Backpacking South America

We have finally left the mountains and descended several thousand feet and made it to the beach. We have come upon my heaven on earth…the Beach. After Huaraz, we took an overnight bus and arrived around 7am in Huanchaco on the northern Pacific coastline of Peru. With nothing else to do at 7am, except sleep, we hit the beach! To our surprise, the beach was a great place to people watch – from dramatically posed photographs, old men getting their pictures with young ladies and a lot of experienced and beginning surfers.

Huanchaco is a beach town, of course, and has great seafood (the ceviche’s pretty tasty), but it also has great waves to surf or learn to surf. They are just big enough to get a good ride, yet small enough to not be overly intimidating for a new surfer. Despite our second chance to learn the trade of surfing, we decided to simply sit on the beach and sip our beer and be onlookers. But, we did take in some beautiful sunsets!

Aside from vacationers, Huanchaco is a big fishing village and is famous for its narrow pointed fishing boats, known as caballitos, made of totora reeds.

While planning our trip back in 2008 and early 2009, we lost the ability to plan much beyond Argentina, Chile and early 2010. So for the last few months we’ve been doing our planning just prior to our next destination. So, when we were trying to decide what we should do after Lima, we were slightly surprised to find the Cordillera Blanca (for some readers, this may be blasphemous). We never knew that Peru had a range of such impressive peaks. So we got overnight tickets to Huaraz.

Upon arrival, we were blown away by the shear size and beauty of the mountains. They towered over top with brilliant white peaks. It was not short of breathtaking. The Cordillera Blanca have the largest concentration of glaciers in the tropics as well as the tallest peak (Huascaran).

We didn’t have too much time in the Cordillera Blanca, so we set out to hike the popular trail to Laguna 69. After nearly 2 hours in a car, we arrived at the trailhead with our guide. The trail starts at just shy of 4,000 meters above sea level (13,000 feet) and ends at 4,600 meters (15,000 feet).

Cuzco, last Inca empire and now gringo capital of Peru, was our jumping pad to visit Machu Picchu. We spent a few days here before and after our trip to Machu Picchu. Aside from some great (gringo) restaurants, bars and cafes, Cuzco is rich with history.

As the capital of Incan culture, Cuzco had numerous temples. When the Spanish defeated the Incas, they destroyed the temples and important sites of Cuzco and built their churches over the top of them in their effort to convert the people to Catholicism. So we decided to take one day and pay the hefty gringo entrance fees and explore some of the Catholic Churches and Incan Temples of Cuzco.

The most important religious site for the Incas was Qorikancha, the Temple of the Sun. This temple was re-discovered after the 1950 earthquake, when the Church that was built over top of it was partially destroyed and revealed significant remains of the Incan Temple.

Qorikancha has some of the best examples of Incan architecture. The construction was built to glorify the gods and to accurately identify the equinox and solstices.

It is hard to capture the beauty and sheer impressiveness of Machu Picchu in photos. Upon entering the site, we were instantly overwhelmed with the structures and the ability of the Incas to tame the mountain. Centered where the two portions of the Andes meet the Amazon, located on top of a mountain, it is hard to imagine so much foresight and effort going into building a city.

The stone structures of the temple do not use any mortar. The Inca’s carved the granite so all the pieces fit together perfectly. Most of the structure remains intact without significant restoration, even though it was built over 500 years ago and abandoned for hundreds of years thereafter.

An optional side trip from within the Machu Picchu site is to hike Waynapicchu and Huaynapicchu. They have 400 permits available each day to hike the mountain. The trick is, they are first come first serve. We arrived at the park gate around 6:45 and we got tickets 394 and 395 – only 7 were left!

Our first stop in Peru was Arequipa – Peru’s second largest city. In the center, it’s colonial buildings remain largely intact. The white walls, clean cut corners and arched doorways take you back to the time the Spanish occupied the center.

Arequipa was charming and a nice transition from Bolivia. We spent a few days before and after the Colca Canyon exploring and relaxing in Arequipa. A big plus was most cafes had delicious coffee (a long time coming…) and great food. I know, we’re here in Peru and should truly embrace and enjoy Peruvian food, but we could not help but be drawn in by the Turkish and Middle Eastern restaurants. Arequipa was a welcome change and has set the mood for the rest of Peru.

Santa Catalina Convent

One afternoon, we decided to visit the Santa Catalina Convent located in the center of Arequipa. The convent really is a city inside a city. It was constructed back in the 16th century and endured several earthquakes and periods of transition which can be seen in the architecture of the “city.”

The monastery is made of silar, a volcanic rock, and is often then decorated with beautiful paintings.