Llywindatravels 2025

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 from 23 down to 14 degrees. Car still overheating, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference.

Within an hour of leaving Arequipa we found ourselves in the puna, high altitude grassland that stretches for miles up to the Misti volcano that overlooks Arequipa. Part of this area is a reserve for vicuna and guanaco, the wild relatives of llama and alpaca. I thought Jonathan was kidding when he said, “There’s vicuna, pull over!” We watched the six animals graze for a while. Later we saw mixed flocks, mostly alpaca, but also the occasional sheep, cow and perhaps llama or guanaco. We saw a sharply variegated black and white hawk and Chilean flamingos wading in shallow lakes.

We arrived in Puno around 2:30 pm and were resting by 3. We benefitted from our two days in Arequipa but Puno is 3850 m, about 1500 m higher than Arequipa. You pant going up stairs, sometimes your fingers and toes tingle and you have a slight headache. I hope this will pass overnight. We walked down to the Plaza de Armas and found a pasacalle in full swing. A man carrying a decorative banner announcing the group led men wearing black and white and playing Andean flutes that look like oversized recorders. Beside and behind came two rows of women dancing and whirling in traditional highland multitiered skirts, pollera, singing along with the music. Two women led, marked by wearing many more skirts than the others. The group danced their way around the Plaza, past the cathedral, down the street and away.

We ate dinner at Mojsas, where I had quinoa soup and Jonathan had alpaca with potatos and a stripe of blueberry (sauco)- chocolate reduction. Very good. The place filled with foreigners as we sat, more languages than we could identify.

Puno spreads up a hillside in sectors that join along the lake. That means that the walk to almost anywhere is uphill, so we huff and puff from place to place. The cathedral is nicely lit at night, and I could see the crescent moon behind it.

This is high altitude weather, cold in the morning, hot at midday and cold again as soon as the sun sets. Since it’s the rainy season, it has been raining every evening, and for a while in the morning, but much of the day is clear and bright.

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 pale cream colored volcanic tuff, called sillar locally. It may once have made the city look white, but there is so much newer construction that though the old buildings are lovely the city doesn’t really look white. Some of the historic structures are preserved by their current tenants–banks that have taken pride in restoring the ornately carved facades.

Jesuit church, 1698

20 th century theater

Jonathan and I enjoyed a relaxing day both to let his stomach settle and to get used to the altitude. 2000 m is not painful, but we did feel a bit dizzy standing up at first. I also forgot that I had only been able to get Diamox pills in 250 mg size and the dose is half that. Before I remembered that part we had each taken a double portion. Who knows what that caused. My fingertips tingled a bit but now I’m fine. Our hotel, Los Tambos, is very small but nice–possibly because we seem to be the only guests. There is a cafe and balcony on the 4th floor with a view over the rooftops of the city. It’s not Cuzco–the rooftops are pretty miscellaneous, but I enjoyed it very much.

We had coffee at La Boveda, a cafe frequented by old men who drink tiny cups of expresso and debate–everything. If we stayed for more than two days Jonathan would be sitting with them. No, we did not visit the Starbucks. We had dinner in another restaurant that overlooks the cathedral and Plaza de Armas. They offer guests ponchos to keep warm while sitting on the terrace–a great idea.

 

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 Camana when traffic was stopped dead on a mountainside by a woman swathed head to toe in bright orange. We needed to wait a half hour so that the stripes on the road could be repainted. On the bright side, I pulled ahead of about 20 trucks and their disgruntled drivers to get up to the front to find out what was going on. In Peru, women are seen to be the best enforcers, they direct traffic, hand out parking fines, and manage road blocks. Women are considered more resistant to bribes than men.

We ate lunch while standing around, stretched our legs and finally got going again after we watched all the traffic going downhill let through first–despite there being two lanes. After that we set off, to find that the painting team had probably painted 500 yards of stripes on the road during the better part of an hour when all traffic was stopped.

Meanwhile, we decided to try and get to Arequipa with a broken thermostat in the car, because car repair is difficult late on a Sunday afternoon in Nazca. The gauge swung up and down without much reference to speed, use of A/C or gear ratio, though we turned off the A/C and opened the windows when the thermostat went into the red zone periodically. As we neared Arequipa (2,000 m) the air cooled off quite a bit, though the car did not, but we made it, and a mechanic that the front desk found for us came by the hotel at 3:30 pm today (now Tues) to make the repair. He replaced the thermostat (original to the vehicle in 2002), replaced the radiator cap and tightened the fan belts, for $70 including parts.

 

 

 

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, literally.

This is a bicycle cart of ornamental plants. The driver decided to pull it across the bridge rather than ride it.

The desert beyond Nazca continued in all directions. The exceptions are the river valleys, few in number and widely spaced. One of the first we passed through was the Yauca Valley, entirely planted in olive trees right out to the edge of the desert (We bought olives). Further along, the Ocona and Camana Valleys are the electric green of rice.

We bought olives from a roadside stand.

For almost 200 km (100 miles) between Chala and Camana, the rocky coast alternates with sandy beaches. The road curves up and down through hairpin curves to cross the rocky headlands that jut into the ocean. There were sections that we imagined were like driving through the Cinque Terre of Italy with one difference–there is no one there. NO ONE. One hundred miles of empty beach and rocky shore.

The water was beautiful green and blue. This photo was my attempt to show the color that I think of as Winslow Homer blue–it’s not just the waters of New England. Mile after mile of beaches and rocky outcrops.

Then we started up toward Arequipa, both of us surprised at the sand. In some places the dunes have filled in behind the retaining walls intended to hold back the sand to a height of more than 2 meters. Sandbags are perched on top of the retaining walls to prevent sand from sliding over the top and covering the road, but it’s only a matter of time until nature wins.

The approach to Arequipa includes a view of the optimistically named Cerro Verde mine. Only the tailings are visible, dominating the landscape until you reach the city.

We found our hotel Los Tambos, and ended having dinner in a rooftop cafe overlooking the cathedral towers.

After errands, we went to the Larcomar cinema down the street and saw the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD presentation of The Merry Widow, with Renee Fleming, Nathan Gunn, Kelli O’Hara and Alek Shrader. Spanish supertitles, but the opera was in English! Our lucky day. So does Nathan Gunn look more like George Clooney or Castle?

It was an excellent performance, one of those events where you don’t really need to enjoy opera to appreciate the music, singing, dancing and all-around fun. You leave the theater humming.

We met our friends Mario and Carmela and their daughters Alicia (7) and Silvia (1 1/2). It was our first meeting with Silvia and today they were a contrast. Alicia was as full of words as ever while Silvia was quietly observing all that went on.

Dinner at Ko Asian Kitchen in Larcomar. Nothing to write home about.

Last minute shopping, I passed more great street art. These flank the entrance to a parking lot:

 

Walking around the Miraflores neighborhood, I am constantly reminded of changing times. Large single family homes dating between 1920-1960 are being replaced by 6-10 story apartment buildings. Often an old house has a sign out front that says “Approved for 8 stories” below the “for sale.”

Houses like the one at left show the European influence in architecture of that earlier period as well. Newer structures are all built in contemporary concrete/cement and fashion tends toward sleek, eurostyle shapes and furnishings.

Lima’s population reflects some of that earlier era, as well. There are clearly delineated social strata in Peru–most visible in Lima–where European background provides social advantage. The society pages in the main newspaper “El Comercio” show faces that you could see in Miami, FL or Miami, OH. It is faintly disturbing to fail to see anyone who looks like the vast majority of the Peruvian people. No one talks about indigenous, or native, or local ancestry. No one mentions relatives that come from the highlands or the “country” unless a hacienda is mentioned, or unless they are close enough friends that class is understood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A long chat with the owner of the Barcelona restaurant revealed that he speaks six languages and worked on cruise ships. One of his first days as a cruise ship waiter, each of his tables had people speaking different languages and he became so confused he had to hide in a stairwell to sort out what to say. We saluted his skill with a Pisco sour, the national cocktail of Peru.

We are staying at the Hotel Senorial, where we have stayed regularly since we first visited Peru 15 years ago. The best thing about the Senorial is the outdoor dining room where breakfast is served, and the attractive landscaping. The hotel has grown from fifteen rooms to more than fifty, losing its alpaca blankets and a lot of charm along the way. We stick with it because it has secure parking and friendly staff members, a few of whom have been here longer than we have. The owner parks his classic car outside our room.

Weather report for Lima: High 74 deg F, low 67. Overcast from air pollution.

You don’t really have to abandon all hope, but you are best off if someone else is driving. Lima drivers don’t have much use for lane lines. They like to turn left, or right, from the middle lane if there are three or more lanes. They live for excitement.

Lima has many good things about it, one of which is public art. There is a lot of new public art since we last visited. This is on Av. Larco in Miraflores.

Manolo’s is a cafe known for hot chocolate and churros, and pretty good for a meal. Tourist prices, but we split a club sandwich and only made it through half. Jonathan is happy to be embarking on our adventure, though we realize that we are not used to eating out regularly and need to figure out how we will do this. We usually go to a place and rent an apartment, so that he can visit the market and cook. This time we are on the road for quite a few days. Most hotels come with breakfast to get us started.

For dinner we went to Ache, a Japanese place at the base of the Hilton in Miraflores. It is fine for sushi beginners (very fresh, but a small selection). The flambeed roll tasted like lighter fluid, and when I told the waiter it tasted funny from the flambee, he suggested it was the oyster sauce. I don’t think he eats much sushi. The chef sent us a half order of something different and we called it even.