Pisco….. what we learned from lecturer…. for March 15/19

The ship doesn’t actually go there unless you’re going to the airport to fly over the Nazca Lines.

Something to see is Peruvian Galápagos Islands, off the coast called Ballestas Islands.

Be wary in Peru.

Humboldt current off the coast.

2nd exporter of copper and silver in world.

When the Europeans arrived there were 9 million indigenous ……. down to 600,000 soon after Europeans arrived.

Today 4% of population is Asian, 27% are indigenous.

The Napoleonic war in Europe lead to end of Spanish rule in South America because the Spanish had to concentrate efforts on Napoleon and not so much on the new world.

Guano…. bird poop is a source of wealth…. it’s gold.

1980 end of dictatorship in Peru but it is still iffy with corruption.

Paracas is nearest port from where we dock….. Playa el Chaco…. every half hour drive shuttle. Also to go see is Paracas national reserve.

Now my observations of our excursion to the Nazca Lines.

Absolutely barren…. salt on the hills near the port and the area of theNational Reserve. Two different stories… one that salt deposited from sea spray, the other explanation is that it’s from the rains from a month ago that caused the salt to leach out.

Guide on trip said:-

One of biggest producers of asparagus, paprika (banca chili is their similar spice but is redder and hotter), also yellow onions.

Discovered in 1911 but 1920…wrote about Machu Picchu; Nazca lines

450 sq. kilometres.

5 century BC to 2 century AD

Figures were made at different times

Nazca people used those same figures on pottery etc. On the June and December solstice the hummingbird and heron bird (both face east) there is a connection so there is a belief it is of a bigger “picture” calendar. …. astrology!

Pisco means flying bird but is also the name of a tribe.

Me:-

Wow…. what an airport! Brand new…. so different than the town which is nothing but shanties…. with lots and lots of tuk tuks!

At the airport we had to get weighed….that is to balance the plane and make sure it isn’t overloaded (the weights that we had previously given when we were at home are not necessarily the same now that we are coming to the end of a 3 week gastronomic cruise…. lol!)

Finally at 2:30 our flight took off…. 1/2 hour to get there….1/2 hour there then 1/2 back +/-.

Absolutely desolate countryside but then you see great swathes of farms that are apparently irrigated by underground sources.

We had been forewarned to not eat a heavy meal before and to take Gravol because of the fact the plane tips from side to side so that each side get to see the figures. Well…. some people didn’t fare so well! I would say that it was so very hard to see the figures before they tipped the plane the other way. And then my good camera wouldn’t snap. Very stressful after coming all this way and at a premium price.

Hint:-When looking at these images of the “Lines”, in most cases you will have to expand them to see the figures.

Not sure what these are… looks like several on top of others

Hummingbird

Astronaut

Parrot

Monkey

Lima …. where we got off on March 16/19

City of kings

10 million pop.

Could be chaos at Callao port.

Gold museum

Colonial architecture

Huge Cathedral from 1700s

Spanish been here since 1535

Plaza de Major.

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry & narrow mindedness.. mark twain

I had a whole lot written but I did something and it all disappeared ….. grrrrr! So this is all I have. We went for a walk around the central square where there is an old theatre, a fountain and local crafts for sale. It is all quite nice. We also went a checked out “Zofrei”…….their supposed “duty free shopping mall”. I wouldn’t recommend it. It was just a very huge mall… yucky!

So this what we heard from our guys that drove us up to Alto Hospicio where we took flight….500 metres above sea level…. spectacular views and ride but what a dilapidated town.

In 2014 they had really strong earthquake. (Everywhere in Chile they’ve had extremely strong earthquakes but seem to survive).

One month ago they had the first rain in 70 years…13 mm in 2 hours.

Going to fly over “cerro dragon”…. protected because it is symbol of Iquique… 5 kilometres long from head to tail.

Comancha beach for swimming… because it is in an area that is protected from the Pacific.

What a wonderful day Marilyn and I had paragliding in Iquigue. Sorry pictures aren’t in any specific order but they are from the flight down. I have more pictures and video but can’t send now.

Marilyn and I all suited up before our run and jump off the cliffs

We landed on the beach in front of those buildings

George, the pilot and yours truly !

Whoohoo!!!

La Serena … Gorgeous 7 mile beach up the ways a bit

Colonial style buildings…. that we never saw

Mummification developed 1000 years before Egypt.

Arid valley…. north point for growing grapes.

20C on coast but warmer in Elqui Valley.

There has been civilization in existence here up to 16,000 years ago.

Complex society 4-5000 yrs ago here. Before arrival of Europeans. Textiles ….Incas developed cotton. Ate fishes.

Largest domesticated animals…. llamas and alpacas.

This place I had never even heard of before but it’s quite huge and gorgeous …..except the area around the harbour where you see streets running almost straight up. There is a giant cross on the top of the hill.

Check out the slope of those streets and stairs up the hill!

Boats in the harbour of Coquimbo

OMG… the bird shit on the pier was the worst mile I’ve ever had to step amongst land mines

270 days a year are cloudy.

Most arid region in Atacama desert.. driest atmosphere in world even if it has a permanent fog bank.

Limari valley…. one of 3 alleys in the area. ….. great for growing white wine grapes.

600,000 inhabitants

Las Tacas…major resort … most expensive.. beautiful. $270,000 to buy… 5-600/ monthly fee though.

Major product caught….Scallops, sole & sea bass.

Chilean Pisco can be made from only (incl. pink) muscat from this area.

1000 mm of fog moisture/year…. not rain so the fog produces the cold at night that is necessary for growth of good white wine grapes.

So many cacti… so dry! Juice of the ? cactus is the “red bull of Chile” …. like Aloe Vera juice… pirates looked for it because the fruit prevented scurvy.

The hills are covered in cactus and huge rocks

Up close and personal with the cacti and it’s fruit

The fruit

Inside the fruit looks like kiwi but mushy. It much more sour. It was greatly valued for preventing scurvy.

Coquimba means place of riches.

Limari valley was last bastion of the Incas.

Amazingly beautiful highway…. toll …. no one using it.

Sweet cucumbers and olive trees.

Incas called the Milky Way, the “river of souls”. I like that!

Loica…. beautiful red breasted bird at the toll.

Border…5100 metres Andes at Elqhi Valley but not here where it is not as high. Incidentally the border between bordering countries is decided by which way the rivers flow away from the high points of the Andes. That is why it is not a straight line.

The narrowest part of Chile to the south of is only 86 kilometres.

70% loss of agriculture in drought 2008-2014….. devastation. That was very apparent at the winery we went to.

Pink pepper growing wild… at the winery

The devastating result of the drought 2008-14

In the cellar at the winery

At the petroglyphs… first there was a snake, then a scorpion, a cluster of stars, the condor nest, shaman, astronaut all of which were just holes in the huge rocks. Then there were numerous specific figures some looking quite human or like aliens. Those made it worth seeing.

In 1985, the port of San Antonio (where we docked) 90% was destroyed by earthquake. It is the biggest commercial port in Chile.

Santiagio has most of pop of Chile at 7.2 M. It is inland….. news to me. I did not go there but to Valparaíso. It was established in 1541…has unique architecture. The weather is like San Francisco. The expected high will be about 17C with 1M pop.

(Our lecturer said to be very careful of pickpockets… wear no jewelry… keep stuff close to you).

It’s the law to wear seatbelts on buses in Chile but this was 1st time it’s been mentioned.

Valparaiso has 43-45 hills.

The reason the ships stopped coming into Valparaiso is that the owner of the concession of port of Valparaiso is not interested in working with cruise ships…. maybe he charges too much. He also didn’t treat the workers. There were lots of strikes disrupting the port ….because of the way he treated them.

The first part of our trip to Valparaíso, the road is very good but very windy. On the main highway….. excellent 4 lanes, straight and divided.

Interesting story…. the ancient natives that lived on coast (Changos), killed sea lions, gutted them, put sticks inside and sewed the up… allowing them to dry. They then created rafts from these “balloons” …. to fish from.

Between every 4-8 years the farmed pines and eucalyptus are cut down for making paper.

All of South America gained independence from Spain within one decade …1810-20…. did not realize that.

Casablanca Valley…. one of the top 10 white wine producing regions of the world. …. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Castile du Diablo …. biggest producer of red….. mostly Cab Sauvignon.

Carmanere is their battle horse…produce 90% of world supply. Cholhagua valley (DO)

There used to be 100 ship per day in Valparaiso but went down to 5/day after the opening of Panama Canal.

City is an amphitheatre. Higher your home is the least desirable. 60% of inhabitants do not own cars because there is no where to park. The streets and alleys are so narrow and steep. Every alley or set of stairs has a name…. for mail delivery. It’s like a maze. Some house do not have any visible means to access them.

In many ways this city reminds me of the fevalas of Rio. Very cool!

We first went on funicular built in 1892. Then off to deliciously lunch of 2 wine, salad and main entree of

Hake.

Because of climate change lots of jellyfish in the local seas. .

Vina Del Mar … next door, is where Cristian our guide lives. It’s a “planned” city unlike Valparaiso.

First stop was a street called the 21st of May.

For 400 years it never rained one drop. Valparaiso means scorched earth……..even before Spanish were here.

More people die from tsunamis than earthquakes.

“Dogs rule the streets, cats the roofs so watch where you step. It might be soft and gushy”.

Below is some of the many graffiti/murals in Valparaiso, of which there is a profusion. More pictures to follow.

6.5 feet rain just a few kilos away but here today beautiful day here sunny but a very windy rocky ride on tender.

Northern entrance or exit to Patagonia….land of extremes.

No natives or Spaniards in this area. Chilhue means the land of sea gulls. It is the second largest Island in SA after Terra Del Fuego. There the natives sided with Spaniards and consider themselves Chilhuan first.

A large percentage of people have “SADs” and are bi-polar. They helped to change that by adding multiple colours on their homes.

Large agricultural lands.

Almost no unemployment in this area. Germans settled here. It is spotless, no crime, no garbage no bars on the window. They may have burnt all the trees but they are proud of how clean and crime free it is. 300000 of 1 million are of German heritage.

Only 16% now are Catholic.

120 year life on shingles made from trees similar to redwoods of California called “Alerce”.

Puerto Varas is a lovely clean town beautiful views over the lake at the spectacular volcanos….3. One dormant, one active and one extinct.

Natives like those around the world gave an intolerance of alcohol. Many of inhabitants have a problem with alcohol… not drugs. There is 0% tolerance for drinking and driving.

Milk and biproducts, Potatoes 6-8 varieties & Sugar beets used to feed animals in winter.

Lots of rain but moderate 19-20 C in summer usually but now with El Niño up to 80F. Rarely freezes in winter.

2nd exporter of fish after Norway.

Orsorno volcano… magnificent…. 200 craters… dormant … Puerto

Varas first German settlement on the Llanquihue Lake

Saw llamas (said yammas) and alpacas across from the volcano

Chile is over 4000 kms in length.

In 2015…. Kalbulco blew. Closing the airport for 2 months and affected tourism between Argentina and Chile. It takes 4 buses and 3 boats to go over Andes from Argentina was stopped for 8 months from the ash.

At the Petrohue Falls … beautiful with volcano in background.

Herb tea is part of daily life.

$1800-3000/ month for a teacher

420$/month is minimum wage

$480,000 for regular 3 bed, 2 bath home but some are worth over 1M

There are 2000 volcanos in Andes plus 2000 along coast. In 1960 there was an earthquake of 9.8 on old Richter scale. The resulting tsunami went all way to Australia.

This such a beautiful area that everyone we talked with said they would love to come back here….that there wasn’t enough time here.

I found that this post was just sitting, that it had failed to send. Sorry for the mix-up!

We have been at sea for 2 days… and what a rocky ride! Lots of people… passengers and crew, are sea sick. I’ve never been seasick in my life but I certainly was feeling queasy. Since our arrival back on board in Punta Del Este, our porthole “windows” have been shut as a precaution. Personally I would like to be able to see out. It really has been rough…. difficult to walk without looking totally drunk.