Day 156 : Mancora

So I arrived into Mancora early this morning, my final stop before heading into Ecuador.  Checked into a nice hostel which had a pool (for once!).

Mancora is a fairly laidback beach town, which had a feel of a small fishing village.  Not much to do here though, but just kickback and relax!

Will post up some pictures when I get the chance!

Moche Pyramids

This is a definitely MUST-DO in Peru! 

Moche Pyramids in Trujillo basically comprises of Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol (not the original names during the Moche period.  Original names unknown at this time). 

Huaca de la Luna is said to be the religious and ceremonial grounds for the Moche tribe (civilisation just before the Chimu and Incas), whereas Huaca del Sol was the political area for the Moche. 

At the time of the visit, Huaca del Sol was closed to the public as they have recently only just commenced excavating this site.  Huaca de la Luna has been open to the public for about 5 years already, however it is still in the process of being excavated and thus new discoveries of this site is being made on an almost daily basis.

Chan Chan

For all the talk that I have heard about Chan Chan, I was rather disappointed with this archaeological site.  Firstly, it looked rather artificial and secondly, very much smaller than I expected.

Chan Chan is one of the 9 palaces, belonging to the Chimu period (just before the Incas), that has been archeologically excavated.  The other 8 has not been excavated as yet.

Apparently Chan Chan is 22 hectares wide (with the largest palace being about 40 hectares), though what was made available for public viewing seemed to be just a small portion of the entire palace – mainly the ceremonial and sacrificial chambers. 

Huanchaco

Huanchaco is located about 15 minutes away from the archaeological site of Chan Chan, and about 30 minutes away by bus from Trujillo town centre. 

A sleepy beach town, it was not very crowded even on a Sunday.  Lots of seafood restaurant here, though menu does not seem to be very different across each restaurant.

The beaches are not very recommended for actual swimming due to the numerous small rocks near the shore as well as the big waves, though you will be able to spot many surfers trying to catch “the” wave. 

Day 149 – 153 : Lima Wrap Up

Having not known much about Lima before this trip, I have always thought that Lima was rather backwards and undeveloped, and after having been to La Paz, I thought Lima would be rather similar to La Paz, maybe just a little more developed.

So from the 1st day I got into Lima till today, I have been time after time greatly surprised by the developments and how modern Lima actually is!  There are so many gardens and parks dotting around the city, and all extremely well landscaped and very well taken care of. 

I think it can actually compete with Singapore on being a green city, and I must say that the landscaping is in some places way much better than Singapore.

Pisco Cocktail Lessons

After making my own Pisco Sour cocktail yesterday, I got to learn how to make another not commonly known Pisco cocktail, which tasted almost like Bailey’s, just before leaving Lima.  Yum! 

It’s called Algarrobina Pisco.  The only problem is that I don’t think I am going to find the ingredients in Singapore!

Miraflores

Miraflores is a well-known area in Lima, mainly for the surf beaches as well as a pleasant neighbourhood and for hostel accommodations (as compared to staying in the downtown area). 

As usual, this is a rather big suburb area, and I was again pleasantly surprised at the huge landscaped area, as I spent about an hour just walking along the coastal route of Miraflores, located about 30 metres above the beach. 

While doing so, I kept wondering “Am I really in Lima”?  It felt like I was in some other western countries like New Zealand or Europe as it was really modern and clean and well-landscaped!

Rare Pictures of Machu Picchu in Park of Fountains

We headed to the Park of Fountains, which contained 13 different fountains and supposedly have a Guinness World Record for either the largest number of fountains or biggest musical fountain. 

It was definitely an extremely huge park and there were some rather interesting fountains here, including a really enchanting laser show using the fountain’s water as a backdrop.

Lima Downtown

Downtown Lima is way much much bigger than I expected!  Marco and I must have walked for about 4 hours and only covered part of the city! 

It is definitely not as clean and modern as San Borja or Surco (where Marco’s place is located), but it does have some beautiful buildings with the Spanish architecture and balconies.

Where’s my Appetite!

Seems like I am down with a stomach bug.  Been feeling strange about 3 days ago (after a Russian couple prepared a pizza and Pablo cooking Papas Huancaichina), but it seemed to have gotten worse over the last 1.5 days with effects of queasiness, some bowel runs and loss of appetite.  On self-medication, though seems to be taking some time to get better.

Not great, especially when Lima is said to have a wide range of food offer. 

Trip to the Nation Museum

Having about 5 hours free, before moving over to Marco’s place, I decided to take the chance to explore San Borja area. 

San Borja is a rather pleasant neighbourhood, with a large park separating San Borja North and South region.  Lots of casinos and also Chifas in this area.

There is also a train that runs through here but is not yet open to the public.  I subsequently heard that the tracks has been built for many years, but was never in operation (It was recently completed, and is now in the testing phase, with expected opening early next year). 

Hostel–less in Lima

Having covered all I needed to see in Ica, I decided to leave a day earlier and head into Lima.  So after a 5 hour bus ride, I caught a taxi and headed to San Borja to a hostel address for “Happy Up Here Hostel” (without a booking), which I had taken off one of the famous hostel booking website, in the hope that there would be a bed available.  And if not, availability of other hostels in the area.

When I arrived in the area, I was surprised to find that it was a residential area, and the address brought me to the doorstep of a house!  There was no hostel name on the front, and so I decided to try my luck and ring the bell.

Day 148 : Earthquake 9.0 in Ica

I was staying around the outskirts of Ica in a place called La Tinguina, and the best way to travel from La Tinguina to Ica town centre is via “Collectivos”, where a taxi will ply on a certain route between down town and another suburb, and any passenger can hop on and “share” the taxi with other passengers. Definitely a cheap and affordable way to travel.

There are also motor taxis (tuk tuks), and the vehicles apparently came from India!  They are supposedly cheaper than taxis, but routes are usually limited within a suburb. 

So I hopped into a Collectivo and headed to the downtown of Ica to explore.  I was faced with a pile of chaotic traffic on the roads and putting it together with the stifling heat within the city centre, I didn’t quite enjoy being in the centre for too long.  So after just visiting Plaza de Armas, the main square of Ica, I wanted to escape the city centre. 

Winery Vista Alegre, Ica

Ica is the wine capital of Peru, with a number of vineyards scattered across the huge region of Ica.  Pablo knew of a fairly good vineyard near his place and brought me there to have a look.

Pablo shared that the locals seem to prefer the sweeter variety of wines such as Rose and Vino Dulce.  Vista Alegre does a really good job in producing a wide variety of wines including the sweet ones, as well as the traditional whites and reds, Vermouth and even Pisco! 

Day 147 : Huacachina

Ever seen a real oasis in the middle of the desert?  This is what Huacachina boasts to have. 

So after walking 5km from Ica to Huacachina, we (Pablo, Krissia, Aleksi, Nathalie) found ourselves surrounded by sand dunes, and it certainly felt like we were in the desert as we continued walking under the hot sun, and soon came to a place with shaded trees and water in a distance.  What a relief! 

Day 145 – 146 : Colca Canyon

Located about 3 hours from Arequipa, this is a tour that is commonly promoted in Arequipa with one of the main attraction : to see the Andean Condors.  I had originally wanted to do this trip free and easy, but with a sprained ankle, I felt it was best to do it via a tour. 

The Colca Canyon can be done either on a 1 or 2 days tour, with exactly the same stops for both.  The only difference is that in a 1 day tour, it departs at 3am, while it is at 8.30am for a 2 day tour. 

Not wanting to have a rushed tour, I opted for the 2 day option.  My tour group comprised of a total of 12 people (including me), and most of them were South American married couples, thus I felt rather out of place with minimal communication.  I had the tour guide’s personal attention though as he had to translate everything to me in English personally. 

Day 143 – 144 : Arequipa

Arequipa is promoted as a white city, reason being is that there are a number of buildings in the city which is made of the white volcanic stones.  However I personally felt that the whiteness was not the kind of whiteness I experienced in Sucre, Bolivia.  The whiteness was more off cream with greyish specks.

It was also a huge city just like Cusco, but I felt Cusco was much prettier as compared to Arequipa.  Just the main square alone, it was more pleasant in Cusco than in Arequipa.

Chifa

Seems like I am going on an Asian food tasting in Peru!  Percy highly recommended that I try out one of his favourite Chifa place for dinner. 

Chifa is the common term used in Peru (and also in Bolivia it seems) to describe a place which cooks Chinese food.

So I left the decision of ordering to Percy, since the menu was in Spanish, and also because he has tried most of the food and could recommend better.

Day 142 : Purple Passion

Last day in Cusco, and since my ankle is still slightly sore and extremely swollen, decided to take it easy, clear my emails and have a leisurely lunch with Washuma and Maria from Sweden (lunch was Indian buffet!  Food was ok, though it seemed to lack the authentic Indian feel), before preparing my stuff to catch the 8 hour overnighter bus to Arequipa.

After hearing from Washuma his specialty drink, I pestered Washuma to make one for me before I leave, and I was glad he obliged. 

Day 141 : Machu Picchu 100 years

“You haven’t seen South America, if you have not visited Machu Picchu”, so I was told. 

So after 3.5 months in South America, I finally got to Machu Picchu.  One of the 7 wonders of the world, it sure is worth the acclamation, and I can now tick this of my list!

I was also told to be at Machu Picchu at dawn or after 4pm, to avoid the crowd.  With an entrance ticket for Wayna Picchu that requires me to be at Wayna Picchu’s entrance at 10am, I decided to be there first thing in the morning and have some time to wander around Machu Picchu before climbing Wayna Picchu.