Southern Coast

After visiting the clubhouse in Lima, Andre and I joined the South American Explorers Club http://www.saexplorers.org/club/home which offers many great advantages to members such as discounts and resources all over South America. It also offers free storage for your luggage for up to year, so we gladly ditched our two XXL REI duffels, and our two gigantic backpacks in the clubhouse garage and seized the opportunity to travel super light down the Southern Coast of Peru.

We took what a travel agent at our hostel called, “the cheapest and most dangerous bus company in Peru” down to Pisco. Pisco used to be a bustling city that drew tourists to its proximity to the beach and to where Pisco is made (Pisco Bodegas), but is now mostly a pile of rubble due to the earthquake of 2007 during which between 500 and 1,000 people died, including many tourists. Since then, the town has struggled to find funding to rebuild properly and the economy, which was mostly tourist-based, has suffered gravely. However Pisco’s neighbor, Paracas, has recently seen a small explosion of new construction, probably due to the fact that it can capitalize on being the closest port to get to the Ballestas Islands. We chose to stay in Pisco because it was more economical. Our small hostel was bright and sunny, mostly open air and owned by a bubbly young couple. 

The first night in Pisco Andre started shivering at dinner. I was in a tank top and shorts and was pleasantly warm we knew he needed to get into bed asap. He spent the entire next day in bed, while I explored the city of Pisco a little. There really wasn’t much to see other than piles of bricks and a dirty beach, and people kept reminding me of how dangerous it was to walk in the city alone, so I headed back to the hostel to bring Andre some sprite. After checking on him I hung out in the lobby and used the hostel’s computer, where I met the owner’s wife who was very concerned about Andre (her husband had informed her he was sick) and she convinced me that Andre needed sustenance in the form of homemade chicken soup. I tried to tell her that I am inept in the kitchen, but she seemed to think I was capable, and told me she would help. She walked with me to several small markets to help me buy the right ingredients, and then chatted with me in the kitchen the entire time we prepared it together. It was surprisingly simple and Andre ate the whole bowl! I had some as well, and it was pretty delicious, if I do say so myself! I couldn’t believe how friendly and kind it was of her to help me.

The next day Andre felt good enough to go on a tour of Las Islas Ballestas which Peruvians nicknamed “the poor man’s Galapagos”.  We fed pelicans while waiting in line and then piled on boats that held 20-30 people with our witty tour guide who could crack jokes in English and Spanish. First the boat passes what is named La Candelabra which is essentially a large imprint of a candlestick in the side of the sand-dune cliff. Theories abound about how it got there ranging from Pirates to Aliens, but our own theory was that perhaps it was made by the locals (or at least reproduced) for the tourist attraction.  Twenty minutes later we arrived at the Islands. As we moved around and through the large arches of rock  I was impressed by the variety and quantity of birds surrounding us. We saw Humbolt Penguins, cormorants, sea lions, and seals. One beach we came upon was chock full of seals screaming loudly and baby seals learning how to swim in the surf. There were so many and they were so so loud! I felt like I was inside a Planet Earth Episode.

Islas Ballestas

Sea Lions at Islas Ballestas

"Mysterious" Candelebra on the way to Islas Ballestas 

Back on land we hooked up with another American couple from Ohio and hired a taxi to take us through the Paracas National Park and out to a hopefully more private beach. Our driver was really excellent and not only found us a private white-sand beach with pristine water, but waited for 3 hours in the hot sun for us so that we didn’t get stranded out there.

Our private beach at Reserva Nacional de Paracas (thanks to our taxi driver)

We ate at an overpriced restaurant close to our private beach in the hopes that the seafood would be phenomenally fresh. It was pretty mediocre, but we did get free mini-Pisco Sours with them! (photos) We enjoyed drinks on the beach back in Paracas and made a friend with a scruffy old stray dog that honestly seemed about to die. Poor thing helped himself to our beach towel. 

The next day we sought out Bodegas in Ica. We wanted to see where and how Pisco was made so we took a taxi out to Bodega Catador. It was a sweltering hot day, but the restaurant was shaded by some sort of leafy awning and the food was some of the best we have had in Peru thus far. After lunch we had a private tour of the Bodega, and Luiz walked us through the whole process. First they collect the grapes, and crush them by walking on them. The workers stomp on the grapes at night so that the bugs don’t bite their feet from 8pm to 3am. Then the juice is pressed with a large wooden plate, and the juice is put in Piscos, or large clay pots to ferment for 5-15 days. After this it is poured into a huge vat where a wood-fired stove underneath boils it and the steam is transported into a large tube surrounded by water, and the condensation is collected in the form of Pisco. Distilled young wine, essentially. After the tour we got a free tasting of all the different kinds of Piscos made at this Bodega. We tried a mix of wine and Pisco which tasted like Port, we tried a acidic wine, we tried Pure Pisco, Pisco made from a few different kinds of grapes mixed together, Lemon essence Pisco, and Crème de Pisco  which was better than Bailey’s. We bought a bottle of Crème (to put in coffee later, yum!) and headed to a town we heard great things from everyone about, Huacachina.

Pit where grapes are pressed into juice

Piscos (old fermentation contraptions--now days they use plastic containers)

Giant wood oven used to heat and distill the alcohol from fermented juice

Bodega Catador

Huacachina is an Oasis surrounded by Sandunes. It was everything you dream an Oasis to be; a lagoon in the center of a cluster of palm trees and other greenery, only Huacachina had been built up with Colonial boardwalks all around the lagoon with hotels and restaurants rising up off of them. We heard the loud roar of dunebuggies in the distance as we arrived and saw them take off over the dunes. We were lured into one small hostel’s hammock filled garden, and then couldn’t resist the package deal of a rustic cabana’s night stay plus a two hour dune buggy ride and sandboarding for 50 soles each, which is about 17 dollars. Although the whole Oasis was kind of a tourist trap, I am glad we went for it, the buggy ride was a blast, and the Oasis was incredibly peaceful compared to the cities we had been in.

Oasis at Huacachina

Sand dunes at dusk

Discovering Lima

Everyone told us to get out of Lima as fast as possible because it was a big dirty city and a waste of time. Blessed with an abundance of time, we decided to stay and see if we could find worthwhile things in Lima, and indeed we did! Here is a photoessay, easier for me to post and more fun probably for you to read!

The coast, nicknamed Waikiki is surprisingly clean and well kept. The fog is thick in Lima.

And right in the side of the cliffs they have built a 3 story shopping mall.



As much Inka Cola as your heart desires. Bright yellow and tastes like bubblegum.



13 illuminated fountains and one lazer show will amaze even the most hardened traveler.

Almost got kicked out for taking this picture....

This fountain creates a tunnel you can walk through and hardly get wet at all. There was also a game you could play where the water rises and falls and the goal is to get to the center of the fountain and back without getting wet. Video to follow hopefully.

The center of Lima reminded me of Spain. The Plaza de Armas was lit up beautifully at night.

Then we ran into a Keko rally, one of Peru,s five presidential candidates. We have video, here are the police lined up watching, but it seemed mellow while we were there. People were dancing and waving flags to latin beats and lyrics about Keko bringing pride and power to the people of Peru.

In Route

For this leg of the trip, we each had our own row! ¡Gracias a Dios!

Thankful to be here and have all our luggage, its 4:30 am.

I am in the Dallas airport as I write this. I have way too little sleep under my belt and we have about 4 more hours here before we depart for Lima. I spent my last two nights in Seattle working at Barrio, which was exhausting but good because it forced me to be more organized with planning and packing. I have been working hard for six months to save enough money for this trip and finishing strong just makes the whole change of lifestyle that much more drastic and exciting. Work hard, play hard!

While I am waiting for our plane to board I thought I would answer the most commonly asked question I have recieved from everyone I told about this trip.

“What is your itinerary?”

We don’t really know, and we like it that way. Sooner than later we would like to find a town we like and stay central in order to create a community. Not only will our funds last longer this way but we anticipate it will be more rewarding. We want to dig a little deeper, and hopefully be more connected to a few places rather than only scratching the surface of many.

Most likely our home base will be in Huaraz
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/peru/huaraz-and-the-cordilleras/huaraz

There we will have easy access to the Cordillera Blanca, and will be living at 10,000 feet which will allow us to acclimatize for climbing and, (bonus!) it’s too high for malaria carrying mosquitos! I’ll share the excel spreadsheet we made with several peaks we would like to climb and the beta we need for each, i.e. elevation, route difficulty, and coolness factor (according to us of course).
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArZnijA0AJuvdGlCS0lTX3A0OW1VamRDaWFXV29HMVE&hl=en&authkey=CPeHpt8I

I made a similar spreadsheet for trekking in the Cordillera Blanca.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArZnijA0AJuvdGlCS0lTX3A0OW1VamRDaWFXV29HMVE&hl=en&authkey=CPeHpt8I

Possible highlights include natural hot springs, alpine lakes, gorgeous mountain passes and the occasional traditional Quechuan town. Sounds horrible, right?

Climbing and volunteering are of highest priority, but we also want to go to Machu Pichu, the Amazon, Lake Titicaca, Cuzco, and the National Reserve Paracas, home of the “Peruvian Galapagos”.  

I was recently reminded by a wise woman that this may be the most free I will be in my entire life. I do hope that I can find a way to be this free many more times throughout my life, but for now I will try to fully appreciate that this is a special experience. Our timeline is completely flexible as we have no real responsibilities back home, and we are lucky enough to have a pocket full of cash and an adventuresome traveling partner. Life is pretty good.

Lastly, I just changed my clock to Lima time! Two hours ahead, just fyi. NOW IT IS OFFICIAL.

Climbs of the Cordillera Blanca

Here's where we're going: Huaraz, Peru. There are something like 16 peaks over 6,000 meters, all of which are reasonably accessible in 1-2 day's trip from town. Before looking at this map, I had no idea what the Peruvian Andes really offered. It's mind-blowing. Take a look:

Last day in Amurikuh

In the last 2 weeks, we sold a bookshelf and a couch, donated a dining-room table and 6 chairs to a family of Nepalese refugees, took several loads of kitchen supplies and ugly mugs to Value Village, and eventually, after hours and hours of slave cleaning labor at the behest of our landlord, moved out of our dungeon/basement apartment at 15th and Madison, and again entered the world of homelessness, uncertainty, and adventure. :)

It's all a bit surreal, even still. I am reminded of how un-planting and putting can be a wavering, uncomfortable feeling. The whole process is full of mixed emotions: On one hand, it feels wildly refreshing to unweight yourself from all that stuff you thought you needed, to give it away, and to live simplistically again. On the other hand, it feels ab it like jumping off a sailing ship into a rubber life raft. I mean, I've never done such a thing, but I imagine it would be pretty hard to turn back. All the comforts of home, however simple, are instantly gone: the roof, the bed, NPR, the internet, the smell of french press, long showers, the easy life. We probably don't really need any of those things, but nonetheless, I ask myself, what am I trading this for again? The I that had decided many months ago that this was a good idea is now fleeting. One moment I look at the photos in the guidebooks scream, "YEA!" The next moment, I'm saddened by the conga line of craigslisters walking out the door with all your stuff. I suppose you just have to constantly remind yourself why you're doing it and where you're headed, and that all that stuff will be forgotten soon enough.

The whole process is full of little ups and downs, the downs of which threaten to pull you back from brink, instead to relish in security. And as "adult life" pressure mounts, I think I finally understand what keeps so many people from doing things like this in the first place. Aren't I supposed to be doing something like building a career, a business? I find myself having to ferociously reject "common wisdom" and ignore, at least for now, whatever expectations society has of me, including those I think I have for my myself. It's definitely much harder ignore than I thought. But what do I know? As for now, Kaeli and I have been able, yet again, to delay that which may be inevitable. Our chances may be running thin, so we're going to make it big!

Boom--a little transition from the philosophical realm to the here and now. So now that we're sleeping on friends' couches and living out of our backpacks. Packing and moving has essentially come and gone, and now we're relaxing in the eye of a little storm, the second half of which will consist of unwieldy luggage, culture shock, and--well--chaos. And for me, Spanish. But we'll take them in stride. :)

The world has in store for us an adventure that we can't even comprehend. Sounds funny but its true. As we venture into the unknown, I'm afraid we may have packed the kitchen sink. Neither us have climbed in the tropics, so we're not entirely sure what we'll need. It's hard to pack for the hot, sweaty jungle and tall, frozen peaks all in the same trip. I guess we'll soon find out soon--or perhaps more accurately, we'll find out as we crest the summit of the tallest mountain in Peru if we were right to pack like eskimos. :) They say it's warm, but the pictures sure don't make it look warm.

Our flight leaves tomorrow at 7am! I've got a fancy new camera that takes HD video and, I hope, great photos, so we'll try and to post some photos every week or two. This time I'm going to stick to it. Really. It's two people writing one blog... how hard can it be?

Check out our packing list:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArZnijA0AJuvdHl1NmljXzRBTVRkcElrcG1ZVmZfM0E&hl=en&authkey=CNy2z70F