Lima
It's incredible that in Peru one can easily ride from 4000 m.a.s.l to the coast in a day, because the distance is usually shorter than 100 km. I was again traveling alone on my bicycle, which was in a desperate need of some maintenance and reparations after the rough Andes roads. The landscape at the coast is dry and cloudy, and there is sand everywhere around. At rare beautiful sections, the sand is shaped into dunes by constant afternoon winds. Following the hilly road with occasional dunes eventually brought me to the capital of Peru. There are nine million people living in Lima and the city spreads for many kilometers along the coast. I've prepared myself for an exciting day on the bike, which was made much easier by the experience I had gained so far cycling in South American cities. I was struck by the eye-piercing difference between an extremely poor, dirty suburb and a developed, modern centre. Also, rumbling mototaxis are banned in the centre, and I rode peacefully on the well- maintained cycle lanes that many locals use for their daily transport around the city.
I took a few days off in the big city to repair my bike, run a few errands and plan my next steps. Of course, I also spent a lot of time sightseeing, even though Lima is not one of those places that offer plenty of tourist attractions. I was spoiling myself with the wide range of food, which is not difficult to do in Peru, where the culinary standard is extremely high. It is no wonder that Lima's restaurant Central is constantly being among the five best restaurants in the world, although by the high quality I refer to that that almost every meal I have had in Peru – even if it was a lunch of chicken breasts, rice and beans in a village in the middle of nowhere – has been incredibly tasty. I've also tried some typical seafood and local specialities. Among other things, I have eaten guinea pig in Ecuador, which has an extremely tough skin but tastes fine. The waiter asked me if I wanted the leg or the head, andfor the first time I rather chose the leg. A very popular street food in Lima is cow's heart, which is served on skewers and is soft and juicy, so I had it many times.
Compared to other major cities in Colombia and Ecuador, Lima does not have a viewing point from which the concrete jungle and the considerable number of skyscrapers and high buildings can be seen. Peru's capital is extremely green and each neighbourhood has its own park, which seems to be the centre of life for many locals. There was a small amphitheatre in the park near my hostel and every time I walked past there was an event going on. On the first day there was a band playing with all the proper sound sytem, and on the second and third day there were couples dancing to Latin music from the previous century. There were also many people in the vicinity exchanging football stickers of the World Cup every afternoon. The town also has beaches, which are used for surfing inthe most touristy areas, as the cold Humboldt Current makes the water not very tempting for swimming and the waves are steady and long. There is also a fascinating shopping centre by the sea, with cafés and restaurants that have wonderful views of the sea. The coastline along the town looks impressive because it is practically cut off from the town by high cliffs. I found the developed parts of Lima to be completely different from the Peru I had got to know during a month of cycling. The city centre is quiet, clean and there are no stray dogs or homeless people. The people are whiter and look European, and especially there are none of the people dressed in traditional clothes that are found at every turn in the mountainous parts of the country.
Like other South American cities, Lima has a large amount of artistic graffiti that adorns the entire facades of tall buildings, often with strong messages about current social issues. Many of them emphasise the importance of education and gender equality, which is generally quite a hot topic in South America. Most of them are in tourist neighbourhoods, where artists also have their own galleries. A world-famous Peruvian street artist is Jade Rivera, whose graffiti can be found in many cities around the world. I passed them as I left Lima for other tourist attractions along the Peruvian coast.
Paracas in Islas Ballestas
Every day, I was greeted by more sunshine in the afternoon, which lifted my spirits after a depressing cycling in thick fog. In a desert landscape, I rode in a strong wind and with the sight of miles of refineries and industrial buildings, arrived to the small seaside town of Paracas, a starting point for trips to the surrounding islands.
On Tuesday morning before 8 am, a gentleman from the travel agency escorted me to the pier,
where I joined a group of tourists who were lining up in a queue. In addition to the local tourists, the
group included eleven young - surprisingly tolerable - Italians. There were plenty of other people on
the street waiting for a boat trip. We slowly made our way along the long pier and waited for our
group to take our turn. I boarded a long, white boat and sat on a bench in the fourth row to the left.
There was room for at least forty people on the boat and almost all the seats were filled. The
charming guide counted us and greeted us over the microphone. At full speed it was quite windy and
we put on our caps or hoods.
We came to the first rocks, above which a hieroglyph of a candlestick or
cactus could be seen on the hillside. The thing looked similar to the more famous Nazca lines. The
hieroglyph is in an area where there is not much sand and is carved 30 cm deep on the side of the
slope with no wind, which is why it has preserved to the present day.
We continued driving towards the islands and we saw flocks of black birds flying in straight long lines
just above the water surface. There were hundreds of them and it was interesting to watch their
dance. We were going fast and we were tossing and turning a bit, so it was wise to skip breakfast.
After a good fifteen minutes, we arrived at an interesting island with various different birds. The
water had formed caves and carved out interesting shapes of rocks jutting out of the water. We saw
small Humboldt penguins stepping awkwardly on the rocks to reach the water. They can live in this
area because of the cold Humboldt Current, which comes from the south and brings cold water at 14
°C. It also makes the water full of plankton, which attracts other animals, especially different species
of fish. The rocks are completely white with bird poop and a low rock wall can be seen at the top of
all three islands to keep the guano from falling into water. Some of it ends up in the water, creating a
thick sea foam. In addition, it's impossible not to smell the guano around the islands. We took photos
of the penguins, turned the boat around so that the other side had a chance to take pictures as well,
and moved on.
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The shapes of the rocks were getting more and more interesting and there were animals
everywhere. On the rocks below, dark shells and crabs, and all over the islands, different types of
birds such as cormorants, pelicans and gannets. Gannets catch fish by storming into the water from a
high altitude, on average about seventy times a day. This method of catching can leave consequences
for older specimens of gannets, as they suffer eye problems or often even go blind. On the many
isolated rocks in the middle of the water, we could also admire sea lions lying motionless, so that one
of the tourists asked if they were even alive. They have no natural enemies in this area, so they were
able to sunbathe so carefree near the water. Most of them were females, but there were also some
young ones. The females are pregnant for eleven months and spend most of the time in the water
during mating season, so we were lucky that the mating season was over and they climbed up on the
rocks. We took pictures again and the driver expertly turned the boat around and drove to the
northernmost island, where we saw a huge black spot. The guide explained that these were
cormorants. There are also a few huts on this island used by people who come to the island every
nine years to collect guano. Bird droppings are a rich nutrient that is collected manually and they can
collect about forty tonnes of it. We took one last picture and I was getting sick of rocking and looking
at my phone. We came back and the wind was blowing even harder, so we were all bundled up in our
jackets. The whole trip in cloudy weather lasted only two hours, but I would have been very sorry if I
had missed it.
samic, poleg nekaterih izmed njih so bili tudi mladiči. Samice so noseče enajst mesecev in med parjenjem se večino časa nahajajo v vodi, tako da smo imeli srečo, da je sezona parjenja mimo in da so se povzpele na skale. Spet smo slikali in voznik je spretno obrnil čoln ter odpeljal do najbolj severnega otoka, na katerem smo videli ogromno črno liso. Vodička je razložila, da so to kormorani, ki jih je bilo nešteto. Na tem otoku je tudi nekaj hišk, ki jih uporabljajo ljudje, ki na vsakih devet let pridejo na otok pobrati gvano. Ptičji iztrebki so bogato hranilo, ki ga pobirajo ročno in zberejo ga lahko okrog štirideset ton. Poslikali smo še zadnje stvari in postajalo mi je slabo od zibanja in gledanja v telefon. Vrnili smo se in še bolj je pihalo, tako da smo bili vsi zaviti v naše bunde. Celotni izlet v oblačnem vremenu je trajal zgolj dve uri, a bi mi bilo zelo žal, če bi ga izpustil.
Huacachina
The next day I cycled further inland, towards Peru. Just a day's journey away is the town of Ica, next to which is the oasis of Huacachina, which lies in the middle of the small desert of the same name, with its sand dunes. The small village of a hundred inhabitants around the oasis is subject to year- round tourism, as the idyllic landscape attracts up to thousand tourists a day. The main attraction is the desert buggy rides, which take people on an adrenaline ride over the dunes, where it is also possible to sandsurf. In addition, the region is famous for its wine and local spirits made from the fermented juice of the grapes. Pisco sour is a popular cocktail and many tourists sip it on the terraces of the many cafés spread around the oasis.
The next day, I booked an afternoon trip and went to a small travel agency near the centre at four in the afternoon. We walked across the sand to a large parking lot of buggies and a big driver, who drove barefoot, put us in a vehicle. I sat in the second row next to a Spanish couple. We were strapped in over our heads and fastened with belts that looked like the ones on aeroplanes. The driver started the loud engine and we started driving over the dunes, jumping so much that we were all bouncing in our seats. At the steepest parts, the girls screamed with excitement and the rest of us laughed loudly. We were all enjoying ourselves and we stopped at one of the dunes where people were taking pictures on the roofs of the buggies. A Spanish couple took my picture and I was also the photographer for many people. There were several different groups on the dune and the drivers started pulling surfboards out of the trunks. We lined up and the driver let each person off after waxing their board. We lay down on our stomachs, put our elbows on the board and spread our legs for better balance. We started on a small dune to get used to it and it got more and more fun. I was the first one down the second biggest dune and the speed was quite fast, so I enjoyed more than I had thought. We all watched the others and saw how well they were doing. We walked over the sand to the biggest dune and the driver forgot to bring wax, but the longest descent was still great. The sight of a group of young people walking with their boards on the sand dunes in the late afternoon sun, leaving footprints in the sand behind them, was amazing. We got back in the buggies and drove to the first dune to pick up a hat that one of the girls had lost and continued to the location where we watched the sunset. It was magical to watch the sun setting in the desert. When the sun finally set behind one of the dunes in the distance, it suddenly got very cold and we sat back in our seats and drove back to the lagoon.
