Peru:part 2

The pleasant alpine village scene

Having left Cusco we drove over some pretty heavy duty mountains. This time however they were green and pleasant to look over.   

Alpine village duck pond

In fact a couple of villages  we passed through, we saw a village scene that we could almost recognise from Europe, cows grazing in nice green pasture and sheep being herded down the main street past the pond with ducks on. On the flat tops of the mountains was grassland similar to that which you might see in the Alps.

Still at the top of the world

The road was difficult though as this is the only link between the cities of Cusco and Nascar. Tight winding roads and more sheer drops  only a few places to pass the slow moving trucks. Some times the overtakes were breath taking as we lumbered past at crawl speeds but still needing to complete the overtake before anything comes the other way. 

Meeting at the top of the world

On the way into Nazcar we bumped into a couple of bikers Jonathan and Cynthia from Mexico, these have to be the most unlikely Mexican names ever! and while we were chatting Juan Pablo, another biker from Colombia turned up and we had a very enjoyable chat before moving on.   

When we eventually cruised into Nazcar the land abruptly turned to beige arid desert.

The city itself seemed unremarkable as we struggled with dense unforgiving smoky traffic.

We overnighted in a petrol station where we again were treated to a bit of Peruvian niceness. Yes it was no trouble staying the night but we would have to pay to use the shower.no problem and the shower was good but as it turned out I would be crawling under the van for a time sorting out a minor repair. So I needed another one after that. As we went to leave we went to pay for the shower and the guy just said ‘nah that’s ok’

We have come across this kind of thing so many times, small gestures that you would rarely see in England.

‘Can I use your toilet pleeeze!’. ‘Nah it's staff only! Who's next’?

So suitably clean we went off to visit the Nazcar lines .

Nazcar Lines   

  

The Nazcar lines are an ever so ancient monument. 

At least a squillion years old, they are markings on the floor of the desert that have remained over hundreds probably thousands of years. 

     

                                                                                     

No one is really sure of their meaning they show drawings of creatures as well as some geometric marks that I presume are some kind of extra terrestrial landing strip. 

Are these messages to visitors? or were they made by visitors? who knows

These pictures are so vast they can only really be seen from the air. You can go by plane but it is expensive  and there are serious health warnings over the safety of the aircraft. 
So we wouldn’t be doing that on both grounds.

The viewing tower definitely better than nothing

The local authority has erected a viewing tower and we had a look from there. Evidently not as good. There were books on sale but very expensive and their purchase was not authorised. 

There are loads of pics online if you want to take a look. The Lines are right next to the PanAmerican Highway which we had just joined. So after this visit we set off once more.

The Pan American Highway is a really pleasant change it is a fast long distance often two lanes road with a good surface. So we were able to drive faster and more comfortably through the desert. We are now on our way to Lima the capital city of Peru. 

The Pan Americana bisects the Lines. Vandalism or necessity?

There are long stretches with 50 shades of 'beige' and then because rivers run through it from the mountains, suddenly you find the landscape is beautiful green with agriculture going on, most particularly, wine is grown here on an industrial scale.  I have never thought of Peruvian wine but they do seem to produce a lot here.

Selling fine wines to truck drivers

The vineyards are large and have a very industrial  appearance. Maybe a wine connoisseur will say different, 
I just tell you what I see.

The price of cheap chicken

The other product is not so pleasant. We started to notice long single storey buildings that were often 50 metres long. They really look like vast low marquees. There are a lot of them It took us a while to work out what they are. They are battery chicken farms clusters of these building some as far as the eye can see. 

I guess they are out in the desert as there plenty of space to expand  and no one will complain of the smell which is really awful and goes on for miles and miles!

Vast Chicken farms

 I have been told that at its peak Peru slaughters 4 million chicken in a day.

As we went on just following and luxuriating on the Pan Americana, letting the desert pass us by.  Then we passed through a cutting in the rock for about half a kilometre and then quite suddenly the scene changed.

The beautiful Pacific coast

A wide expanse of beautiful desert on one side, a modern highway running parallel and the Pacific ocean crashing over rocks. It was like we had just landed on another planet.

The modern Pan Americana It was a relief from some tough driving

The road then became 3 lanes each way divided road. Wow!

Along this road are many  resort towns with surfing and lovely wide sandy beaches and all that sort of thing, they are not specially attractive  but they are important business.

Surfs up,   Taxi !

As we moved further along we passed through the region that was particularly badly hit in the recent floods there is a lot of damage to be seen.

Dramatic flood damage The original road surface is no 5' up all the business,s around were washed away

What is really remarkable is how quickly much of this has been made to function again. Most notable is the big bridges that have been replaced in such a short time. 
But the huge piles of rubbish that adorn every town where it has just been bulldozed out of town, this will take a long time to clear. All this does not make mention of the lives that have been ruined or even lost.

This should have been the harvest but this is spoiled sugar cane. So many lorries like this

This was the time of year for the sugar cane harvest which is such an important crop  but as we saw load after load just dumped into trucks to my untutored eye it looks spoiled there are massive fires where the crops are being burnt. Large areas of towns where there were clearly a lot of buildings, but all gone.

As we continued the size and frequency of the chicken farms grew sometimes as far as the eye can see.

On down the highway we see hundreds of ‘Nodding donkey’ oil pumps a much more prosperous sign.

'Nodding Donkey' pump
The Peruvian oil industry is big around here

As we move towards Lima  the capital city the traffic intensifies  and the mad driving becomes more concentrated. 

People will carry absolutely anything on a tuk tuk. And they in turn keep everything moving.

Lima

Lima Traffic

Posing for a picture as we drove past dancers
as they prepared for a show

We arrived in Lima on a Sunday and the traffic was still awful especially after a very full day driving. The place that we were going to stay is located in a very pleasant suburb. When we got there they told us that they did not have space for our van, they only have a small space and there were already three other overlanders tucked in there. They gave us directions to another hostel but it turned out that they did not accommodate overlanders we could have a parking space but for £30 a night for a room. They suggested that we go and camp in the street by a park. They told us that it would be perfectly ok as it was regularly patrolled by security people.








We found the place it was a fairly busy street but it seemed ok and the park looked really interesting but it was getting dark. We had a visit from the security man who wanted to know what we were  planing but he seemed happy enough for us to be there.

The view from the van in the morning. Thousands of years of ancient culture

In the morning we looked out of the van to find that we had our very own ancient ruin right outside. It turned out that This was large temple from an ancient civilisation that predated the Incas by a couple of millenea. We could have a guided tour for £3 and this was such an interesting morning.

So much geometric  and beautiful ancient building

 The place is, like Machu Pichu, geometric in layout and was a kind of small town for Priests and astronomers. It was an engineering marvel In that it was built entirely of unfired mud bricks of a particular size and shape they used an unusual bond to lay the bricks the result of which is that it has withstood earthquakes over thousands of years and even one fairly recently which was 7.8 and much of the surrounding area was damaged or destroyed, but not this which remained undamaged. So that covers why it was so interesting, but it is also incredibly  beautiful.

Rooftop to rooftop. The span of thousands of years of culture

It seems that it had remained neglected for many years nestled in the heart of this massive city but had relatively recently begun restoration. We were so lucky to happen across it.

Preparing lunch , Ancient Lima style.

After our tour we returned to the hostel that we had been turned away from as we had arranged to take the place of someone who was leaving. It turned out to be such a nice place.  We were able to take a walking tour of the city which was very interesting but quite complicated.

The whole city is vast the population is about 10 million which is about a third of the population of Peru. Some 50 km long  it sprawls away into the desert.

Platform for those express buses

Those buses

To take our tour we had to travel into the centre  which is about 15 km into town.

Lima has an interesting transport system. Fast buses operate on specific main routes but they work a bit like a railway. You get on and off at platforms  and the buses run along special lanes at the side of the main roads. Because there are no obstructions  they run at breakneck speeds. 

Ping will hate this , someone only
Gave her a seat as she is senior!

Always packed solid with passengers they hurtle down these lanes and then brake violently at the platform stops. Passengers then have to force their way off the bus. I  believe that what they should do is when they are breaking at the platforms they should open the front doors so that as they come to a halt passenger should stand ready and as the bus stops they will be forced forward  and ejected out of the front of the bus. |it would save a lot of time and fuss, thereby pretty much perfecting this rapid transit system. Simple. 

The magnificent Central square Lima

We had the walking tour which took us into several beautiful historic churches. As well as the wonderful main square, which has a lovely fountain that once dispensed an alcoholic drink called Pisco, now it only squirts water.

Wonderful military display it was really fun

Photobomb!!!!

We were treated to the changing of the guard at the presidential palace. A more modest affair than in London but it was pretty good and we could get up close and see everything. The music was great and the drill was a real spectacle. 

The main river that allows Lima to live and thrive

We learnt that Lima is built in a desert and that it depends on its main river for water.  The river runs the length of the city.

 A young cop just helping out here, So nice!

We went to a cultural centre and museum which is open to all and is in what was once the very elegant railway station. 

The old railway station now a literary centre

Our chums vans,  a 1997 Peugeot and modern Mercedes complete
with film editing facilities and dogs

Back at our lodgings , The Hitch hikers Hostel we  got to know our fellow travellers a little. Patrick who was travelling with two of the best trained dogs I have come across. He runs a film production company in America. He is able to do this kind of travelling by editing films via the internet. In his big Mercedes Unimog truck he has his editing suite as well as living accommodation.

Erika and Andreas

Singing with Christina

While in town we happened to meet two people Burkhard and christine that we had met before. They were treating themselves to a nice hotel with a proper shower but they were ready to get back to their van. We were able to get them to come into the same place as us. As space was vacated we were joined by a Swiss couple Erika and  Andreas…… who were travelling in a lovely old, early 1970s Peugeot van. 

Also there was Marcel who had become stuck because of problems with his South African passport. He was an interesting and helpful guy, very experienced and with a wide range of skills having been the driver? and guide with professional overland tour companies like Dragoman and Encounter Overland. Marcel has written a book about some of his experiences in Africa. His book is available online  you can contact him marcellc67@gmail.com

We had a very pleasant social scene for two or three days  most enjoyable.

We did have to move on and we had to drive more than 2 hours across town to join the Pan Americana once more. The drive across town was pretty traumatic. 

Leaving Lima

We continued along the Pacific coast for a couple of days until we arrived at the border with Equador.