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Published: August 24th 2007
Sours and Santa Cruz - - Peru & Bolivia
Peru
Our arrival in Peru came after a 24+ hour bus ride from Guayaquil, Ecuador to Lima, Peru. Our bus rambled past swaths of cocoa and banana trees in Ecuador and vast expanses of sand & desert in Peru. I never knew the extent of the deserts in Peru until I saw massive sand dunes that, arguably, could rival those of the Sahara (despite crossing my fingers, no mirages of palm trees and pina coladas appeared though!).
We spent our time in Lima in an area called Miraflores, a place recommended by Andrea, a counselor at the American School in Lima that we’d met in the Galapagos. During our short stay, we lucked out and stumbled upon a celebration at Parque Kennedy - - ”Pisco Sour Weekend” (a cocktail made with a regional brandy, Pisco) - - where they created the “World’s Biggest Pisco Sour.” Faced with alcohol history in the making, we could do nothing but oblige! Both Peru and Chile claim Pisco Sour as their national drink so it is the subject of heated debates, media coverage, and national pride for both. For us it was a beautiful day
Landscape of Peru
City of Cusco in the backgroundout in the park with music, art and refreshing beverages! (So thank you Peru and/or Chile!)
Our Peruvian journey continued south to Cusco. As we flew in, the Andes Mountains jut up in a dramatic, spectacular manner. Cusco is a very charming city spreading out from a square surrounded by cathedrals, historic buildings, shops, etc. We ate lunch on one of the many restaurant balconies overlooking the plaza, watching the colorfully dressed locals, some with trailing goats, kids splashing about in the fountains, lost backpackers searching for their hostels or considering the multitude of tourist agencies always promising the best trip to Macchu Picchu or the Peruvian rainforest.
Of course, no trip to Peru is complete without a trip to the Incan ruins of Macchu Picchu. Like the trip to the Galapagos, I usually have a cautious sense of skepticism regarding these sites. Can they really be as magnificent as the hype? Apparently, my skepticism has been proven wrong once again! When we arrived at 6:30 am, the mystical cloud covering hung like a blanket over the valley but when it parted -- WOW!!! (For the fellow San Francisco peeps: think heavy, dense fog over the Golden Gate Bridge but
Taquile Island plaza in Lake Ttiticaca
This island is only 4 miles long and less than 1 mile wide when the clouds part - - gorgeous! stunning! breathtaking!). I still can’t get over how quickly the cloud cover appears and then disappears. Over our half day of touring, the ruins disappeared and reappeared too many times to count. We shared our tour with the resident llamas, alpacas (look like small llamas), and the oddest looking animal (food/animal/vegetable?) I’d ever seen - - this one would have stumped Darwin! It looked like a rabbit had gotten frisky with a rat that had a squirrel as a parent!!! After doing some internet research, I found out this odd little mountain mammal was part of the Chinchilla Family.
Another gem of Peru is Lake Titicaca - - so vast and clear! Lake Titicaca is not only very large but is the highest, navigable lake in the world at 12,500+ feet. It actually looks more like an ocean than a lake. To give you Californians perspective it’s about 17x the size of Lake Tahoe! Other unique characteristics of the lake include a group of islands made of floating reeds where the native Uros people still call home. The islands are maintained by continually adding fresh reeds to the top as the reeds on
Chaos of Peruvian streets
This scene reminded me of New Delhi, India the island bottom wear away. Everything from their huts, their boats, their snacks and their handicrafts are made of these Totora reeds. We also visited a small island on Lake Titicaca called Amantani (pop. 800 families) where we stayed overnight with a local family. It was a gorgeous, peaceful island with the view and topography that reminded us of a Mediterranean paradise. Here we met more wonderful locals (and fellow visitors from the American School in Lima - - at this point, we‘d met the majority of the school’s staff!). Our time on the island included a sunset hike to an amazing 360º view and a community dance where even us guests dressed in traditional garb. Now, if we could only get some dancing rhythm, we’d be set! Puno is known as the city of festivals and it did not disappoint. A national dance festival was unfolding in front of our eyes with crowds flocking to the streets to watch the performers. We also visited Taquile Island where no vehicles are allowed. Everything is transported by foot in huge bundles on the backs of people and animals up steep inclines. The men on this island are known for their weaving
skills, knitting woolen hats depicting their marital status. Now ladies, if we could only get them to cook!!
Inevitably, people ask us about unusual items we’ve eaten during our travels. For Peru, that would probably include the Peruvian delicacy of cuy (aka, guinea pig. Yes, of the Habit Trail variety!). Usually guinea pigs conger up the image of a childhood pet. Maybe a fuzzy creature that occupied a stinky cage in a corner of your bedroom, but not a sumptuous meal! The full guinea pig (teeth and all) was deep fried and paired with a plum sauce. I’m guessing Rachael Ray will not be adding this to her repertoire anytime soon. In fact, you just never know where you might see your dinner. One day, as we explored some Peruvian alleyways in the Macchu Picchu gateway city of Aquas Calientes, a mischievous (and, apparently, clever!) dog came bolting down the street with a cuy he had snatched from an unsuspecting restaurateur…the cuy firmly in his jaws…a frantic restaurant chef hot on its heels…the canine took a wrong turn, got confused and dropped the squealing cuy…to be retrieved 30 seconds later by the cook!
The chef was delighted and an unsuspecting
I love those derby hats!
The story goes that in the 1920's a shipment of bowler hats was sent from Europe to Bolivia for Europeans who were working on construction of the railroad. The hats were found to be too small and were distributed to locals. diner would be treated to a canine-tenderized cuy later that evening! (No extra cost for the tenderizing!)
Bolivia
Our first stop in Bolivia was Copacabana (not the one of Barry Manilow fame, we will visit multiple Copacabana locations on our South American journey but, unfortunately, none bearing the Manilow distinction!). We are now in a different country but still on enormous Lake Titicaca. During our visit in the off-season, Copacabana is a quiet, peaceful town with outdoor trout eateries lining the lake. The town is home to a large 16th-century shrine, the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana. Our Lady of Copacabana is the patron saint of Bolivia so the church is a popular spot for year-round festivals and religious pilgrims. From Copacabana, we journeyed by boat to Isla del Sol. In Incan mythology, Isla del Sol is figured as the place of their origin and several important Inca ruins exist on the island. As we explored the island and its ruins, I also came across the most wonderful flowers that looked just like a little pair of shoes aptly named zapatos. (Girls just love their shoes!)
La Paz, Bolivia, at 11,800+ feet, has bragging rights as the highest
The Cathedral on Plaza 24 de Septiembre
The church both Katia & Carmen were married in! capital in the world (in elevation). We spent our brief time there wandering the outdoor, night markets searching out any and all food. Let me just say…Bolivia is NOT known for its culinary feats. But I could not get enough of the street food - - from the 5 cent ice cream cones to the 75 cent fruit salad medleys to the one dollar grilled sausage and onion sandwiches, I was insatiable. I ate like a queen for under $3! (And I have a bulging but very happy belly to prove it!) As we wandered about, we saw some odd sights: the witches markets outfitted with shriveled animal fetuses, potions and elixirs. There were also huge clusters of similar businesses. One street I coined “Barbershop Boulevard” with over 50+ barbers in one square block! Many native Bolivians (and Peruvians!) boast such remarkable, colorful dress many donning unique hats and bundles on their backs filled with such an assortment of items. You could see a bundle of lettuce next to a baby’s face poking out! So as in most countries, sitting on the plaza steps, people-watching was a favorite pastime of mine.
During our visit, Bolivia was having unbelievable, unseasonable rainstorms.
With only about 5% of the country’s roads being paved in the first place, washed out roads and bridges were creating a transportation nightmare for most of the country. Despite the crazy weather, we managed to arrive in the city of Santa Cruz unscathed. Our purpose of going to Santa Cruz was to visit old family friends. As background, my aunt and uncle hosted a Bolivian exchange student, Katia, 25 years ago and then hosted Katia’s niece 15 years later. We were in Santa Cruz to see Katia and Michelle’s families. The buzz is that South American hospitality is unmatched. After our Santa Cruz visit, I can say with 100% certainty, that this rumor is true! It would not be an exaggeration to say that Jason and I were treated like royalty. In fact, they made it near impossible for us to ever want to leave the comfort of Bolivia! During our stay, we had a packed social calendar. If I was to ever imagine a schedule of a socialite, this would be it. Between our sightseeing tours (including stops to the many beautiful Jesuit Missions), lunch parties, dinner parties, Carnaval-themed parties, and so on, we not only got to
Dreaming
Lake Titicaca meet all the wonderful members of Katia and Michelle’s families but fortunate enough to meet many of their charming friends. All of them seem so passionate, knowing that family, friends, laughter, good food and drink make for a very good life. I just hope that they all come to visit so we can repay their incredible hospitality.
One of the many unexpected treats of Santa Cruz was its fabulous food. Santa Cruz is known for its cattle ranching so, as expected, Bolivia boasts great steaks. These were not just great steaks though - - they were the BEST steaks I’ve ever had in my life! Since our love for the red meat was apparent, even against our continued protests, each of us were served TWO steaks at every meal! Again, I don’t normally think of Bolivia as a food mecca, but we had some food that has to be mentioned for future Bolivian travelers. We were treated to delicious duck risotto, Dolly’s chocolate tortes (to die for!), and delightful Barbossa cheese biscuits (great for dunking in coffee & tea) where we had to take a muddy, little road in a rainstorm to get to but were not disappointed!
Another funny
thing we did in Bolivia was see a movie. Not just any movie but a Rocky Balboa movie! Now, I’m a big fan of the RB movies but was unaware that another one had even been made! It was a surreal experience to be in Santa Cruz, Bolivia watching Sylvester Stallone on the streets of Philadelphia (my good friend, Craig, from Philadelphia should appreciate this one!).
Bolivia and Peru were magnificent. As with all the countries, our biggest complaint is that we never enough time to see and do it all. I guess we’ll just have to make a return trip someday. I think it’s got to be a sign that American Airlines just started non-stop flights from Miami to Santa Cruz!
Next stops:
Argentina and Antarctica
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Machu Picchu
How did you guys get a photo of Machu Picchu without hundreds of other tourists in the background??? Nice photos!