South

My escape from Lima began at dawn Sunday, on a double-decker bus & a dubbed version of Hitch playing; heading South already was taking on great aspirations. I was thankful for leaving Lima behind somewhat, but my anxiety was high seeing there wasn’t to be a Pedro in Ica City waiting to take me in. After four quick hours, I arrived in Ica City with no plans or any real understanding of what there was to do in this city other than a few bodegas that were listed in my guide book.

My good fortune would have it that spending a few extra soles on the tour bus trips pays off; not only is safety paramount, the company I ride with provides English speaking taxi drivers for lost Gringos like myself. After a few minutes of thinking about what I wanted to do, Jose, referred me to the Oasis town of Huacchina which is about 5k outside of Ica City. With the threat of Lima still in my mind, I slowly started to trust Jose & the people at my hotel; with each act of kindness I started to realize the Peruvian people respected tourism, as it is a main source of income for many & they wish no harm come to any travelers.

Huacachina is a town the size of a normal college campus, filled with restaurants, bars, travel agencies, cafes and hotels. There’s a decent lagoon in the center of town that allows its shops to wrap around it as the giant sand dunes hover above. When asked what there is to do here I only got one response; relax. Not one to disrespect the locals I made my way to the pool, cracked my book and just chilled out in the heat. As the afternoon wound up, I tempted to my adventurous side & signed up for a dune buggy & sand boarding trip.

I was pleased with my decision, as Ricardo, our driver, took great joy in trying to get us to lose our lunch with his driving exploits, and the eight different boarding runs we went on. Even for the avid boarding as my friends from Sweden would attest, standing up the whole way down was quite the accomplishment. Half the runs I attempted standing, the other half, like the entire group, we sledded on our bellies. The thrill was incredible as each dune grew in length & the laughs came after each run. Once the sun started to set, Ricardo raced over dune after dune to catch the final glimpse of light the incredible accompanying sunset. After the sunset, not much else mattered and I spent the remainder of my time just soaking up the sun on the dunes or at the pool as more tourist poured into tour.

Finally, late Monday evening I had an over-night bus to Arequipa, which is the 2nd largest town in Peru & thus far my favorite. Our bus was quite late, but that offered me an opportunity to have a splendid conversation with a New Yorker (although she travels the world 70% of the time). We started talking about what each of us wanted to do when we did return & it gave good insight from a fellow traveler; I was pleased to sit with Jackie for a couple hours. Once in Arequipa there is such historic charm on the cobblestone streets, ancient mansions & a monastery that was built in 1580 that is still in use today just on a smaller scale. The 1500 century architecture was breath taking & I chose to shoot it at night rather than the day to give an incredible means of life these nuns lived.

In Arequipa, I had my favorite meal thus far; rocoto relleno, which is rocoto pepper hollowed out & stuffed with beef, covered in a sauce & then cooked under an open flame; incredible. I was so impressed with my meal, the host took me back to meet the chefs, see how the meal was prepared & then allowed me to scale the ladder to the roof to take some pictures of the Plaza. I will send out a post just around food in the coming weeks, but for now I typically eat one Peruvian meal in a restaurant per day, and the rest of my meals are that of the locals; pan & fruta.

The vibe in Arequipa was so welcoming & warm, although much of the center of town is now dedicated to tourism so it’s lost a little bit of its authentic flavor I am assuming. I was witness to two different marches in protests of wages for laborers and a political rally, plus my hotel was next to two schools (one of culinary arts & the second for English teaching) so I was able to chat with some of the youth & they seemed to have many more goals & better outlook than other Peruvians I’d met.

I am off on a two day trek into Colca Canyon; I’m sure there will be much to discuss from that adventure & then I head east to Cusco to begin my work. Adios.