Postcards from Peru: Lima and Coastal Peru (2)

Peru: Itinerary (1)

Huacachina oasis after sunset

Our trip to Peru started in Lima. We flew directly from Amsterdam to Lima and stayed there only for a night before taking a 3-day organised tour with Peru Hop to Paracas, Huacachina Oasis and Nazca. Those were quite a busy first few days, but offered us such varied experiences – a peek into the Peruvian countryside, the coastal deserts, an island with unique wildlife, old colonial Spanish plantations, seaside resorts, prehistoric shapes on the ground, and so on - that it was totally worth it.


Getting there

We took a long 13 hour direct flight from Amsterdam to Lima. The first part of the flight was mostly over the Atlantic. But during the second half, it was a pleasure to look out of the window and try to figure out what we were flying over. It being a day flight helped.

We flew over Guyana (and I spotted the city of New Amsterdam), Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia to reach Peru. The most interesting part of the journey though was when we flew over the Amazon forest, it took us 3.5 hours to fly over it! (Apparently the Amazon is nearly twice that of India, it's huuuuge!). Even though I have read about it, actually flying over these forests and seeing how they almost never seem to end made me realise how enormous (and dense) these forests actually are!

The Amazon forest stretches till forever, crisscrossed by multiple rivers and their tributaries. There were also loads of clouds everywhere, in fact most of the flight was cloudy only. When they cleared, we could see miles and miles of green cover, and in between we would spot the many rivers of the Amazon Basin meandering around. And once in a while, we would see a clearing opening up, with some small human settlements here and there. We flew over Boa Vista, a city in Brazil, with no road access within Brazil given the dense forests around. And Villa Rica (in the central highlands of Peru) seemed like a cute village from the top. Sometimes I feel I am done with exploring typical touristy places, and these remote places are the kind I would like to visit, explore and stay in.

Icana river

As we flew, I kept looking at the flight tracker map, and correlating it to what we could spot down below. I spotted the Potaro river, the Cotingo river through the Amazon Savanna, the Icana river (with islands, as in the photo), the Jurua river and its floodplain, and the Putumayo river. Or at least, I think I spotted these from the air 😊. Then we saw many more settlements right before the Andes. Apparently Andean people displaced some of the indigenous people here. Overall, the Amazon felt so enigmatic, so fathomable, what all can and does such a boundless dense forest hold?

Lake Junin up in the Andes

And then came the Andes, starting with forest-covered mountains which slowly turned brown and bare. They were so high and so continuous, that it almost felt like the Andes were a plateau rather than a mountain range. We flew over some emerald lakes on the top of the ranges like Lake Junin (in the photo). There were many dispersed villages on the top too. And then the mountains started to have rugged sharp peaks, they looked more like mountains here. The number of roads and pathways also increased, much more than the Amazon. It's a testament to the Inca civilisation, that they were able to build these road networks centuries ago, and at such heights, given how tough the terrain and environmental conditions are.

Ocean of clouds

And then came into view a carpet of clouds, like an ocean, above which were the peaks sticking out and below which was the coastal plain, and Lima where we were headed to. Apparently, the high Andes lead to a very overcast but dry desert climate along the thin coastal strip between the Pacific and the Andes. And this coastal plain is mostly cloudy, with very little sun.

Landing at Lima

When we landed at Lima, the first view of the city (and country) was a bit underwhelming. We could see rows and rows of unpainted houses all around the airport. Everything was just brown everywhere. Our first impression was of landing in a very poor and run-down place. And it was a huge shock to us, which took a while to get over.

We took an Uber to our hotel, and on the way we experienced some crazy local traffic, with cars driving wherever they wanted, with no lane discipline, and everyone overtaking everyone else! We also noticed that most of the buildings along the road were painted only on one side, the front, with the rest of it unfinished and unpainted. It felt a bit unsettling for sure to land in such a country knowing we will be here for the next 3 weeks.

Cliffs of Lima

Though slowly the drive and our surroundings improved. We drove through a coastal highway, which had the mountain cliffs on the one side, and water sports happening on the other side. Some people were paragliding there, many more surfing. When we reached our hotel, the Hotel Andesmar Miraflores, we started to feel better. It was a lovely little boutique hotel in a nice part of town. The setup was good, the service great and our stay there, though short, was quite comfortable.

We reached Lima late in the evening, and were severely jetlagged. So we quickly changed, rested a bit and then were off. We were meeting a friend for dinner, and he picked a local place for us to eat - Nanka. He drove us there and the drive was through a nicer part of town (the driving was also better). We felt so much better then.

The Nanka offered an international cuisine with a Peruvian touch. The owner came to welcome us to the restaurant, and introduce us to the cuisine. The food was yum and the service was superb.

More importantly though, we learnt so much more about Peru while chatting with our friend. Peru is split geographically (and culturally) into three separate groups of people, the coastal culture, the Andean culture (mostly of the Quechua people) and the jungle culture of the Amazon. Though one country, all these places have their own distinct traditions, cultures, cuisines and also differing economic and ethnic backgrounds.

Street art in Lima

Food is very important in Peru, and fish, corn, potato and chillis are huge parts of it. There are some 250 types of corn, 3000-4000 types of native potato varieties and many types of chillis (from the Andes, the forests and the coast) available in Peru. In fact, the rest of the world was introduced to corn and potato from Peru itself. The cuisine in Peru also changes based on the geography. As well as at different altitudes along the Andes. I was already impressed by the cultural depth and diversity of Peru.

Apparently, culturally Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia are quite similar. Especially the Andean people in these countries. But economic levels are very different. Venezuela is relatively poorer and many Venezuelans are nowadays moving to Peru for work. He also spoke about widespread South American stereotypes. For example, there are anti-Chilean sentiments in many South American nations, they are considered too arrogant and were not forgiven for having provided support to the UK during the Falklands war.

Peru had benefited from some good leaders in the past, including the Japanese-Peruvian President, ​​Alberto Fujimori. (Apparently there were many people of Japanese heritage in Peru, given the closeness to Japan geographically. And there also exists a whole Peruvian-Japanese fusion cuisine). Also interesting it turned out that my friend himself had never visited the Peruvian Amazon. In fact, after our three weeks in Peru, we would have explored more of his country than he himself had till now! 

After dinner, we collapsed soon because of jetlag and as we had to leave at 6am the next day. So we didn’t get to explore Lima at all that day. (By the way, this was a regular occurrence on our trip, everything started too early in the morning, every day! It was fine the first few days as we were still jetlagged but did get tough soon enough).


Peru Hop tour

We had booked an organised bus tour with Peru Hop to explore the coastal part of Peru. The Peru Hop offers multiple tours around the country including the transportation, guides during the travel and some included activities. They have their own buses which take groups of people from one destination to another, with visits to places of interest on the way. They have guides joining each of the buses, who share stories all through the ride. At the destinations, they provide a list of activities to join if the travellers are interested. And if not, one can choose to explore on their own. You also have the choice to either book the hotel through them or by yourself. The whole setup though organised is quite convenient and flexible, also providing ample time to do your own thing.

We had booked a 3 day tour starting from Lima, with the first night in Paracas, and the second in Huacachina. On the way to Paracas, we stopped at a Spanish hacienda, the Hacienda San Jose. At Paracas we went for a boat ride to the Ballestas islands and took a bus tour inside the Paracas National Reserve. The next day we went by bus to Huacachina Oasis, stopping at a Pisco vineyard on the way. In Huacachina, one could go for dune bashing and sand boarding on the dunes. The next morning, we went to Nazca and did a plane ride to see the Nazca lines. And then we had a long 9+ hour bus ride back to Lima. We also kept talking to the guides all through the rides, and learnt so much more about Peru than we would otherwise. It was a very enjoyable tour and we were able to see so much more, mostly because of Peru Hop. I would recommend them any day.


Getting to Paracas

We left very early in the morning from Lima, and the first half of the drive was spent just in trying to exit Lima 😃. We drove through the Barranco area of twon which was quite colourful and bright. It had a nice hangout vibe, and there were many nice cafes and eating places there, all overlooking the sea. And then we drove through Chorrillos, another nice seaside part of town.

We passed through streets with old and new colourful buildings, lots of them with seaviews. And there were cycling paths everywhere. After crossing these nicer parts of the city, we drove past the less nicer ones. There were many poor and rundown houses along the cliffs. And it took us almost 3 hours to finally get out of Lima (it's a long city).

The weather had been downcast the whole time we were there, cloudy and misty. Apparently the Andes are the reason for such weather, they block the clouds and don’t allow them to leave the coast and move inland. And the weather is like this 8 months a year, cloudy and sunless. Looks like Lima has similar weather to London and Amsterdam in terms of gloominess but without the rain 😂.

After leaving Lima, we drove a few hours along the coast. The road was of good quality. On the one side, there were sand dunes and swamps (known as the Marshes of Chorrillos), followed by the sea, and on the other side were the bare Andean mountains. We passed by a few small villages and beaches. But mostly, the area was quite sparsely populated.

Our first stop of the day was at Mirasur, an eating place on the way where we tried a local spicy Peruvian drink as someone had suggested to us. But for the next 3 weeks, we could not remember the name of that drink 😂. (It was probably the Emoliente).

The Hacienda's Jesuit cathedral

Our next stop was Hacienda San Jose, a Spanish colonial house and plantation in the Chincha region, near the town of Ica. Apparently, the Spanish had a tough time settling up in the Andes mountains, so most of them lived around the coast. And unlike the surroundings, the Chincha area was greener and more fertile. Also, there used to be a port nearby in the town of Pisco. That's why this area was popular among the Spanish and there are four major haciendas around Chincha, the largest being this one.

Courtyard at the Hacienda

The hacienda was a grand wooden colonial bungalow, now turned into a hotel. It had a cathedral next to the house. And many open courtyards for the warm weather. The bungalow was full of old paintings, handicrafts and wares, making it quite interesting to explore. The furniture was all old style. And one could imagine the idyllic life led by the owners here, living in this grand house in good weather, with servants, gardens, animals and orchards all around. The guides told us the history of the place, how it was set up, how it was run, who were its Spanish owners and how it passed down through the family. The gardens also had some unique tropical flowers, all in full bloom all around. It felt all so idyllic, till we heard the real stories of the place.

The living room

Under the hacienda was an extensive tunnel network, 17 kms long, through which African slaves were brought in from the port of Pisco, smuggled into the plantations to avoid taxes. They were quarantined for a few weeks in these underground tunnels, in inhumane conditions, during which most of them died. And of the ones who survived, many turned blind due to no exposure to light for those weeks. So they were killed too. And the very few who survived had to work as slaves in the plantations, driving its prosperity. There was a tour of the underground tunnel too, but I could not stay there for long. It was tough to be inside even with lights and very few people. I can't imagine how it would be to be imprisoned inside there for a few weeks. So as beautiful, cosy and comfortable the hacienda looks, its foundation was anything but that.


Paracas

Paracas National Reserve

And then we reached Paracas (the city is also known as El Chaco), part of the Paracas peninsula. Paracas was a small seaside resort, which may have grown as an entry point to the Paracas National Reserve. All around town was desert land. It barely rained all year. The streets were lined with cactus, it was that much of a desert. The National Reserve was right next door, a desert, and a continuation of the Atacama desert of Chile. Most people came here for the many activities the reserve offered - cycling, ATV riding, paragliding, or just taking a bus tour inside the reserve.

But the city was also fun to explore. It was a small little town on the sea, rustic and rundown. On the one hand, it had some high end resorts, big and fancy, which were popular with the rich of Lima. On the other was the main town, small and simple. It had many small and big hotels, lots of eating places, and of course the promenade, which was the most active in the evening when the weather got better.

Paracas beach

The beach was just about ok, not too clean, with a lot of weed floating around. There were lots of boats moored near the beach. And there was even a small water park in the water, to keep the children happy and busy. But what was more fun were the shops along the beach on the promenade. With local places to eat, and loads of shops to shop around for local handicrafts. I spent most of the evening exploring this waterfront, simple as it was (instead of going for one of the activities in the reserve, as it had been a tiring day on the bus).

Paracas waterfront

I had my favourites, ceviche and chicha morada (a local purple drink made of purple corn) on the waterfront in the hot sun. And then at night, as it was a full moon night, I just walked around, enjoying the sunset on the water, checking out the local handicrafts and chatting up with some of the locals. It was such an idyllic day, just as I had wanted my Peruvian holiday to be.

Breakfast at Paracas

We stayed at a local hotel, the Hotel Riviera Inka Paracas. It was small, clean, and had a gorgeous view of the sea from its breakfast terrace. We had a very relaxing breakfast on the terrace in the morning before an early start again.

We had two trips planned for the next day, the first was a boat ride to the Ballestas islands. Ballestas islands are known as the poor man’s Galapagos, as they are easier to get to, and just like the Galapagos islands (but not at the same scale), they too have a very wide variety of animal, plant and sea species living here.

The candelabra

We took a boat in the morning and first we went along the Paracas Peninsula, where we saw a candelabra (a geoglyph made of rocks), similar to the Nazca lines. We also saw some natural caves around the peninsula. The mountains were mostly yellow but had tinges of red and brown too. Then near the Paracas port, we spotted some seals lounging in the sun on top of floating buoys.

Arches at Ballestas

We were on the open seas for a while till we reached the Ballestas islands. The water was a bit turbulent getting there though. And then the islands come into view, a few large rocky islands, with red and white tinges in the rocks. They were quite sharp and rugged, with some picturesque arches too. I am guessing their remoteness and the ocean winds lead to such interesting structures being formed on this island.

And once near the islands, we saw all kinds of animals there. There were some Humboldt penguins (most had migrated away for the season though). Apparently the penguins had left the island for 2 years due to El Nino and were now just coming back. They looked cute walking down the rocks in their funny walk. The penguins were definitely the highlight for us as I never expected to see penguins in equatorial terrains.

Ballestas island

We spotted many other birds on the islands, like hordes of Peruvian boobies, Peruvian terns, guanay cormorants, vultures and a few Peruvian pelicans. The boobies, terns and cormorants live here in colonies several thousand strong. Apparently all the bird droppings from the island (called guano) is sold as fertiliser across the world, as it's a great natural fertiliser, and a huge source of revenue for the area. The Peruvian government extracts the guano from the islands, but only every eight years. 

The tidal waters move up 2-3 metres on the island and down the same. And these lashing waves sometimes uncovered sea life for us. We spotted a starfish, some sea urchins, molluscs, starfish and a sea lion around. It seemed like the tour was popular as there were lots of boats there, even so early in the morning. Overall, the whole trip had felt refreshing, to be out in the open seas and checking out the local wildlife.

Cathedral viewpoint

After Ballestos Island, we went on a bus tour through the Paracas National Reserve, and the landscape was stunning. Apparently this is the northern part of the Atacama Desert which mostly lies in Chile. This desert land gets no rain all year, so it is just a wide expanse of yellow sandy and rocky land, right next to the sea. Interestingly the mountains had red tinges to it. A lot of salt is mined from this reserve. And nothing grows here. Also apparently the landscape is still constantly changing, given the strong winds and waves from the sea.

We had been warned multiple times to drink enough water, and protect ourselves from the sun. It was really really hot! Though we saw people still doing strenuous activities in the Reserve, like cycling, ATV rides etc.. We were definitely more comfortable in our bus than them 😊.

Beach in red

We stopped at a few places on the tour, first at the cathedral viewpoint where one of the rocky outcrops in the sea looks like a cathedral. And there we saw vultures gliding effortlessly in the sky, with the desert and sea as a backdrop. It somehow felt very meditative to see them like that. We then drove to a beach viewpoint. The beach was red in colour because of certain minerals in the sand. It was such a different beach to be at. It used to be open to people earlier, though had been closed now. And then we were off to our next destination, the Huacachina Oasis.


Huacachina Oasis

The drive till Huacachina was mostly through dry areas, except a short stretch when we saw some greenery near the pisco plantations. We stopped at the Don Pancho vineyard where the guides showed us how pisco and wine was made here. And then we had a hearty lunch on the farm.

The oasis

We reached the Huacachina Oasis in the evening just before the setting sun. I really had no idea about what to expect when we reached there. We were driving by the city of Ica, and moments after the city finished, the oasis came into view behind some massive sand dunes. It is a cute little place surrounded by huge (like really huge) sand dunes all around. And in the centre is a small water body with a lot of palm trees all around it. It is purely a touristy place now, with some hotels and loads of restaurants all along the central lake. A pathway has been made to walk all around - everything here is geared for tourism. And interestingly, just a few kms away, a normal city, the Ica exists.

Sunset over the dunes

We quickly checked into our hotel and then I hiked up the dunes as much as I could (should have left earlier). The whole area was full of people doing different kinds of activities - paragliding, sand bashing and sand boarding, sand skiing etc.. The place was full of people, sitting wherever your eyes could see, till late, enjoying the setting sun. I did the same, plonked myself at a good spot and just saw the sun setting slowly beyond the dunes. It was surreal, like a painting, like a dream. The whole scene was something you don't come across too often. The palm trees next to the lake, the small buildings around, the majestic dunes surrounding us and the feeling of being in another world. I loved this moment a lot. 

Oasis in afternoon

Then I came back to the oasis, and it had emptied out of people - the day trippers had left. As soon as sunset was over, it got eerily quiet and serene. I walked under the palm trees next to the water. And this is when I loved this place the most, for what it was. A green little oasis in the middle of a desert.

Curasi hotel

Then we had dinner at HuacafuckinChina, a restobar around the lake pathway. We chatted with the waiter, a very friendly person from Cusco (apparently the mountain people of Peru are nicer and friendlier than the coastal people). We were staying at the Curasi hotel, a small boutique hotel around the oasis. It had a pool which was welcome given how hot the days were. And we retired early for the night as we had an early morning, again 😃. 

Morning at Huacachina

The morning in Huacachina was even more surreal, with the sun slowly lighting up the sand dunes all around, one by one. And slowly the light came over all the buildings in the oasis. It was a glorious morning, and so quiet as the day tourists hadn't come by - one of my favourites in Peru.


Nazca

The next day, we had the option to drive to Nazca to see the Nazca lines, or chill in Huacachina. I had originally planned to skip the Nazca trip, as it would have become a very hectic day. We had to drive 3 hours to Nazca, take a plane ride to see the lines, and then drive 3 hours back to Huacachina and 6 hours after, to get back to Lima. I wish I had stuck to my original decision 😝. I got influenced and at the last minute decided to go for it.

Palpa valley

So early morning again, we left for Nazca. The drive was mostly through dry and bare desert lands dotted with sand dunes. Sometimes there were mountains which were also yellow, dry and bare. But in between we would suddenly turn up in valleys with small towns, surrounded by greenery all around. I remember a town called Palpa was like that, a sudden green valley in the midst of desert lands. With fields and fields of cactus, fruit trees and maize.

The Nazca lines are shapes created in the desert land by a prehistoric civilisation of southern Peru. There are about 300 such shapes still existing around the current city of Nazca and Palpa. An excerpt from Wiki to describe the Nazca lines in more detail “...created between 500 BC and 500 AD by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and leaving different-colored dirt exposed… Most lines run straight across the landscape, but there are also figurative designs of animals and plants. The combined length of all the lines is more than 1,300 km, and the group covers an area of about 50 km2. The lines are typically 10 to 15 cm deep. They were made by removing the top layer of reddish-brown ferric oxide–coated pebbles to reveal a yellow-grey subsoil…Some of the Nazca lines form shapes that are best seen from the air, although they are also visible from the surrounding foothills and other high places… Because of its isolation and the dry, windless, stable climate of the plateau, the lines have mostly been preserved naturally… including a hummingbird, arachnid, fish, condor, heron, monkey, lizard, dog, cat, and a human. Other shapes include trees and flowers.” Our guide said, there are some 800 small and big shapes, still existing around the Nazca and Palpa cities. And these can be seen clearly only from a plane.

Nazca means a ‘place to suffer’. The land was dry and bare, still a civilization manager to exist there, which built these huge structures in 500 BC! They moved the darker stones above to uncover the lighter coloured soil below. And no one knows why, maybe for understanding astrology? The Nazca also built aqueducts in the area. So clearly they were quite well advanced.

The lizard

We stopped at one spot on the way, where we climbed up huge metal viewing platforms to see two of the shapes from the top, a tree and a lizard. With a highway running between them. I think I would have been done seeing just these, I didn't really need to do the plane ride.

Nazca town

Once we reached Nazca, we had to wait a few hours at Mom’s Cafe before our plane ride. It was quite hot, but I still walked out into town for a bit to check out what a small town in Peru would feel like. It was a simple town, with people going about their lives. There were some tourist shops selling handicrafts, but there wasn't too much other activity going on. So I just bought some small tidbits and went back to Mom’s Cafe to wait. 

Our ride up

And then we took our 30 mins plane ride to see the Nazca lines from above. It was a small plane, with two pilots and 6 passengers. They took us around the area, showing us around a dozen such shapes down below. They would first fly to the location, and then take sharp turns on both sides, so the passengers on each side of the plane got a good look at the figures below and were able to take good pictures of the shapes.

Hummingbird from above

I am sure the lines looked great, but as soon as our plane took off, we got altitude sickness. Maybe it was the turbulent air that day, maybe the hot temperatures, maybe it was the sharp turns, but we both just felt so dizzy and nauseous that we couldn't keep our eyes open. We barely opened our eyes to glance at the shapes below and then would close our eyes again, hoping the flight would finish soon. And this is how our entire plane ride felt like.

Around Nazca

As soon as we got back on land, the local shopwoman gave us some drinks to feel ok. And somehow it did work. And soon we felt normal, having almost a blurry vision of the very expensive plane ride we had just finished! So all in all, it was not a great experience for us, and I wouldn't have minded missing it.

Reading and wondering about the Nazca lines was still interesting though. 2500 years ago, people were creating these large art structures on land, taking so much effort. Why?


Back to Lima

After the not so enjoyable plane experience, we were in for a long day of bus rides. We first got back to Huacachina and had a quick dinner at Desert Nights rooftop terrace. We then continued the rest of the 6 hour journey back to Lima, reaching Lima at midnight. We were tired and didn't really see much outside. Entry into Lima was interesting though. As soon as we entered Lima, we could see so many people partying at night but also a lot of buildings with metal fences - clearly it wasn't a very safe city for the rich. 

Art around Lima

To avoid our travel from getting too hectic, the next day we had booked a midday flight to Puerto Maldonado, the entry to Peruvian Amazon. And we were so thankful for that! So we got a few hours to walk around Lima in the morning and get a feel of the capital city. It was a cloudy and rainy day, so we just walked around a bit. We first walked to the coastal cliffs, watching people paraglide down to the beach and some others surfing on the beach. This seemed to be quite an active part of town. There was so much street art around too, on the walls, on buildings and so on. It was fun to walk past them.

Then we walked through the Miraflores area, first towards the lighthouse for a view of the sea below, and then to Kennedy Park. We checked out the local art in the park and there was just so much colour in all the paintings there. I loved them all.

Lima Street art

Lima Street art

Lima

We walked into a local church nearby, through cafe streets lined with cafes and restaurants, through streets lined with huge cactus trees, past a local market selling different vegetables (and too many varieties of corn), past parks, past bridges with tennis grounds built underneath them (a good use of land for sure) and so on. It was quite an enjoyable walk to explore the area, though we didn't really go far. And soon it was time to say goodbye to the coast and we were off to a different part of Peru, the Amazon.