Our excursion to Tambo Colorado had not been a full day one and its somewhat isolated location had not provided any opportunity to stop anywhere and shop or eat; at its conclusion we simply boarded the bus and headed back to the port of San Martín where Star Princess was docked. This gave us a second chance to pass through the predominantly flat landscape of the region around the city of Pisco in Peru.
Driving Through Pisco
This is not the most attractive part of the world. A lack of rainfall makes for incredibly dusty surroundings and even the greenery that we found mostly inland lacked vibrancy and felt like it was coated with a film of dirt. A fan of shades of beige might yet find this bit of Peru appealing but it’s hard to find anything to say positively about the buildings that occasionally line the roads or form part of the bigger towns or the city of Pisco itself. Far from looking like homes or shops this more closely resembled a tens-of-kilometres-long, sprawling building site, one in which there was once a project to build something but funding, like the land around it, simply dried up. But that appearance is deliberate and it’s there for two reasons.
Firstly, there is a practical reason: earthquakes. Along the western coast of South America is a major fault line. It’s why there are volcanoes in Chile, for instance, and why there are tsunami warnings and evacuation routes on many shorelines. The buildings are kept low as a result, for stability and safety, and the care and attention that might otherwise be given to the way a structure looks is tempered by the realisation that there’s a reasonable chance in a big quake that there will be damage, so maybe don’t worry about it so much.
The second reason is financial: certain tax payments only start having to be made once a building is completed so many buildings never are. You’ll see places with tarpaulins insteads of roofs or you’ll see rebars jutting out of the top floor of homes or businesses, a way of saying “Oh, yeah, no, we’re, er, definitely going to be putting a new level on this building soon, er, just as soon as the, um, funds become available, and, er, yeah, we’re just living in the building on the ground floor for now but, yeah, we’ll really, really finish this house off, like, soon. Ish.”
The video below (temporarily removed) shows a highly-edited view of the drive back from Tombo Colorado through Pisco and towards the Paracas National Reserve and in it you’ll be able to see just how barren the Peruvian landscape is and the state of the buildings. You’ll also be able to spot painted, political advertising on many walls; that’s the large writing mainly in blue and pinky-red on white. One thing we’ve loved about visiting South America on two occasions now is just how politically active the people are. Too many people back home just don’t care enough and will ultimately blame the wrong people – that’s anyone but themselves – when they become victims of that complacency. But you didn’t come here to have me moan about lazy-minded, self-destructive gits; you’re here for shades of beige.
Paracas National Reserve
The landscape became emptier but far more interesting as we drove back into and through the Paracas National Reserve. There was something enchanting about the wide open spaces here and far more clean-looking whiteness on the ground and on the hill tops. If you saw those sorts of colours in colder climates you’d think they were ice or snow but here they were salt deposits.
You might look at the arid photos below and think “Well, I guess there are no slugs there” and you’d probably be right but that’s quite odd that your mind went there. You might more sensibly wonder how anything could really survive or flourish or why this might be a national reserve at all. Even in years with little or no rainfall at all, for part of them this area still springs to life thanks to the local ecosystem, known as the lomas. The water along the Pacific side of South America is very cold on account of the Humboldt current that flows upwards from Antarctica. The land in the northern areas of Chile and into Peru tends to be a lot warmer by comparison and this causes fog banks to form along the coast and drift inland, the moisture then transforming the land much like an oasis in the desert. A wide range of plants, algae, mammals, and birds, therefore, call this part of Peru their home. But possibly not slugs, no.
And, about 75 minutes after we’d left Tambo Colorado, we arrived at – to give it its full name – Terminal Portuario General San Martín. We were out of water, having finished ours off during the excursion, so first order of business back on board was to grab something to quench the thirst and a snack from the International Café.
The Paracas Candelabra
Refreshed inside (thanks to the bars) and out (thanks to the shower) and with dusty shorts having been given a wash (thanks to the shower again) and drying (thanks to having a balcony and bringing along clothes pegs (top cruise tip: bring clothes pegs)) we made our way to the Elite Lounge for some nibbles and another drink but brought along the camera. The reason I did this was because we’d had an announcement over the tannoy by Captain Tuvo in his typically humorous style, stating that since we’d all been very good and got back aboard ship on time he would treat us to a slow pass of the Paracas Candelabra during our departure. This was an unexpected bonus, although I suspect an annoying one for those who’d taken an excursion to see it during the day. As we started to round the northern face of the Paracas peninsula we left the people with whom we’d been sharing a table there (and who, despite showing a lot of interest in the candelabra, thought that photos through the tinted and dirty glass of the nightclub venue would suffice) and headed out onto deck to snap some shots.
The Paracas Candelabra is a prehistoric geoglyph, most likely created by the Paracas people, the Andean society that preceded the Nazca. The famous Nazca Lines are also geoglyphs but the candelabra predates them; pottery fragments from the area put its formation at around 200 BCE, towards the end of their culture. At 181 metres in height, the design – which is over half a metre deep and surrounded by stones – can apparently be seen from almost 20 kilometres away at sea. It’s a testament to the climate conditions of the Ica region of Peru that the geoglyph is still very visible 2200 years after its creation.
Although it’s called the Paracas Candelabra, the actual motif is a matter of debate. Some people claim it is the trident of Viracocha, the creator god in many pre-Inca cultures. Others claim it is the world tree. You can be pretty certain that some cretins will state they’re landing runways for alien UFOs, too, but for now, those scholars who favour it as one of the murder weapons in an early version of Cluedo have the weight of numbers behind them.
After the ship had spent enough time just off the peninsula so that anyone who wanted to take a look and grab some photos could do so, we started to pull away from land on our northwards trek towards the next port, Lima. We kept an eye on the sea for a while as earlier in the day, prior to our excursion, the water around the ship had been teeming with jellyfish and seals, but a chilly wind picked up as we cleared the headland and we soon headed inside.
Evening Food And Drink
To complete this first day in Peru aboard Star Princess, our evening meal and some further evidence of drinking. It was very hot and very dry. We were only thinking of our hydration levels and general health.
