winifredcreamer

Chilecito, Jan. 29 and 30

The drive to Chilecito started out looking like Missouri, rolling hills and cows. Then it looked like Kauai, steep hills and cows. After that it shifted gradually toward Arizona, becoming less and less green with more scrub that became lower as we drove west, finally culminating with cactus and low scrub that looks like theContinue reading “Chilecito, Jan. 29 and 30”

ARGENTINA!

It was a long day getting to Argentina. Not much to take pictures of either, so we each took a photo of what we’d like to see: We’re fulfilling Jonathan’s dream first, heading for Mendoza via Chilecito, also wine territory. Patagonia comes later in the month. Our flights were uneventful, which is a good thing.Continue reading “ARGENTINA!”

Back down the Andes–1/24 and 1/25

One of the last things I saw in Puno was a shoelace salesman carrying his wares around his neck. As we turned our backs to Bolivia we were again impressed with the beauty of the puna and the range of environments that we crossed. In two days we went from a high of 4400 mContinue reading “Back down the Andes–1/24 and 1/25”

Making Lemonade 1/23

Once the rain stopped it was a gorgeous day. We began by getting up very early, being first in line at the Banco de la Nacion to pay for a car inspection, one of the steps to getting our needed permit. Then on to the police that do the inspection to present evidence that we’dContinue reading “Making Lemonade 1/23”

Desaguadero means “Storm Drain”. How about “the pits”?

There are no photos from our drive to Desaguadero. We started off bright and early expecting to get to Bolivia. Instead we got bogged down so deeply in bureaucratic mire that we were barely able to back out and return to Puno. How bad was it? Customs agents seemed to have a real sparkle inContinue reading “Desaguadero means “Storm Drain”. How about “the pits”?”

Change of direction toward Puno 1/21

To ease our way into high altitude, we decided to skip Moquegua and go up to Puno, to have more time at high altitude before crossing the border to Bolivia. We need out wits about us and I didn’t want to be feeling sick. 1/21/2015 Arequipa to Puno. Weather sunny to slight overcast. Temperatures fromContinue reading “Change of direction toward Puno 1/21”

The other White City

Jan. 20, 2015. Clear until mid afternoon, high of 23 C, and a beautiful day. Chicago was called the White City because of the dazzlingly white plaster used on the exterior of buildings at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. Arequipa is called the White City because the oldest buildings were constructed of a paleContinue reading “The other White City”

Not all smooth sailing

Jan. 19, 2015 I thought getting stuck behind a cart full of plants was a problem. Ha ha ha ha ha. It was a ten hour day in the end, but so jam-packed with things to see and talk about that it wasn’t bad at all. We lost some time on the way to CamanaContinue reading “Not all smooth sailing”

From the desert coast to the White City, Arequipa

Jan. 19, 2015 The day started clear, sunny and hot with most of the day in the 80s F–27C and ended up at 52 F–11C at 10 pm. Today’s drive was constantly changing and surprising. Anticipating a long day, we left the Nazca Lines Hotel just before 8 am and immediately ran into a problem,Continue reading “From the desert coast to the White City, Arequipa”

Lima to Nazca! Jan. 18, 2015

Just south of Lima are several popular surfing and vacation beaches. Along the way, you can purchase anything you might have forgotten. There are also some peculiar decorative objects along the highway. It looks like an elaborate arrangement of plastic strips–on a telephone pole sized stand. There is NOTHING on the road to Nazca. WithoutContinue reading “Lima to Nazca! Jan. 18, 2015”