completely melt back into the desert. She showed us many secrets of the ancient mudbrick city (even letting us behind the rope a couple times to peek into tombs and down hidden corridors…) After several hours of exploring this sprawling ancient monument, the sun begins to set over the Pacific and Chan Chan. Guards arrive to shoo us away; it´s two hours after closing time.

Biggest adventure: The dramatic Cordillera Blanca is the second highest mountain range in the world, after the Himalayas. Over 50 glacier topped peaks soar over 18,000 feet in this remarkable string of shining giants. We arrive in Huaraz in the midst of rainy season, making one of the legendary multi-day hikes through the Cordillera impossible. We find a day hike that takes us past several magical lagoons before climbing high up to even more spectacular glacial lakes. On the overcrowded collectivo that winds up the long dirt road to our trailhead, we befriend a fellow hiking enthusiast from Germany, Andreas, and decide to do the hike together. As we start the hike, we curse the thick clouds that obscure our views of the peaks that surround us. After crossing several valleys, the hike starts ascending dramatically, with giant, free-falling waterfalls around every turn. After several hours hiking, we keep thinking our destination – Lago 69 – will be over the next crest, but the trail just seems to go on forever. For the first time in our trip, the altitude truly begins takes its toll, leaving Jamaica gasping and moving with lead feet along the steep trail (we are at almost 15,500 feet after all!) After a treacherous final uphill push, far above the treeline, we see the dramatic aquamarine waters of Lago 69. The clouds part to reveal the giant glacier above that feeds the raging waterfall into the lake. We lounge by the shore, sipping glacial water, before realizing that time has gotten away from us – we are supposed to be back at the road in an hour to catch the last collectivo to town! The hike up, estimated to take 3 hours, has actually taken us about 5. We rush downhill (much easier in that direction…), but make it back to the road 30 minutes too late. We contemplate going back to one of the lean-to refugios we passed along the trail, but our exhaustion, hunger, and the increasing cold convinces us otherwise. Managing to flag down a passing ambulance, they tell us a bus should be coming by in the next 30 minutes! Yes! We walk along the road to keep our blood flowing as the temperature steadily drops. 20 minutes later, a bus appears, slowly descending the road´s switchbacks in our direction! We flag it down and enjoy a bumpy, speedy return to Huaraz, feeling well-deserving of a hearty dinner that night.

Biggest misadventure: There is only one direct bus a day that goes from the tiny, archaeological hamlet of Chavin to Lima. It is estimated to take 9 hours, leaving at 1 pm. Although we don´t like getting into new cities, especially big cities, after dark, it is our only option. We spend the morning at a restaurant and then passing time in an archaic internet cafe. We get back to our hostel to pick up our bags, and they say the bus company stopped by (it is a very small town). Another direct bus had showed up and was waiting for us(!) – but unfortunately had already left. We wait for the 1 o´clock; It finally arrives at 1:30 pm and we eagerly jump on, ready to leave the small town. The bus drives two blocks and then stops! The driver announces we will have a 30 minute lunch break. An hour later, the bus still shows no sign of going anywhere. Finally, after an hour and a half, the bus is back on its way. It is a crazy ride, curving through dramatic ravines, past mountain ranges and bleak stone houses. The bus is also ripe with the smell of goat herders and moist wool. We curve and bounce along, as it gets darker and later. By 10 pm – our original arrival time – we have barely made it out of the Andes, and the desert heat has replaced the Andean chill. An hour from Lima, the bus begins stopping at almost every stoplight, letting out someone here and another person there. By the time we finally enter the city of Lima, only 5 people are left on the bus (including us.) At 12:30 am the bus turns down a dark alley near Lima´s historic center. Scantily-clad women and dirt smeared crazies gather around the bus as bus personnel bang on a large sheet metal garage door. It takes 15 minutes of banging for the guard to be wake up and let us into a gravel parking lot. A taxi has pulled inside the metal fence; we jump in as a shirtless man with a distended belly starts to lear at Nelson in broken English. Once safely inside the taxi, our driver asks:”Why in the world were you on that bus?” Explaining that it was the only direct bus from Chavin, he responds “That bus is for those too poor to take any other bus – it doesn´t even go to the bus station!”. At that moment, we drive by a group of about a dozen young men – literally rioting in the streets – charging and succussfully breaking through a shop gate. The cab driver swerves through the crowd and hits the gas. “This is not a good neighborhood.”

Best meal: We enjoyed a fabulous family lunch at a restaurant in Trujillo during our tour of the archaelogical sites. Someone in our tour group was related to somebody that led to us receiving the royal treatment at this great outdoor restaurant. Delicious fresh ceviche, papas a la Huachuana (baked potatoes in a creamy cheesy-egg sauce), plenty of spicy meat and rice. We learned about the special aji (hot pepper) that is central to Northern Peruvian seasoning, and the espeically fuerte lemon that is used to cook the ceviche (¨You really shouldn´t use any other type of lemon,¨ they told us firmly.) Great, tasty fun.

Favorite people: A mini bout of food poisoning led us to stick around in Chavin an extra day. We spent most of our time in Chavin at the fabulous “Chavin Touristic” restaurant. Our wonderful teenage waiter was there morning, noon, and night, always ready to help us select a local dish. He had us try a different type of homemade hot sauce every night and even made a tea from fresh oregano and coca for Nelson´s ailing belly. Our experience at the restaurant made staying in pueblo of Chavin that exra day a-okay.

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