Economic Development in Peru

It's complicated. That is the phrase I heard most often in our 18 day Peruvian vacation. Peru is a country of contractions and extremes. Ocean, sierra, jungle. Sun scorching heat and frigid cold.  Often no heat, no hot water and rarely do you find air conditioning. Enormous mountains, islands resplendent with birds, sand dunes so high you can sandboard, rich verdant lands, salt plots, rich mineral mines, poverty stricken barrios, ruins that date back to 5000 BC, Inca architectural marvels, tapestries that glow with vivid color and intricate handiwork.  This is a harsh but beautiful country.  I have marveled at how the Peruvians are able to thrive in this majestic but unforgiving land.  Once again, I will let pictures tell our story of Peru.  It has amazing!

Humboldt penguins on Ballesta Island off the Peruvian coast

We sand boarded down the dunes near Ica, Peru

Life is really tough on Ballesta Island

Penguins, boobies, Peruvian terns and cormorants live happily together on Ballesta Island

Smiling BEFORE we fly over the Nasca lines


MORE PHOTOS OF PERU on the next blog

Sunny Santiago

Our stay in Santiago was far too short, but we have had a wonderful visit.

Ruben, our driver

In retrospect, we haven’t done a great job of organizing our South American travel.  We should have been more mindful of the weather.  When we arrived in Santiago on 3 February, we should have headed to the Lake region of Chile.  Following our cruise and upon our arrival in Buenos Aires on 29 February, we should have gone south to El Calafate and Fitzroy.  That way we would have had a better chance to enjoy these beautiful areas before the weather becomes too cold.  By the time we return to Buenos Aires following our visit to Peru (3-21 March) and Ecuador (21 March- 5 April) I think it will be too cold to visit Southern Chile and Argentina.  Oh well.  I guess that means we will have to come back again. (Oh, hurt me!)  Moreover, hopefully we will do a better job when we set up the rest of our travels in Europe.

We arrived after midnight on Thursday, February 1, to be greeted by Ruben, our taxi driver and a friend of Ignacio’s, the owner of Providencia B&B.  It was so nice not to have to hassle arranging transportation.  We were so fortunate to have Ruben drive us; he is such a kind and friendly man.

On Friday, after a good rest, a delicious breakfast, and the pleasure of meeting our hosts Ignacio, his wife Sylvia and fellow travelers Alfonso and Ainhoa from Spain, we headed downtown.  Unfortunately we missed the city tour.  So we decided to wander around on our own.

Santiago from San Cristobal Hill

Santiago was founded in the late 1600s.  However, unlike Argentina, Bolivia and Peru that had large mineral deposits, Chile was not mineral rich.  Moreover, although it was claimed by Spain, Chile was less molested by the Spanish.  In fact, it was a sparsely populated region.  Even today, one third of the country’s population of 4 million lives in the greater Santiago area.  As with much of South American, Chile did not become an independent country until 1810.

Downtown Santiago

We arrived at the Plaza des Armes, the city center.  The city center is lovely with a church that dated back to the 17th century.  We had hoped to find a free city tour (tips only—usually delivered by students like the tours they have in many European cities) but we had missed it.  So we wandered down the pedestrian street instead.  It was pleasant and not too crowded.  We walked to the Presidential palace where Allende’s life ended.

The Opera House

A highlight of our city tour was our decision to take a tour of the Santiago Opera House.  It was magnificent and the tour superb.  The theatre looked very much like Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC.  The theatre was constructed in the 1860s, in the early days of Chile’s independence.  It was modeled after the theatre in Paris.  Many of the statues were brought from France.  It was explained to us that the President’s box and that of Santiago’s mayor were located to the direct left and right of the stage so that the audience could see them.  This was so that the people would know who the President was and feel that the President was one of them, not a distant ruler as the Spanish viceroys had been.  Since we now have television, it is no longer necessary for the President to be seen by the public in this manner.  Today, when the President visits the theatre, she sits in a box at the back where she has a superior view.  (Yes, the President is a woman.  She succeeded her husband after his death.)  We were fascinated by the behind-the-scene tour we had of the workshops and stage.  We learned that Chile is one of the few countries that employs a full-time staff who construct scenery and make costumes.  Their skills are so sought after that many countries worldwide will borrow their sets and costumes.

Although we had taken the very modern and well-maintained subway into the city center, we decided to walk back to the B&B.   On the way home we happened upon a Picasso exhibit in the national telephone office.  What great good luck.  It was a fabulous exhibition of about 60 of his drawings.

The following day we walked to San Cristobal hill through the colorful Bellavista neighborhood.

Bellavista

 The view from San Cristobal hill was grand but what I enjoyed even more was the Santiago zoo.   Although it is an old zoo, the animals looked healthy.  We had a blast.  The giraffe licked our hands.  The monkeys howled.  The maras (a cross between a rabbit and a dear) were adorable.  We saw penguins, chinchillas, condors, llamas, iguanas, and even three white tigers!

Her tongue was like sandpaper

Mara: a cross between a rabbit and a deer

A penny for your thoughts

What did you say?  

Gonzalo and Catalina 

In December, while we were in Ubud, Bali, we met a young couple from Chile who were on their honeymoon.  We started talking to them and found out that Catalina and Gonzalo were traveling to Cambodia.  We told them we would be visiting Chile in February.  So we shared travel information and exchanged emails.  Subsequently, I asked Gonzalo if I could have my medication sent to his Chilean address.  He agreed.  They invited us to their beautiful new home.  They had just received some new furniture that is lovely.  Not only did we have the pleasure of getting to spend some time with Catalina and Gonzalo but we also got to meet Catalina’s three sisters, a family friend and her Dad.  It was a particular treat to feel like we were part of a Chilean family.

With our new-found Chilean family!

We are sad to leave Santiago so soon after we arrived but it is time to go on to Peru.  We have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  We look forward to a future visit.

I loved this sign from the zoo:
Something to think about!

Wet but happy in Iguazu, Argentina

Today nothing was quite as it appeared.  We woke up to a sparkling blue sky.  The sun was warm and the air was fresh.  I was disappointed that we had gone to Iguazu Falls yesterday, not today.  But happily we didn’t.   Let me start from the beginning.

Devil's Throat from the Argentina side of Iguazu

Last night (28 February) we had a delicious dinner at La Rueda.  Mark ordered a beef brochette while I opted for a local river fish.  Soon after we got back to the hotel, my stomach started acting up.  The cramps were intense.  I fell asleep but was jarringly awoken by the cramps and diarrhea.  But the most bizarre was yet to come.  This morning when I brushed my teeth, I discovered that my tongue was coated BLACK!!

After we returned from Iguazu Falls yesterday, we went to book a minivan to take us to the airport today.  The clerk at the tourist information center checked our flight and told us that it had been cancelled.  When we returned to the hotel, we checked our flight information and everything looked fine. However, this morning while I was finishing breakfast, Mark received a cell phone call from LAN.  Unfortunately, the caller spoke Spanish, and Mark doesn’t understand Spanish.  Afterwards, I asked the young woman at the hotel desk if she would call LAN to check on our flight.  The flight was rescheduled for one hour later.  No worries---we had three hours between our connection from Buenos Aires to Santiago. 

In fact, rather than undertaking another activity in Iguazu, Mark and I decided to spend our day catching up on email, paying bills and working on our itinerary.  That was fortuitous since around 2:15, a violent storm hit the area. 

Red clay mud flooding the street

Downed tree blocking the road

The wind howled while rain came down in sheets.  I seriously wondered if the windows would not shatter.  Within minutes there was a red clay river coursing down the street.  The intensity of the storm reminded me of a hurricane.  I was thankful we were safe in the hotel.  

Our taxi to the airport was understandably delayed.  We were soaked walking from the hotel door into the minivan.  Once in the van, we encountered downed branches, and across one road, an entire tree! Eventually we made it to the airport.  We wondered if the plane would depart.  Then, as we waited to check-in, the airport lost power. 

We did eventually get on our flight.  Mark and I were the last two people seated.  Our pre-assigned seats were voided since the passengers were checked-in manually.  Hopefully we will make the next leg of our journey.  Today has certainly been a day of surprises!

Jesuit church in Buenos Aires

San Domingo Church in Buenos Aires

So, let me now return to our trip to Iguazu.  It has been an adventure from the start.  Upon the completion of our cruise in Buenos Aires, we had about 9 hours to fill before we would hop on our 16-hour bus ride to Iguazu.  Once we managed to secure lockers for our backpacks at the Buenos Aires bus terminal, we were off to explore the city.  I wanted to visit the San Telmo street market.  

San Telmo Sunday antique market

The market resembles a flea market with local crafts.  We stopped for lunch at a rather unexciting Indian restaurant.  We also visited the museum in the oldest building in Buenos Aires and the city museum that had an exhibition of antique doors. 

Our home for 20 hours

We boarded the bus on schedule and settled in to the first two seats on the top floor of the bus.  The trip was relatively uneventful save an unexpected dinner stop at a local gas station/restaurant, and an hour-long delay the following morning due to construction.  We met a nice young couple, Tom and Cat who shared some travel suggestions with us. 

One of the many views of Iguazu

Finally, we arrived in Iguazu, 20 hours after our departure from Buenos Aires.  Blessedly Mark booked us a lovely hotel Jardin de Iguazu and we enjoyed a delicious Argentinian asada dinner (the Malbec wine was superb) where we met a lovely Argentinian couple.

Poem describing the "undescribable" Iguazu

As the poem says, Iguazu cannot be described in words—its majesty in absolutely awesome.  The photos don’t do it justice.  It is truly an amazing natural wonder.  And did I mention the animals?

I'm watching you

One of many amazingly beautiful butterfly

Stilt type bird

Gorgeous blue-colored iguana

Coatis, cute but they bite!

Taking a break

It is good, but like Mark, "I prefer Diet Coke."

Boat on the way to the falls

Boat in the falls

I am so glad we took the river ride.  Our guide had us laughing as the falls exploded all around us.  We shot the rapids and felt the power of the falls.  We were drenched and loved it! We will never forget the day.

It doesn't get better than this!!

Before the deluge!