PERU - 12 to 24 January 2010

Introduction

Famous as the land of the Incas, Peru has a jaw-dropping mix of terrain – from coastal deserts that rise into glaciated Andean peaks to the steamy Amazon rainforests. Society is split between the mestizo and the mostly impoverished 45% indigenous peasants. We encountered friendly, helpful people and did not see any of the crime that Peru has become notorious for.

Background and History

Peru 's early inhabitants evolved from nomadic hunter and gatherers when they domesticated the Llama and potato between 7000 and 4000BC. Widespread settled communities developed along the coast with the Chavin culture dominant around 1000BC, and then the Paracas followed from 300BC for roughly 500 years. New heights of technology saw the Moche build pyramids in the north and the Nazca sculpt their lines in the south from 100-700AD. That's when the first Andean empire emerged with the Wari dominating for four centuries. During the next four centuries several states thrived, notably the Chimu along the coast and smaller warlike highland groups. The Inca Empire grew from the 12 th century until the 9 th Inca, Pachacutec's thirst for expansion in the 15 th century, led to their famed century of glory. That's when Europeans discovered the ‘ New World ' and smallpox and sibling rivalry for position of 12 th Inca started the empires downfall. The Spanish cavalry landed in 1532 and despite sporadic rebellions, what remained of the Inca Empire was forced to retreat into the jungle. Colonial Peru was initially tumultuous with conquistadors also fighting among themselves, then two centuries of relative peace followed until an indigenous uprising was brutally squashed in 1780. Colonists grew unhappy with Spain by the 1800's and liberators from the north and south eventually forced a Spanish surrender in 1826. Peru then lost a war with Chile and won some land from Ecuador during periods of civilian rule, coups and military dictatorships that lasted well into the 20 th century. The last few decades saw an onslaught of political turmoil and severe social unrest that was fuelled by money laundering, corruption and also disruptive guerrilla activities of the Maoist Sendero Luminoso (the Shinning Path).

Our Experience

Crossing into Peru was free, without hassles and over in an hour. By noon we had travelled across increasingly dry terrain for the 130km trip to Mancora. This popular beach resort town appears to be ‘organizing itself' and we were lucky to find a camping spot inside the safer grounds of Loki hostel. A backpackers dream with gorgeous bodies draped around the pool-bar and a party atmosphere, Loki had its first taste of kids! As the beach was rather crowded and just ok, the pool was our hangout with foosball, table tennis or billiards filling those bored moments. It was also great to meet up with our Australian mates from the Amazon trip, Mick and Steven. After the best cerviche (raw seafood marinated in lime, coriander and lots of chilly) the next day, we hit the road south towards Chiclayo . Poor communities were scattered along the Pan-American Highway which cut through the harsh desert landscape with the odd river or oasis providing green relief. An hour into darkness we found a parking spot for the night at a lonely restaurant with an interesting chapel and after doing 310km in 5 hours.

After some schooling the next morning, an hour's drive took us to Lambayeque which is just outside Chiclayo . This town has two interesting museums with artefacts of the Moche culture that lived in this area about 1500 years ago. We first visited the Brunning museum then the world class facility that showcases the dazzling finds of the gold-smothered Royal Tombs of Sipan, discovered in 1987. Chiclayo was just a crazy, congested city with a pretty Plaza de Armas, so we continued along the highway for 200km past dusty villages with unfinished buildings towards Trujillo . By late afternoon we camped at Huanchaco Garden , a safe lodging with wi-fi and RV parking around a pool that the kids enjoyed. This fishing village is a surfer's hangout and famous for its unique high-ended cigar-shaped little boats called caballitos that fisherman surf back to the beach with their catch.

The 15 th January we drove past a vast area of crumbling mud walls that once was Chan Chan , the 14 th century adobe city of the Chimu Empire. A few kilometres later, detours had us lost in Trujillo that still had the look of its founding in 1534. The stark desert scenery with different hues of brown and sand dunes or mountains that appear around each corner with the blue Pacific in the background, captivated us as each of the 380km's passed. That's until we passed through the towns, especially stinky Chimbote , Peru 's fishing port! 170km from the capital and after a failed attempt at entering the gas attendants safer enclosed garage as a result of Tipperdee's height, we were parked up at the station instead.

On the Saturday we hit Lima and its frenetic outskirts were just shantytowns until we found our way to the historical centre. Christened the city of Kings in 1535, central Lima is all colonial in character, especially around Plaza de Armas. As we arrived just before noon, we could watch the pomp of the changing of the guard at the Presidents Palace (Gobierno) which accidentally coincided with a colourful parade of traditional cultures as they celebrated the city's founding. A walk around the area also landed us at a food fare. We had to taste some local dishes and a carapulcra looked the juiciest – but although tasty, it was beef heart with potatoes in a red pepper sauce! The girls had to wash it down with the airiest sponge cake and fig preserve! After a visit to the museum of Spanish Inquisition that was used from 1570 to 1820 to torture political deviants in the name of the church, we were off through the glitzy seaside suburbs situated on a malecon (cliff). The suburb of Chorrillos was our planned ‘home' as Silvana Uceda, a friend of Michelle Muller in Denver , had organised parking with views over the beaches below. At Silvana's home with her mum and 2 daughters, we got a good taste of Peruvian life and food.

The next day we took a drive around upmarket Barranco to Miraflores ultramodern shopping mall LarcoMar that is built right into the oceanfront cliff with spectacular views. The evening Silvana's mum, Ana Maria, first softened us up with the national drink ‘pisco sour', a delicious cocktail made from pisco (a white grape brandy), egg white, lemon juice, syrup, crushed ice and decorated with cinnamon – needless to say, our tongues were loose! Then tamales followed and a typical Peruvian ‘aje de gallina' which is shredded chicken cooked in a chilli pepper. Lemon meringue pie finished off the meal perfectly! We ended up spending three nights camping on the cliff edge as Tipperdee's Timing Belt light lit up the Sunday and we spent Monday searching for a Toyota dealer, eventually having the T/Belt replaced, including a service at professional J.C. Lubricantes. Our final evening with this lovely family again started off with a pisco based cocktail, algarrobina that's made from the leaves of the algarrobo tree with evaporated milk, sugar and ice. A hearty minestrone soup with basil, meat, corn, noodles and just about every vegetable had us well nourished for our trek across the Andes !

Around 7am the next morning we set off on a 12 hour 540km journey down the Pacific coast and inland across the Andes . The first 440km via Pisco was through desert with a surprising amount of agriculture whenever water was present – with corn, tomatoes and vineyards (which supply's the grape for the Pisco!) flanking the Panamerican highway. Around lunchtime we did a 5km detour to Huacachina, a tiny typical oasis tourist village built around a green lagoon and towering sand dunes. This ‘gringo' playland is for sand-boarding and the kids attempted sliding down a dune but the sand was just too hot to even walk up!

2hours later we got an oblique view of the Nasca Lines - hands and a tree from an observation tower along the highway. Flights for better views of the hundreds of lines, geoglyphs and biomorphs was unfortunately outside our budget so this view of the lines in the rock strewn arid landscape had to suffice. Then we cut east for a 3hour 100km snaking climb up the Andes to 4040m (13300ft), often on a good gravel road. It was nerve racking not knowing if Tipperdee would have enough power at this altitude, but the service probably did the trick, as she did reasonably well.

Vicunas (a golden relative of the llamas, that isn't domesticated) started appearing this high up and as the sun set, the clean air revealed amazing colourful views. We found a parking spot along the road near a tollbooth and with symptoms of altitude sickness we settled in for the chilly night at 3700m.

Our departure the next day was delayed by a herd of cute llamas with little ones and randy males chasing the females for some action! Breathtaking diverse harsh Andean terrain then had us in awe for 11 hours as we covered 430km. The sparsely populated highlands with their grazing llamas saw us hit 4400m, and then we descended 2.5km into areas of patchy agriculture or dry forests punctuated by little villages.

At Abancay we again climbed ear-popping passes for 2km and down again when the dark of the night had us camped up in a tiny village of just 8 homes. We awoke to a cloudy, rainy day that persisted for a scenic 100km to Cusco . Hugging the mountain slopes and sliding into the valley floor at a lofty 3400m, the heart of the once mighty Inca Empire is a combination of colonial splendour built atop hefty Inca stone foundations. We found our way to a basic campsite perched over the city at QuintaLala. After settling in, we took a scenic walk down steep narrow cobble stoned streets to the city centre. The continents oldest continuously inhabited city is a tourist delight with a huddle of backpacker bars, cafés, cosy restaurants and gorgeous markets lining the ancient alleys. The foul weather lifted just enough for the city's heart to come alive around Plaza de Armas that is surrounded by 4 churches and ornate balconies that hover above colonial arcades.

A $5 3 course dinner that included trout, Andean soup and a very spicy stuffed bell pepper with mince (called rocoto relleno) while overlooking the centre scene was the perfect end to our day. The next day we had to return to the Cusco 's atmospheric streets to just soak up the architecture, snap some pics with colourful locals and their llamas, sample more local specialties like carne empanadas, and of course shop for the odd souvenir from the hundreds of arty shops. Then we had a most interesting cab ride back up to our campsite sampling coca leaves and a hard alkaline substance called Ilipta that helps to release the alkaloids that reduce fatigue, hunger and the effects of altitude.

After towing a German camper out of their muddy site, another scenic mountain drive via Urubamba took us to Ollantaytambo. Dominated by a massive Inca fortress above, this little village with its 700year old cobblestone streets, is as far as the road goes to Machu Picchu . Perurails' backpacker seats to Aguas Callientes, the jumping off point for the trek up to the awe-inspiring ancient ruins cost a ridiculous $230 for return train tickets for the 4 of us – the cheapest way if you don't hike for days! We spent the night camping in Hospedaje Los Portada's pathetic ‘camping area' – really just a narrow rubble heap of a driveway for $11. Around midday the next day on the 23/01/2010, we boarded the train after moving Tipperdee to a more decent overnight spot for $5. The 2 ½ hour scenic train journey hugged the rather angry Rio Urubamba River through the Sacred Valley to Aguas Callientes. Pressed for time, we boarded the bus for a 20min ride zigzagging up near vertical mountainous outcrops – again a hefty return ticket of $42 for the 4 of us. Then another $133 entrance fee and the ‘lost' Inca City of Machu Picchu that the west only discovered in 1911 unfolded!

All the expense and hassles were worth it – Machu Picchu is deservedly world famous for its location perched atop a mountain ledge and surrounded by drop off's and other vertical outcrops. But, when the rain lifted, and a rainbow appeared with hints of blue sky, this grandeur became the defining moment of our trip in the Americas ! The amazing craftsmanship of the stonework and inexplicable building techniques unfolded as we descended from the classic viewpoint of the hut of caretaker of the funerary rock. Building complexes existed for the royalty, with a residential area, industrial sector, prison group and numerous temples – notably to the sun, condor, and Intihuatana, which is a major shrine to the sungod with a sundial that was used for the passing of seasons. Due to the heavily booked ‘cheaper' train tickets to get here, we only had 1 ½ hours to savour this incredible sight before we were back down in Aguas Callientes by dusk. Some shopping and a pizza and we were tucked in under heavy blankets at a noisy hostal for our 5am return train ride to Ollantaytambo.

After breakfast in town, we drove along the flooding Rio Urubamba to Urubamba and through little Andean villages and corn plantations in the Sacred Inca Valley , to Pisac and back to Cusco – dodging fallen rock and debris from mudslides in the mountain passes. We continued southeast for another 400km, first climbing Abra La Raya pass to 4335m with views of the snow capped Cordillera Real until we found a wild camping spot at a gas station outside Juliaca. The last hour being in darkness, rain and on a badly potholed road – and that was after nearly colliding with a flock of sheep but unfortunately driving over one which brought the kids to tears.

On our final day in Peru , we negotiated our way through busy Juliaca and Puno and skirted South America's largest and one of the world's highest navigable lakes, Lake Titicaca . The drive took us through the stark plains of the highland altiplano and traditional Aymaran villages that dot the lake's south shore. Typically dressed Andean women in bowler hats attending to sheep or potato crops along the waters edge accompanied us to Yunguyo, the border town with Bolivia .

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