Conquistando el valle de Colca. |
The Viceroyalty of Peru was formed by the current territories of Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Panama and Peru. Francisco Pizarro the conquistador, good for some people, bad for some other people, conquered the Inca Empire in 1533 with capital in Cuzco. Pizarro decided to move the capital to the desertic Lima. There, Spanish people started building palaces, churches, cathedral, convents and many other buildings with spanish style.
El Candelabro, 130 metros de alto. |
Peru is a very big country with many places to visit from the coast to the jungle going through the countryside. If you have time and lots of money then you can do it all, if that's not your case (it is not mine) then you will have to choose among many options: Nazca lines or Machu Pichu or Colva valley or Titicaca lake or 5 days boat trip to Iquitos or spanish cities like Arquipa or Ica desert or many others. As Socrates said "I know that I know nothing", so after 2 weeks in Peru I can say "I know that I I have seen nothing". I like Peru, its charming people and its food.
En el desierto de Ica. |
Lima is a seaside city with the cold ocean Pacific. Now, it is winter so only good for surfers. Lima has very different districts from bohemian to financial or historic but also very dangerous distrists not recommended to tourists. I liked the city so I stayed there for few days discovering its places and going out with my limeña friend, Maria. I tried peruvian food, danced salsa and ate lots of churros. I think my dad would never stop eating them!!!
Preparado para sandboarding. |
Me fui a Pisco y visite las Islas Ballestas donde puedes ver pinguinos humboldt, focas y millones de pajaros. De alli se saca el guano que se exporta a otros paises para la agricultura. Por eso, me puse mi pañuelo para evitar cualquier cagada de los pajaros. Ya sabeis como son, la dejan caer mientras pasan y si te he visto no me acuerdo. En Ica visite el desierto y me aventure con un buggy, como el de Mad Max, bajando y subiendo dunas (las mas altas del mundo) rezando para que no voltee el coche y realizar "sandboarding".
I went to Pisco and visited Ballestas islands where I saw humboldt penguins, sealions and millions of birds. From that island they pick guano and export to other countries for agriculture. That's why I put my scarf on my head to protect from the birds. You know how they are, they shit on you and go away. After Pisco I went to Ica and visited the desert with the biggest dunes in the world and took a buggy driving up and down (not me) through the dunes. It was really funny!
Plaza de Armas, Arequipa. |
Finally, I got to Arequipa and met again my friend Cesar. I met Cesar few months ago while I was travelling through Turkey back in November. We celebrated the encounter with wine from Chile, he did not allow me to buy peruvian chile as it is really bad, and a good conversation. After drinking I think our conversation made not much sense but we kept talking. I hope we did not bore Elise, our french friend.
Con mis amigos Cesar, Elise, Lea, Mel y Olga, en Arequipa. |
Visite el valle de Colca por recomendacion suya y alli pase tres dias de senderismo por la sierra peruana con Elise. Alli el idioma principal es el quechua (si, la marca de decathlon) y el segundo el castellano y el aymara. Hombres y mujeres de todas las edades que caminan por senderos, no hay carreteras, durante horas para llegar a otros pueblos. Utilizan burros que cargan hasta 80 kilos para transportar comida u otros. Nosotros los turistas y viajeros llevamos ropa The North Face que cuesta 200 dolares por una chaqueta, 150 dolares por las botas, 100 dolares por los pantalones, backpacks de 60 litros con diferentes accesorios, litros de agua, barras enegeticas, protector solar, rodilleras y lo llamamos trekking. Ellos van con ropa tradicional y sandalias y lo llaman "Ir al otro pueblo".
I went to Colca valley recommended by Cesar and I spent three days there trekking in the peruvian countryside. There, the main language is quechua and second spanish or aymara. Men and women of all ages walk through paths, there are no roads yet, for hours to get to other villages. They use burros (donkeys) to transport goods. We, tourists and travellers, wear The North Face clothes as 200 dolars waterproof jacket, 150 dolars boots, 100 dolars trousers, 60 litres backpacks, lots of water, energetic bars, sun cream, kneepad and we call it trekking. They were traditional clothes made of alpaca wool, sandals, a radio, a cloth hung to the shoulder and they call it "Go to the next village".
Medio de transporte en el valle. |
Para finalizar esta entrada hablare de la gastronomia peruana. Aun siendo vegetariano puedo acceder a un gran numero de platos o alimentos tipicos peruanos deliciosos: caigua, salteñas, chaufa, churros con crema pastalera, papas rellenas, toda la variedad de sus frutas tropicales como papaya, piña, mangos, guaba... y para terminar el delicioso aguacate, aqui llamado palta. Aguacates que se extienden sobre el pan como la mantequilla, verdaderamente, un manjar. No puedo parar de comer aguacates! Otras frutas como la granadina, lucuma, pacai, el platano de seda... interminable.
To finish this post I will talk about the peruvian gastronomy. Even though I am vegetarian I can try many different dishes and tipical food as caigua, salteñas, chaufa, churros con crema pastelera, papas rellenas, a wide variety of tropical fruits like papaya, pineapple, mangos, guaba... and the best ever avocado, here called palta. Avocados are so good here and you can even spread it on the bread as if it was butter. Just delicious! Can't stop eating avocados. Also, many other fruits as granadina, lucuma, pacai, bananas de la seda... endless.
To finish this post I will talk about the peruvian gastronomy. Even though I am vegetarian I can try many different dishes and tipical food as caigua, salteñas, chaufa, churros con crema pastelera, papas rellenas, a wide variety of tropical fruits like papaya, pineapple, mangos, guaba... and the best ever avocado, here called palta. Avocados are so good here and you can even spread it on the bread as if it was butter. Just delicious! Can't stop eating avocados. Also, many other fruits as granadina, lucuma, pacai, bananas de la seda... endless.
Josefina de 67 años bajando el sendero del valle. |
Impresionada por las vistas. |
Con energia renovada y sabiendo que estoy en la ultima parte de mi vuelta al mundo me siento lleno de ilusion y motivacion para seguir descubriendo este pais.
Full of energy and knowing that this is the last part of my world tour I feel full of excitement and motivation to keep discovering this amazing country.
Focas en Isla Ballesta. |
Take care,
Roman.
PD: El titulo de la entrada Waka Waka, eh eh! se debe a que Lima esta llena de huacas, mas de 300 y muchas mas por descubrir, que son reliquias sagradas de barro en forma de piramide como centros de adoracion o tumbas con mas de 2000, 3000 o 4000 años.
PS: The title of this post Waka waka, eh eh! is because Lima is full of huacas, more than 300 and more to discover, and they are old sacred relics mud made with pyramid shape and used as worship places or graves older than 2000 years.
Una de las dunas mas altas del mundo. |
Increible valle de Colca. |
Desierto de Ica. |
Hola Roman!
ReplyDeleteI didn't read your blog for a little time, and you have already done around 1000 Km.
Enjoy your trip and greetings from Milan!
Ludo
Hola ludo,
DeleteGrazie mille.
Si, I sono fato molti kilometri. Encora piu kilometri a fare.
Chi vediamo a la Espagna.
Roman.