As I noted in the last article, Peru has three primary regions - coastal (desert), highlands (Andes) and tropical (Amazon). Our road trip along the Pan-American Highway took us along the coastal desert route (Sechura Desert), one of the driest climates in the world. As we traveled south of Lima, along Peru's coastal desert the breeze off the Pacific Ocean was great!
South of Lima our stop-overs included Pucusana (Mirador Hospedaje), Ica (Hotel Camino Real) and Puerto Inka (camped). Enroute to Puerto Inka we visited the Nazca Lines. South of Puerto Inka we took a side trip to the famous white stone city of Arequipa (Hotel Mercedes - camped). This article will now take you down the coast of Peru to Puerto Inka, then onwards to Arequipa and finally to Taca. Along the route we also got to sample Peru's traditional wine drink, Pisco. Pisco is the white wine brandy used in making Pisco Sours.
South of Lima to Puerto Inka
After dealing with an insurance issue in Lima we drove south to Pucusana, a small town on a very nice bay. We stayed for two nights at Hosteria El Mirador that overlooks the bay. Our traveling companions move on after one night. We would meet them again in Ica.
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| Puscana Harbor © Spaswinefood |
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| Puscana Harbor at night © Spaswinefood |
While at the El Mirador we took breakfast on the patio, overlooking the harbor.
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| View of Puscana Harbor at breakfast © Spaswinefood |
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| Time for a Pisco Sour © Spaswinefood |
During our stay at El Mirador we took time to try the Pisco Sour again.
After we left Puscana met our friends in Ica. Ica, a wine oasis is one of Peru's wine regions. Jason Wilson's article gives an excellent overview of Peru's pisco and describes his visit to Ica. In Ica we stayed at Hotel Camino Real. From Ica we drove south through the Nazca Lines area on the Pampas de Jumana, a high arid plateau between Nazca and Palpa. Nazca Lines are a UNESCO world heritage site of ancient geoglyphs. The geoglyphs range from simple lines to animals, such as hummingbirds. While the lines are best seen from the air, you can get a good feel for them from the tower near the Nazca Lines.
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| Nazca Lines © Spaswinefood |
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| Stopping at the Nazca Lines © Spaswinefood |
Now here is the view from the tower at the Nazca Lines.
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| Nazca Lines Tower © Spaswinefood |
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| Nazca Lines (Tree of Life) © Spaswinefood |
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| Nazca Lines © Spaswinefood |
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| Our vehicles stopped at the Nazcar Lines tower © Spaswinefood |
Our final stopover on Coastal Peru was at Puerto Inka, a resort on a beautiful bay that was once a major fishing port for the Inca. The area had several excavations of the ruins. During our two night stay we met several overland trucks with groups of campers. The overland trucks were from Germany, Australia and Great Britain.
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| Camping at Puerto Inka © Spaswinefood |
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| Sun setting over our camp site at Puerto Inka © Spaswinefood |
The desert south along the coast was spectacular. We did see some vegetation, such as cacti.
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| Cacti landscape south of Puerto Inka © Spaswinefood |
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| Trucks passing on highway south of Puerto Inka © Spaswinefood |
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| A very green, heavily farmed desert valley west of Arequipa © Spaswinefood |
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| A very green, heavily farmed desert valley west of Arequipa © Spaswinefood |
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| A very green, heavily farmed desert valley west of Arequipa © Spaswinefood |
To say that the Pan-American Highway along the Pacific Coast of Peru is a desert might give a false impression. The desert is broken by lush green agriculture filled valleys every 50 to 75 km. These river valleys are feed by water from the Andes.
South of Puerto Inka we took a road inland towards Arequipa.
Arequipa and then south to Tacna
We drove to Arequipa where we stayed for a night. This time I was stopped by the police. They wanted to see our papers and insurance. I showed the papers. The officer said we needed a different set of papers to show ownership of the car. This time we argued that we had the correct papers. After it was apparent to the officer that we could not be “bullied” he left us alone.
After a relaxing stay in Arequipa we were off to Tacna. Enroute to Tacna the road went through some really desolate desert. It really gives you a different world experience driving this section of the highway.
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| Driving through desert south of Arequipa © Spaswinefood |
When we arrived in Tacna we were unable to get a room because of our pets. Also, there was no camping in the area. Even though I was not feeling well we went on to cross the Chilean border crossing.
We enjoyed our journey along the Peruvian coast. During our travels through Peru our only challenge was being stopped by the Peruvian Police. The police were quite friendly, except in the big cities of Lima and Arequipa. With these few exceptions our 1825 miles trip through Peru was quite fascinating. I invite you to join me in my travels in search of the best in Spaswinefood, or visit my travel column.
Sharon
February 2012
© Spaswinefood
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