Log 24 - Peru

September 6th to October 5th, 2004

 Distance traveled to date from Portland: 10558 nm
1701 nm this leg.

We knew our passage through Peru was going to provide lots of chance to practice our slogging-to-weather skills.  And we were right. We departed from Salinas Ecuador on a bright and blustery day to head south. The first milestone was getting across the Golfo de Guayaquil in southern Ecuador, and into Peruvian waters. It's about 100 miles across the bay,  and we were not sure how much wind to expect, though we knew it would be from a southerly quadrant. It started SW 10 knots and built to SSW 20, naturally our course was 191°. There are no cruising guides for Peru,  and very few sailors head this way, so we had little advance info on the best way to proceed based on weather and currents. The American weather faxes finish off around the Columbia/Ecuador border. Those from Chile start about half way down Peru, so there's a bit of a no-man's land in northern Peru. We had been told that we must make Lima our first port of call to satisfy check-in requirements. This makes a leg of about 750 miles. We subsequently learned this is not true, although entry into any other port north of Lima is even more complicated.

We spent nine days getting from Salinas to Lima. We sailed a distance of 916 miles, not too far out of the way, except that the sailing was mostly in winds 15-25 knots on the nose and at times in 15-20' seas. These were the biggest waves we'd seen to date. It was so rough going that on the third night out, we hove-to (literally stopping the boat with the sails and bobbing like a cork), which was the only way we could get any rest. At this point we were about 50 miles off shore of Cabo Blanco, the most westerly point of South America at about 82° longitude. Our plan was to go way offshore to beat the "cape effect", a build up of wind and adverse currents around prominent headlands. It didn't work. We got battered about, and as soon as we made it south of the long cape we headed inshore. Strangely, the huge swells disappeared as we crossed onto the shallow continental shelf from the deep ocean. We looked back as we crossed the shelf and could actually see the huge swells recede. The winds also dropped dramatically to the 10 to 20 knot range. This made sailing a lot easier. We were finally making headway; from 50-60 mile days, we were now covering up to our usual 100. After we left the Cabo Blanco area, we saw no other traffic of any kind, not even small fishing boats as we closed on land each morning. 

One relatively calm morning Mike was rummaging through the bookshelf for a weather guide; we'd seen a halo around the moon all night, and day dawned to reveal a sun halo. It meant something but we couldn't remember what. We still don't know, as the clouds that should go with these halos never did develop. But we knew the weather would be changing - either vastly improving or deteriorating!  We also stumbled upon our copy of the US Sailing Directions for the West Coast of South America. Diving quickly into this volume revealed that the recommended transit for small boats from Ecuador to Peru is to hug the coast. Mike beat himself up for a few hours on that one, as if we'd followed this advice, we would have had a much easier and quicker passage. Oh well, now we know where the book is at all times and it has been a real asset on board. Subsequently the last few days before arrival in Lima where relatively pleasant except for the constant rumble of the engine. It was smooth and warm enough that we could even shower outside in the cockpit to get clean for our arrival in a new country.

We were told that to enter Peru we must use a ship's agent. We had been given the name of one to use and had tried emailing them several times with no reply. When we did arrive in Lima it was late at night, about 22:00 hrs. Lima Radio told us, in the most garbled Spanish we had ever heard, that we would have to anchor in the harbour and wait for clearance. We gave them our agent's name, but of course they were not expecting us. We told Port Control that we wanted to go to the yacht club, but they said we must clear in first. They gave us instructions (in even worse English) to motor along a course that would have put us on the breakwater, so we ignored that and ran 1/4 mile off the wall until we could go no further. We dropped the hook close to some large fishing boats, called again on the radio to advise Port Control of our location. Turns out it was exactly where they wanted us. By now it was midnight. Great, we thought, a celebratory shot of rum and then off to bed for a nice rest. But no, out of the dark appeared a pilot boat with the Capitán del Puerto aboard.  He sat in our cockpit and checked our zarpe from Ecuador, then actually took it with him. (Fortunately, Cath got his name, as it took us quite a while to get this sorted out with our agent the next day.) He was very polite and friendly and gladly accepted our offer of an evening tot o' rum. He left and minutes later the skipper of the pilot boat handed us a form to sign to say that he had ferried the Port Captain out. At the time, we were too dazed to really understand, but that signature was to cost us an additional US $25. The next morning we were awoken by a ship's horn, telling us to move to the yacht club moorings. 

What a change! The staff and members of the yacht club could not have been any kinder. Lima's Yacht Club Peruano, is just south of the main port of Callao, in the beautiful neighborhood of La Punta. La Punta was at one time the summer retreat for wealthy Limeños. It is now one of the jewels of Lima, which, we discovered, has many. The homes are all fairly well maintained. It has been declared a heritage site, so only rebuilds to original designs are allowed, no teardowns or high-rises. There is everything from French villa, art deco and even Tudor-style homes here. The club house itself is in an old family summer home (mansion would be a more fitting the description.) It is currently undergoing a facelift, like most of the homes in La Punta. They were built stick frame with daub and wattle exteriors. Actually it's the same split cane we had seen in Ecuador, except here it is used to hold up the exterior stucco. This building material works very well here, since Lima is essentially a desert, with little or no rain, and only occasional cloud or fog heavy enough to dampen the sidewalk. But they are alongside the ocean, and after 100 years, the stucco crumbles.

The club is open to Peruanos who can afford to join. They have 250 moorings, all full, many holding very expensive yachts, both power and sail. There is obviously a healthy upper class here. We cannot say enough good things about the club; it is simply the best-run yacht club we have seen anywhere. We'll just leave it at that, and get on with our tales of this very interesting country. 

Peru holds South America's most famous site, Machu Picchu, the incredible Incan ruins in the Andes. Interestingly, the Incans were only in what is now Peru for a little over 100 years. Before they arrived and decimated the local tribes, there were many very old cultures in the area. These cultures date back to over 2000 BC. As an introduction to Peru's history, a visit to the Museo de la Nacion provided us with a great overview. This ugly edifice (10 stories of gray concrete) houses examples of the great finds from all the different cultures. Like Ecuador, there are still hundreds of known sites waiting to be worked on, if only there was a budget for it. Unfortunately while we wait for that to happen, modern day huaqueros (grave robbers) know these sites as well and earn their living pilfering all kinds of artifacts. Not surprising when you consider that even a square foot of a Paracas burial cloth fetches up to US $2,000, and a full one (about  6 square yards) is almost priceless. But back to the museum, it is very well laid out with a natural flow to it through the ages, and gave us a good idea at the ancient history before we hit the back roads next fall/winter.. 

We had planned to travel inland from Lima, however, by the time we finally got here, the boat project list was getting long again. We decided to re-visit Peru by  land once we get BREILA safely settled for the winter in Chile. It seems that passage making for us is a way to break more things, or find problems. Though we try to stay on top of BREILA's routine maintenance, she's 22 years old and some things are bound to fail. This time the major failure was the original windows in the cabin top, which are toughened glass in aluminium frames. They have always had minor leaks,  but nothing that "Capt Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure" couldn't fix. Alas, this last bash to weather proved we would have to do major surgery to the windows. It turned out to be a 6 day job, and $150 of special sealant later Mike had them finished. Also on the jobs list was an oil and filter change, resealing the new forward hatch (installed just 9 months ago in Mexico), repairs to the new battery charger,  retuning the entire rig, and a host of other small jobs.

 We did spend two half-days sightseeing. In Lima's center, we visited the famous plazas and were amazed by the beautiful architecture. With Moorish influence from Spain, many of the buildings have fabulous screened balconies overhanging the sidewalks, where the señoras could sit to watch the world go by, reminiscent of Seville. Unfortunately we don't have any photos of the downtown. "Someone" forgot to put a Compact Flash Card in the camera! We had been warned by the club staff never to take buses as they were dangerous, security-wise. We did use buses at busy times of the day and never felt threatened, except the drivers were worse even than Guatemalan bus drivers. On one trip, our driver was racing down the road and swerved to avoid a car in front which he wanted to pass. Everyone in the bus was thrown from their seat. The passengers where so mad they started heckling the driver, who's head shrank down into his neck for the next 10 minutes. Didn't slow him down though. 

It was getting very easy to find reasons to stay at the club and delay moving south. Invitations were forthcoming to join in a regatta (we respectfully declined);  and lessons from Eugenio, a colourful club member, on how to prepare the "world's best ceviche" aboard BREILA. That all-day party only broke up as it was getting dark, which suspiciously coincided with the draining of BREILA's beer supply (except Mike's Guinness stash.) Then came an offer to take us to Miraflores, another of Lima's better neighborhoods. It was hard to believe this was the same city. Miraflores was so European, we felt we had been transported across the pond. Sidewalk cafes, restaurants and bookshops, as well as many great restaurants serving Peruvian cuisine. We stopped here for a break from walking to sample the tasty Cusqueño beer on draft and a local specialty, grilled beef heart. We also toured the huge artisan market - 5 blocks of stalls selling indigenous Peruvian goods. It was a visual overload of Alpaca and leather goods, painting and weaving. Of course there were the usual tourist kitsch items, but we managed to get away with out buy out the store.

Our last commitment was a dinner invitation from Jaime Ackermann, the operations manager of the club, at his home in Miraflores. We enjoyed a lovely evening with Jaime, his wife Vicki and their 3 year old son J.J., and sampled again the gracious hospitality of the Peruanos. We learned that Limeños are just beginning to feel confident in their government again, and that the marrying age is now early 30's, as couples strive to have a home and some income before they commit to families. Most families are now small - one or two children - a big change from the norm in other Catholic countries. Nonetheless, Peruvians, and especially the 8 million people in Lima, face major obstacles. Poverty is rampant, though the country is working hard to pull itself out of third world status. The populace as a whole has agreed to a 48 hour standard workweek, in a hope of increasing the GNP. The minimum wage stayed the same at about US$40/month. Crime in certain areas of Lima is still a problem. We never felt threatened, but we were always careful where we went and at what time. We can only hope that the hard work of these wonderful people will pay off in years to come. A stable, honest government will help.

Our next stop on the trip south was a fairly quick jog. The club has an outstation about 150 miles down the coast at Paracas, just south of Pisco. We left the club mid-day Sunday and 3 yachts from the club sailed out into the next bay with us in farewell. Pisco got it's name when the conquistadors arrived and asked the locals what was the name of this place, waving a arm across the bay.  The indigenas replied "Pishco" (which the Spaniards mis-heard, and which actually refers to the pink flamingos in the bay), so Pisco it is. The name also extended to the potent national drink which is distilled here. We prefer "Pishco", as it sounds more like you've been tippling...

Bahia Paracas is a very large bay open to the north. It's quite shallow and we anchored 1/2 mile offshore of the yacht club in 10' of water. As at La Punta, the club had a launch at our beck and call. The same level of friendship and help followed us from La Punta. After finding out we wanted to make a trip inland to sightsee, the club manager called around to arrange a tour for us. We arranged for a full day trip, including guide, in a private car with driver. Both the taxi driver and guide were very polite and knew all we wanted to know about the region. The taxi driver was particularly helpful with local knowledge of sites not in the tour guides. In a very long day, we traveled over 250 miles, mostly inland into the northern reaches of the Atacama Desert - the driest place on earth.

First we visited the incredible Nazca lines, built on the antiplano by the Nazca people. (We don't buy the spaceman theory.) These are best viewed from the air, and the local airport at Nazca is set up for it, with every type of small plane you can think of. The flight only takes about 50 minutes, 20 to get there and back and 30 flying over some of the huge geoglyphs. Since these lines are not detectible from the ground, they were only discovered in the 1930's. In fact, the Pan American highway cuts right across the middle of one glyph. It would have taken 10,000 people a full year to complete one of the glyphs, and there are thousands of them.  Though the purpose is not presently known, the prevalent theory is that these "drawings" were made to appease the Gods, and they are a haunting and mysterious sight. Close to Nazca we saw the world's highest sand dune at over 2100 meters, though we declined the opportunity to try "sand boarding". Next we visited the last remaining desert oasis of Huacachina. Originally there were 7 of these oases; unfortunately the increased population has lowered the water table enough that they have subsequently dried up. The last one is actually fed water to preserve it, and a gorgeous place it is, too. In fact, it is the image on Peru's 50 soles bank note.

As we have mentioned this is the Atacama Desert, no recorded rain ever. The irrigation water comes from the subterranean rivers that run beneath the sand from the snow melt of the Andes, the Nazca learned to tap these, building complex underground aqueducts.  In this way, they were able to survive in the small valleys here for centuries until the Inca wiped them out. The Nazca and Paracas traded goods for many years, the Paracas fabrics where renowned for their fineness and colour. Anyone of consequence was buried wrapped in a Paracas shawl, along with household ceramics and finery. The Nazca and Paracas buried their dead sitting upright facing the sun in family graves. The dry sand preserves everything buried in it, mummifying the remains. We visited one such cemetario, which is now protected from huaqueros (grave robbers) as much as possible. But again without resources, other burial sites have been plundered. The only saving grace is that they know the best cemetery is still out there, as generations of chiefs have yet to be discovered. Hopefully one day the world will help to preserve this part of man's history. 

Our final visit for the day was to a bodega - a small winery and pisco distillery. Our guide took us to the perfect one for us.  The LAZO bodega is owned by descendents of Simon Bolivar, South America's great liberator.  It is a 200 year old business. They have a huge copper still out back, sitting in a giant cement cooling pond.  We went inside the ramshackle building for a tour and tasting. Pisco is a brandy produced from white grapes - usually muscatel.  For aging, it is traditionally stored in huge ceramic jars resembling amphora's. The jars are vaguely shaped liked flamingos, hence their named pisco, and the word also came to mean the brandy stored in them. These are no longer produced, and antiques dealers sell them for $500 to $2000, but this bodega still has - and uses - their original collection. There were hundreds of these jars lined up along the earthen floor. The beamed ceiling was hung with old chandeliers, and huge oil paintings (mostly of Bolivar) graced the walls. First we tasted the bodega's wines.  These are mostly artisanal - not to our liking - but interesting nonetheless.  Then we sampled the four kinds of "aromatics" of pisco.  We enjoyed them all, even the one used just for making pisco sours, (a tasty concoction of pisco, lime juice, egg white and sugar) and added a few bottles to BREILA's stores.

We finally hauled the anchor and set sail south, looking forward to our landfall at Arica, Chile, 540 Nms away. We had enjoyed our stay in Peru, and from all that we'd learned we eagerly looked forward to our return visit via land.

Mikey's Beer Index: An up-to-date status report of one of the basic food groups. Reviews of all popular local beer with prices in both a bar and in the tienda:
Peru:  Like most civilized countries in the world, Peru has been brewing beer for a long time. There is a good selection of beers, although the ubiquitous Pilsner-style beers prevail. At least in Peru you can drink a Pilsner without it being iced cold, unlike Ecuador. The predominant beer is Pilsen Callao (named after Lima's port). It is sold in cans or bottles (as large as 1.1 liter - very civilized!) This is a classic pilsener; it is bottom fermented as lagers should be, and wouldn't you know, they use good Canadian malt in the brewing and hops from Germany and the US.  Other beers of a similar style and slightly different tastes are: Pilsen Trujillo, the same recipe as Callao, but made further north; Crystal, a fairly new beer on the Peru market; and Cuzqueño (named after Cuzco the city in which it's brewed), available in both a pilsner and an Alt bier. The pilsners were refreshing, the Alt beer, too heavy in chocolate malt to be enjoyable, except mixed half and half with the pilsner. I would have to say though that by far the most popular beer is Arequipeña. Arequipa, where it is brewed, is a large city in southern Peru, and it is also a very well made pilsner style with good flavour. The reason I say it is the most popular is that it is not only enjoyed in Peru, but exported to the rest of South America. Chileans are particularly fond of it.  So what do they all cost? Well in the yacht club bar, one of the more expensive places around, all 330 ml bottles were US $1:50. But that came with a great view of our own boat. In cheap restaurants a liter bottle of any was about the same. Cans are always more expensive, a 350ml can in the store was US $0.43. We left Peru with just a dozen Pilsen Callao on board, as we heard good things about the beers to come in Chile.

Oh by the way I'm down to only four cans in my Guinness supply.