Day 13 – General San Martìn, Peru (Paracas a d Pisco)

13°48.19S – 76°17.46W

A pleasant night run down the coast brought us to the NE corner of the Peninsula Paracas and the pier at General San Martin. This was named as the landing place by San Martin when he launched the revolution. The land is barren, sandy, hilly desert and the port is just a concrete parking lot where sand, salt and guano are dumped then scooped into the holds of ships. Not much to see to the West. Looking across the Bahia de Paracas to the East we can see the low buildings of the town of Paracas and behind that the Andes. ¾ of the peninsula is now protected as the Reserva Nacional de Paracas. (Paracas means “storm of the sands.” for almost every afternoon a sand storms blows by.) This is also noted for being one of the driest places on earth. The islands off the peninsula are white with guano and provide much needed fertilizer for export and for the local farms. After a short drive through the desert area we came to the Pan American Highway and soon were driving through the irrigated areas where the crops are cotton, asparagus, oranges and grapes.

About 35 miles inland from Pisco, following the river flowing down from the Andes, we came to the ruins (site) of the Incan village Tambo Colorado. (Red place of rest). Here the village built on the side of the hill overlooks the river and on the other side the site of a former pyramid. The original (not re-built) walls still stand and in many places the original red and yellow paint remains on the walls. The wood roofing is long gone but with no rain here the rest is well preserved. We walked the narrow hallways from room to room and enjoyed our guide's lecture on the history of the site. Visit www.archive.cyark.org/tambo-colorado-intro for more. This was a quiet day in an out-of-the-way place and we were the only group there.

Back down the highway to Hacienda Huamani, a large farm raising asparagus, oranges and other fruit and vegetables. Just entering the farm our vehicle had to be sprayed to keep pests from being brought in. The Hacienda courtyard was prepared with tables in the shade, poolside and serving tables for food and beverages. I again declined the local “Pisco Sour” but did consume a couple of tumblers of iced Inca-Cola. A music and dance group “Blanco y Negro” from the Cultural Center in Chincha performed

with music, song and dance of the African heritage. African heritage? There was slavery here and it was finally abolished but there remains some African (mostly Congo) culture. A fine lunch of typical Peruvian fare was served buffet style. (Visit www.haciendahuamani.com .)

The final stop on the way back to the ship was at the small factory Sumaqkay to observe hand operated looms weaving Peruvian Cotton into rugs, wall hangings, material for handbags and other things. In the courtyard a musical group played the pan pipes, guitar and other traditional instruments. (Visit www.sumaqkayparacas.com )

 Back at the port the wind had kicked up and sand was in the air. A bulk carrier was loading something. A few vendors set up on the pier were holding on tight to keep from being blown into the bay. From our deck we watched sea lions feeding alongside the ship, and at departure watched giant jelly-fish floating about. At 1820 our pilot left the ship just off the pier and we headed North to round the islands before turning Southward. On the hillside of the point, as we were leaving, we could see the huge earth carving looking like a candelabra. It had been a busy 3 day visit to Peru and now we look forward to a quiet night at sea and a sea day tomorrow.

 .