Southern Peru

The captain informed the guests that there had been a small earthquake in Peru, near Pisco during the visit of Silver Spirit. TSH and Diva are unharmed.

Whales have been spotted swimming alongside the ship. The water is flat calm and the temperatures are still in the mid to high 20s. It is difficult to believe that the warm clothes and thermals stored carefully in the suite will ever be needed. The food is still agreeable but TSH and Diva have eaten very few desserts so far. Nothing is out of control yet and all clothes still fit nicely.

Matarana is probably the smallest port so far. It could not accommodate a ship much larger than Silver Spirit because of the improbably small gap in the harbour wall which needs to be navigated. One side of the port has the rocky desert landscape which is typical of the Peruvian coast. The other side has some industry and port activities but there is nothing like a cruise terminal. The locals provided an extremely welcome with lively music and dancing from about 7:45.

TSH went on an excursion to the Mejia National Sanctuary, which is an area of salt lakes, making it quite different from all of the surrounding desert. The journey there in a mini-van was quite interesting, as it involved driving along the cliff edge at what felt like high speed, For the first time in Peru, cows, sheep and goats were seen although in small numbers in isolated plots of green land.

An unusual sighting was an old steam train which was on display opposite the railway station at Mollendo. There were also some modern diesel locomotives but these were of less interest. It is possible to take the train from this station to Machu Picchu but it is a very long uncomfortable journey, climbing to great altitude and then down again.

The voyage is about one quarter complete. So much that is completely new has been experienced already.

Peru surpassed expectations.

First port in Peru – Salaverry

The scenery here is very different from earlier in the voyage, and very different from anything TSH and Diva have seen before. The coastal strip, where most of the population live, is very dry and sandy and there is little vegetation apart from where irrigation has been arranged using water flowing down from the mountains. As anyone who has bought asparagus in Britain will know, a lot of it is grown in Peru. Apparently 95% of the crop grown in Peru is exported along with a lot of artichokes. Behind the coastal strip are jagged, volcanic-looking mountains.

The bus used for this excursion was a double decker but very comfortable with seats more like armchairs and lots of leg room. TSH was amazed to see a steam engine before the bus had left the docks. It was on a raised plinth so presumably is of historic value.

Land is very expensive so people plan to build houses with many floors but many of the houses have only one or two floors with another started but never completed.

The first stop was at the Temple of the Huaca Dragon. This pyramidal temple is thought be 1,100 years old and has walls decorated with figures that resemble dragons. It is believed to be the first settlement of the Wari Culture in the Moche Valley.

The star visit was the second stopping point which was the Chan Chan ruins, which cover such an extensive area that it was only possible to visit one of the places. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the ancient capital of the Chimu Empire and is the largest clay city in pre Hispanic America. The reliefs and decorations were unlike any previously seen by Diva and TSH.   

On the way back to the ship the coach passed a Mormon Cathedral. Although the main religion is Catholic the second most common is Mormon.

The traffic lights show the count down to when they turn green resulting in all the vehicles starting to move before the green shows.

Many birds were seen at Salaverry ranging from the Black Vulture to sea birds such as Pelicans and gulls. TSH found it necessary to correct one woman who referred to the gulls as sea.gulls. That’s what having a zoologist daughter does for you.