First, I suggest to anyone planning to travel to Arequipa or the south of Peru from Lima, to go by bus. It’s a 17 hour ride on the Panamerica Sur, which spans the length of South America, following the rocky Pacific coast along most of the way. Several companies have buses that leave in late afternoon or night, so you’ll arrive in Arequipa by afternoon and see the land change in the morning as you approach after a hopefully good sleep.
Most of the companies in Lima are located south of centro along the Paseo de la Republica, but not in a terminal like many other cities in Peru. I took a 7 pm bus with Flores in June, so during the first section, coastal plain south of Lima, it was cloudy and dark. (for what you can see on this section, see my other entries on El Carmen and Nazca)
My eyes opened at foggy sunrise to otherworldly black rock spires, white ocean breaks, and packed sand in between. Big mountains loom high above a tiny town, called Puerto Viejo, with fishing boats out on the grey water. The sun peeks, shining light rays down, then hides again.
The road becomes more dramatic as we continue south. Soon we ride the desert cliffs high over the ocean…black sand, white sand, then red sand, and back. Giant boulders all around…we know there have been big earthquakes and landslides here. A kind of organ pipe cactus appears…growing directly at the coast.
We pass a community of sardine boats and factory (La Planchada), and rice farms in a wide, deep river canyon town (Ocona). There are hours of great conversation with the Peruvian ladies around the front of the bus.
Hours later, we turn inland and the volcanoes El Misti and Chachani appear in the distance over vineyards and desert canyons, signaling we are near Arequipa. By now, it’s been sunny and warm with a slowly fading sea breeze.
Arianna
JUNE 2015
arianna's creative travels 