Road Trip to the Andes July 2011 - Part 1

I know a road trip entails lots of driving, and you get to see things you wouldn't see if you were on a plane, and we did see many wonderful and interesting things, but still. It was A LOT of driving. 


We packed up the van, and dropped off the dogs at 7:30am on Wednesday. They stayed with a friend of Kiko's who lives in a house with a yard and a park out front. We felt really good about leaving them in such good care. After picking up our traveling companions, primo Rudy, his enamorada and my pilates instructor Maritere, and our sobrino Mariano, we headed out of the city in the morning traffic. ABBA seemed like a good choice to start the road trip with, and we were all in happy anticipation of our four day adventure. 


Our first (unscheduled) stop was at Lomas de Lachay, a national reserve in the desert foothills north of Lima. Kiko saw the bright green foothills and wanted to show me the beautiful and unusual landscape. You would never know anything like this could exist in the middle of the desert - it is a unique microclimate with verdant flora, a variety of birds and small animals. (Note: When Kiko took Allie here in September '10, they saw a puma!) We hiked up the trail a little bit, saw a large bird of prey and a strange flying insect, and took some pictures.
































Our next stop was in the province of Barranca, where we delivered our nephew and said "hola" to primo Alex and family who would be joining us the following day in Caraz. The only other stops after Barranca were for bathroom breaks because we had brought our lunch and lots of snacks in the car. There was so much to see! Patches of vegetables drying in the sun - purple and red peppers, and orange corn. Black cactus growing out of the rocks. Mamachas (Andean matriarchs) wearing pretty straw hats with multicolored fake flowers on them and layers of multicolored skirts. Sheep grazing on the plains with the jagged peaks of the snow-covered mountains in the background. The thing about driving in the Andes is that the road goes up and down, and up and down, and up...a lot. Mostly up. I had to focus on breathing because I have a tendency to unwittingly hold my breath and the altitude was pretty thin. 

We arrived at our headquarters around 4:30 with the headaches we got while driving on the windy road through the mountains. After a restful nap, we enjoyed the delicious dinner prepared by Rudy and Maritere, then went into the little town of Caraz to check out the pre-holiday celebration. Thursday, July 28, would be Peru's independence day (like our fourth of July) as well as the inauguration of the new president, and there was a band in the plaza de armas in the center of town playing Andean huayno music while little children sang on the stage. Back at our bungalow, we fell asleep to the distant sounds of the provincial party.


Thursday we had breakfast in the little cafe where we were staying. Un desayuno Americano    consists of jugo, which is often papaya juice, cafe, fresh pan with butter and jam, and huevos. With snacks and CDs, we began our day trip to the pre-Colombian ruins of Chavin de Huantar. After a stop in the town of Huaraz to drink coffee, buy chuyos (the Peruvian hats that cover your ears) and take a picture with some crazy, costumed llamas, we drove three hours over the worst roads I've ever been on. Kiko and our poor van did their best with the longest stretch of the biggest potholes on the windiest road you can imagine! And there were no "services" so the bathroom was a big rock on the side of the road. Even singing "Disco Hits from the 70's" wasn't helping very much! It was so annoying, because just when we thought we'd have a short respite from the teeth-jarring, body-slamming potholes, there would be another one right in front of us! 

But we finally made it to the ruins, which the Chavin culture began building around 1300 BC. It was very cool to see the archeology students from Stanford University working with their little brushes and sifting boxes. We hired a guy to give us a tour, and spent the next hour and a half learning about the site of the ancient spiritual pilgrimage where people from all over South America came to seek answers from the shamanes. Apparently this place invented the "rave"! They put on quite a show with a complicated natural lighting and sound system, and underground channels which they used to divert the river to create blow holes adding to the special effects. These things, along with the hallucinogenic drugs ayahuasca and san pedro, provided an intense mystical experience. The Chavin people also built underground galleries with ventilation and natural light where the shamanes would eat lavish meals and take their drugs, preparing themselves for their ceremonies. Although I felt claustrophobic in the narrow tunnels, it felt incredible to be in a place built such a long time ago. 

After our tour, Rudy became the driver and we quickly started the painful drive back. It was impossible to sleep, all we could do was close our eyes which helped them from jumping out of their sockets. We ate soup in Huaraz, and put our weary bodies to bed as soon as we got back to our bungalow in Caraz. My back hurt, and I was so tired from the long, uncomfortable drive and the high-altitude walking tour that I don't remember any nightmares of being stuck in underground tunnels with crazed, glassy-eyed shamanes!