My trip in Peru

content:
photos:
Vote this travel review

This trip we did I and my wife as far back as 1997, with backpackers and adventure completely organizing principle in the path to be taken home and then decide on accommodations from country to country. We chose the center-south region of Peru as a destination of our journey leaving out the Amazon and the north.

Peru is not an easy journey and the unexpected are commonplace. The important thing is not to be taken by anxiety and stress (the ones you need to leave them at home) trying to get into the mentality instead of the Andean people capable of facing any obstacle without losing calm.

Among the many trips made by me in Central and South America, this is what has fascinated me most, whether in the heat of the pueblo can donarti a smile at all times, whether in the extreme beauty of the landscape, varied and always be eternally discovered.

The arrival in Lima we had a little 'dazed, partly because we were from a long flight from Rome with a stopover in New York and the jet lag was made to feel great.

The capital is not particularly attractive and not the traveler accustomed to scenes of poverty could even find it horrible, but some glimpses of the old town is really delicious: Plaza de Armas (Plaza Mayor called today), the Cathedral, the Convent of St. Francis, the beautiful cloister of Santo Domingo, the old palace of the government rebuilt several times due to earthquakes and fires, the Palazzo Comunale with beautiful inlaid wooden balconies.

A friendly taxi driver, after having contracted the price (as with every thing else) we have the Gold Museum, the most important private collection of jewelry and objects of pre-Columbian art.

Poverty is behind every corner and become accustomed to constant requests for money from the beautiful children, often under the influence of glue, it is very difficult. The interior of Peru is considerably better in this respect. But Lima is still suffering, despite the false proclamations of his Government, by a multitude of social problems.

We leave the capital to head by bus to the south along the Panamericana. Outside Lima witnessing the degradation of the largest slums of South America and the anger in us body away powerless. Our first goal is to Pisco.

Here we know many nice people, including a Spanish owner of the Posada Hispana, which gives us many useful information for the trip, as well as addresses of houses where you can sleep. Children are a unique sympathy. We drag them practically in the local marketplace and protect us from any pickpockets. Pisco is charming with its colorful though very poor, but poverty much more dignified than the Capital. Here is the famous liquor (the Pisco) high degree of alcohol and after a good plate of sevice (fish marinated with lime) is precisely what we want.

From Pisco we faced our first tour which tenevamo much. The Paracas National Reserve, with its sand dunes inhabited by beautiful pink flamingos (wonderful to see them turn up in the air all together), the Inca cemetery of Chauchilla with the mummified bodies, the beauty of the Ballestas Islands, once used for the collection of guano , now inhabited only by sea lions, seals, pelicans, penguins and a variety of other birds.

The vision of the candelabrum (designed on the mountain and visible only from the sea) is something fantastic.

In Ica, Pisco reached from the bus, we visited the museum where the villages are rebuilt the ancient peoples who inhabited this coast with a lot of incredibly preserved mummies.

A Nazca for $ 50 we rented a small airplane that has allowed us to fly over the famous lines as mysterious. The pilot, though a little 'crazy, has enabled us to take wonderful pictures. From the ground are practically invisible, so we recommend watching from above while in flight accidents are not so rare.

We have also given a quick tour of the laboratories of gold miners, where you can buy nice handmade local events with the typical stone of the desert of Nazca. The prices are really insignificant and do not buy anything it would be a pity.

We travel by night bus in the direction of Arequipa (10 hours !!!). Go from sea level to 5000 meters. then descend to 2500 meters. is unproven. Un mate de coca to quell'altitudine is essential to avoid frequent headaches and warm your bones.

The white city, well known as perhaps the color of its buildings, it's beautiful, at the foot of the volcano Misti (6000 mt.). Unfortunately, due to fierce dysentery ce we enjoyed the little but of colic and another, we were able to visit the Plaza des Armas and the Monastery of Santa Catalina, an old monastery of cloistered nuns. We are also in the midst of a festival with a fashion show with local music and the Andes.

Through a book a place on the bus that will take us to Puno tomorrow, but we discover with great regret that this place has been sold several times to other people. These things often captain in Peru, so it is better to be in the very early departures.

Despite the peaceful discussions about who is entitled to a place we all start with an overcrowding that borders on the absurd, between children and chickens svolazzanti screaming.

The trip on the Andean landscape is something wonderful between blade graze peacefully and we sway on that bumpy road. As expected the bus, a few kilometers from Lima and we are implacably dies when it is already evening. We do not break down at all, the whole load on his shoulders and went left us alone in total darkness with a temperature of -15 degrees (the Niño was relentless during this trip, the sun, but cold). Fortunately there by a passing a car that was passing by the parties and despite a puncture and a change of the wheel completely in the dark, we arrive in Puno to midnight. Our board does not see our reach, he thought good to yield our room and not to risk frostbite to die there is a temporary accommodation for the night.

Mate and hot in bed ...

We are at almost 4000 meters. altitude and are felt in all. Any movement is very difficult until you get used to. In this, the mate de coca and helps a lot for any headaches caused the altitude, it is advisable to buy a bag of coca leaves to the local market and some chew or dip, and place them on the temples. A real cure.

Puno is really pretty, with a wonderful market where you can buy everything with only a few, as well as fruit, vegetables and grains of all kinds and a thousand colors, such that it seems like everything came from the hands of a painter. The rooms are very comfortable and at night there's always some band that gladdens us with Andean music.

From Puno follows ............