Buenos Tardes from Arequipa ⇒
Lima-Pisco-Nasca-Puerto Inca-Arequipa
We've been on the road for four days now. We've been driving down the Pan American Highway along the Coast in our comfy private bus. So far the scenery has not been what I would call interesting. To the right is the ocean and to the left is...the most of NOTHING I have ever seen. We have passed through the most arid desert in the world where they haven«t had any recordable rain since the last ice age. Once in a while we drive through a little village but we can«t really figure out why anyone would settle there. Noteworthy: to help aid the homeless problem here, the government introduced an incentive--no taxes to pay until your building is finished...none of the buildings here have roofs.
Our first stop was in Pisco--home of the famous Pisco Sour which is a blender drink made of (you guessed it) Pisco, lemon juice, water, sugar and egg white (which sits on top like a meringue). Pisco tastes similar to tequila. One Pisco Sour a night is about enough for me. Pisco was quite a nice town but I should preface that by saying my standards are getting a bit loose! However we did stay at a very lovely hotel called Posados Hispana which is nice by any standards and enjoyed a Pisco Sour in the market with some of our tour companions.
Next day we did a boat ride to the Islas Ballestas which is also known as the poor man's Galopogous. The islands are inhabited by thoughsands of birds and hundreds of sea lions. You an imagine the sounds and smells! The islands are "mined" for their guano which loosely translates to bird shit (Dave F...naturally your name came up in conversation today!!). The guano is an excellent fertilizer and in recent history it sold for more than gold!
Then we went to Nasca and saw the famous Nasca lines. Before the flight we visited a ceramics factory and were thoroughly entertained by Tobi doing his demo. Then we saw a gold processing plant. The flight was nice but in order to see the images the pilot first tips the plane one way and does a circle then the other way and does another circle. Carol...I think it would be a miss for you! Most of us were looking a little green after the half hour flight but it was worth it. I was just glad it ended when it did! The lines are incredible. They are carved into the sandstone and it«s a mystery how they got there. My favourite was the monkey with his curly tail.
Last night we stayed in a private ocean-side resort in these quaint little cabins in the middle of nowhere (well, I guess everything is in the middle of nowhere here!). We had Peeky«s (our driver) famous Nibbles party, ate supper and did a little Karaoke. The karaoke screen had a lot of questionable spelling such as Mother Mary speaking WORLDS of wisdom and PIND champagne on ice at the Hotel California...we couldn«t sing for laughing!
Menus here are also quite funny. Make sure you try the chicken Gordon Blue!
So Erin is trying to learn Spanish..his entry today wil probably be titled Nueve Nuevo Huevos (nine new eggs) and I have him saying Quanto questo queso y nueve nuevo huevos y una cervaca por favor which translates to the very useful phrase: how much are cheese, nine new eggs and one beer please. He should go far with that!
So today we left the coast and started our climb into the Andes. The scenery on the drive hasn«t changed much yet. We are in the lovely city of Arequipa (quite a significant improvement over Lima) and are at 2300 meters right now and I«m feeling a little light headed. We are staying at Casa mi Abuelo (Translation: My Grandmother«s House) which is a lovely old mansion. Simple rooms but clean and the property is so nice. Rita--you were right! Tomorrow we will spend the day in Arequipa visiting the convent and a museum and poking around the city. It should be a nice relaxing day.
I think we will write again in Cuzco so stay tuned in a couple of days!