On the Gringo Trail

11 Sep 2002

Over the next few days I hit the road, following the Gringo Trail down the coast before heading inland towards the mountains. I found myself conflicted about being on the main backpacker route, doing touristy things. I fell in with some cute Israeli girls, but soon left them behind because I couldn't stand their excessive whinging and posturing: "We're not tourists, we're muchileros (backpackers)!" 

From my diary: "They would have their photo taken in front of a great view, somewhat reminiscent of hunters standing proudly over their kill. As if to show off to everybody what they'd done - as if the view wasn't worth a photo for its own sake. I got the feeling from the vibe on the tour that people were there because that's the done thing, not because they had a particular interest in it. Ah well, I suspect I'm guilty of the same offence."

In retrospect I wonder if I my lack of enthusiasm was also related to being so far out of my comfort zone - it's hard to open yourself up to wonder and awe when you feel unsafe and uncertain. It was still early days in my travels and I had a lot of confidence to gain.

 

 

The Peruvian coast south of Lima is desperately dry and barren, but the cold Humboldt current means the ocean is teeming with life.

Islas Ballestas

Lagunillas, Peninsula de Paracas

The original inhabitants took advantage of the landscape to construct huge images that are only visible from high above. One theory holds that shamans conceived of the idea while tripping on psychedelics, their awareness expanding to transcend beyond the earth-bound. I used modern technology instead and splurged on a flight to view the Nazca Lines from the air. The lines were cool, but I think I was more excited by my first flight in a small plane!

Monkey, Nazca Lines

Spider, Nazca Lines

The bus system in South America is awesome. You can get anywhere, in any level of (dis)comfort. Every town has a bus station where all the bus companies have a shopfront, with the timetable and prices clearly displayed. You can quickly do a circuit and work out who's going where, when, for how much and in what sort of bus (for the economist types, it seems very close to a 'perfect market').

Salespeople give a cut to the driver to stand at the front and spruik their wares. In the Andean countries a preponderance of these was dental-related - for good reason, as the state of people's teeth was atrocious, thanks to copious soft drink consumption and little dental care. For the locals these touts are probably quite tiresome, but they provided me with a welcome distraction. On the bus from Pisco to Ica some musicians obliged us with some folk tunes - authentic or not, they were very entertaining.

Musicians on the bus from Pisco to Ica

Despite talking up the bus service, I arrived in Arequipa at 2am with my first mild bout of gastro. Arequipa was beautiful, with possibly the finest Plaza de Armas I encountered on the whole trip. But I wasn't that keen to be spending time in towns - I wanted mountains, nature, wilderness! There was plenty of that to come, and a fair bit more gastro too...

Plaza de Armas, Arequipa