The desert coast and first Inca ruins

We traveled down to the coast to visit Paracas National Park. The desert landscape is part of the largest marine reserve in Peru. It feels a little like visiting the only ocean on the moon. Here is the "road" leading to our campsite:

The park is the windiest place we've ever been and Justin's left flip flop (already rescued once in Peru) blew over the cliff to the beach below. Knowing that a size 14 flip flop is not to be found in Peru, he went down the sand cliff after it...

Success!!!

While the park was pretty empty, the views were entertaining and the sea lions and fishing birds kept us company. The area's main industry is small boat fishing and tourism.  These little pengas (boats) usually hold 4-5 . Two stay aboard and monitor the air hoses while the other two dive for scallops.

A natural bridge formed along the shore.

 Sunset was a spectacle every night...

We left the shore and headed towards the Andes and the city of Cusco. Cusco is the jumping off point for all visitors to the Inca's Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Cusco is a lovely, if very touristy city and was originally the center of the Inca empire. All Inca temples are coincidentally now the sites of Cathedrals and monuments to Spanish conquistadores. The remaining buildings are lovely and the city takes care to be clean and attractive. 

The main Plaza de Armas, the historic center

View of the mountains from the center of town

The women still weave using traditional patters, a back strap loom and shuttle sticks to keep the yarn in place.  They count fibers as they weave and keep patterns in their head. The result can be remarkable.

We took a one day tour through the Sacred Valley, where the Inca farmed corn and raised llamas who carried heavy loads and alpacas who provided fiber and food. Both domesticated animals are kinds of  "camelids" and are still raised for meat and wool and to entertain tourists.

The alpaca doesn't appear to be entertained...

Peru has a third camelid, called Vicunas who have the best fibers for wool and were nearly hunted to extinction. A few are in captivity and they have a large reserve high in the Andes, where some 200,000 roam freely, by the highway. They are really shy, so we were happy to see one up close

Justin is making friends.  

  

At the end of the Scared valley,we visited the Inca ruins and town both named Ollantaytambo.  The Incan site was the personal estate of the ruler Pachacuti and the city was occupied in the Spanish colonial period. The ruins are impressive and include many engineering marvels, such as farming terraces, water canals with fountains and beautiful stone work. 

The terrace walls are 6-8 feet tall and are still perfectly straight and even

Temple walls and doorways feature masterful stone fitting with notched corners
and fine even finishes.  

Incas brought water into temples and bathing areas. Almost better water than Peru has today. 

We saw some Inca stone work throughout 

town. Later residents built Colonial houses 

right on top of ancient foundations.

 Other parts of town are more modern and fun to walk through. This kid's dad plunked him on the seat and ran to the market. He looks ready to ride.  

Is the owner a Simpsons fan???





And Justin's favorite find...

 Next update: Visiting Machu Picchu! 

Canyon del Pato and Huscaran National Park

Worlds most dangerous road Part 2. Still traveling with Jen, Witt and Quinn Sparks, we traveled the "highway" through the Canyon of the Ducks. We're not sure if the canyon is  named for the bird or what you have to do to get through the tunnels.

It's a tight squeeze!

The road is narrow and twisty through a series of tunnels. Signs warn drivers to honk before entering the tunnel. Westy's horn was not working so we had to tuck in behind a construction truck AKA the "pace car" and stick with him for the whole canyon .

Yes, yes this is a two way highway....

At least they added some safety signage...

After two days of driving through hot, dusty desert we stopped to take care of some important "man stuff."

The Sparks Mobile has never looked so shiny!

Justin in his element.

Next stop is Huscaran National Park. The park boasts 200 glaciers, some of the tallest mountains in Peru, crystal clear, blue lakes, waterfalls and valleys full of of happy cows. Here is one of the peaks seen from the park entrance.

The lakes really are that color blue.

The flowers and trees were amazing with blooming Bromliads and peeling bark trees

Hiking in the high altitude cloud forest. Wonderful views!

Sadly, the Sparks family decided it was time to settle down for a month or two and left us for an apartment in town.

We returned to the Huscaran park to camp and hike to Lago #69. The hike took 3.5 hours (with a little extra time for getting lost) but the view at the end was worth it.

Justin was pretty happy to be headed downhill after the lake. If only it wasn't sleeting for a half an hour.

Hiking along the edge of the glaciers

We found a water spring coming right out of the rock and filled our tanks. This was some of the coldest and best water we have ever tasted.

Our camp view was wonderful. Even the Michelin Man came out for a visit one night.





Ok,,  adopting a dog isn't really a practical idea right now but this Mamma and baby would fit into the rig perfectly no???

The baby looks like he's wearing a Peruvian ear flap hat.

Ever heard of the TV show "The World's Most Dangerous Roads?" We hadn't either until we learned that one that we had just driven was featured the show. We got the feeling that the roads were a bit on the wild side but they were also great fun.

We headed south toward the heart of the Peruvian Andes. The Sparks stayed behind for a night so we were on our own for the mountain terrain.  First, we ascended and camped for the night at the Calla Calla Pass peaking at 12,470 feet.

Westy was a tad cold in the morning but the view was amazing. Above the clouds we could see row upon row of mountains. We didn't realize we would be driving over and around them too!

The long view of the two "lane" highway descending from the pass:

The highway looked much wider from a distance...

On one side of the mountains, the air was humid and the scenery lush, where we could see it. 

The only scenery here was the sign and the dropoff...    

On the other side, the climate was similar to a desert with cactus and dry riverbeds 

similar to the U.S. Southwest. 

We parked on a cliff side to make a much needed cup of coffee. 

The views from the passenger seat were wonderful  but the views from the driver's seat made Justin wish that our horn worked

Melanie " Oh...look how pretty the valley is below!"

Justin "Hope no one is coming around the bend!"

 The drive took us 9 hours at 15 miles per hour. We pulled into a small town just before sunset and cracked open a well-deserved beer. We also realized that we really, really, missed our horn.

Peruvian roads and visiting Kuelap

We toured Northern Peru with our friends the Sparks family of Witt, Jennifer and Quinn (age 6). Peru is beautiful with towering mountains, narrow roads and lots of sightseeing.  We decided to visit Kuelap, situated 3000 meters above sea level at the northern end of the Andes.    The government is building a cable car system, so tourists can skip 6 hours of driving on narrow, twisting roads.  We kind of felt like the drive was part of the experience and lucky to see the site before it becomes as crowded as other touristy sites.  Here is the Sparks mobile turning one of the sharpest corners, we were glad to be right behind them. 

No, no, there isn't a guard rail....

And it gets worse as we drive up the mountain. Westy was at maximum effort for a two wheeled, low clearance rig. Maybe a cable car isn't such a bad idea...

We reached Kuelap without any major mishaps and enjoyed a nice afternoon.  Jennifer and Melanie hiking the path to the ruins.















Kuelap's construction is impressive, its sheer size rivals many other archaeological structures in the Americas.  The site abuts a cliff, with a 200 foot drop on one side and is fortified by an exterior wall, almost 1,970 feet long and 63 feet tall.  Below, Justin is  standing in doorway #3, that tapers to only allow one person (or llama) pass at once. 

Look who we found grazing atop the ruins!

One of the best preserved building is El Tinton, a tower that is wider at the top than bottom. It is solid rocks, with only a small chamber near the bottom to hold sacrificial objects.  

The ruins show that many families lived in tightly clustered round houses. The closer to El Tinton, the more important the family was in the social hierarchy. 

Here are the foundations of family houses.

Each house was equipped with sleeping shelves, 

water storage and guinea pig pens in the kitchen. 

Guinea pig is still a popular meal in Peru. 

One house has been restored with a roof and interior walls. 

The fog rolled in during our visit, we could barely see down the cliff behind us. Watch your step!