We’ve got traveled 30,000 miles in 13 international locations over 21 months and I’m joyful to report we now have put behind us the worst site visitors of any metropolis we now have handed by.
Juliaca is the biggest metropolis in southeastern Peru with a inhabitants of 1 / 4 of one million folks dwelling at 12,500 ft and for those who look the place up you will note the same old colonial Spanish structure highlighted across the middle of city. We however adopted Google’s blue line throughout city. Fortunate us.
We drove into city planning to easily come out the opposite aspect. We wished to purchase ingesting water however the retailer was closed so we compromised and purchased a Peruvian scotch egg for lunch.
The highway into town from our wild camp 40 miles away was a greater high quality than the remainder of the way in which from Arequipa had been so we made higher time throughout the altiplano, the excessive plains. We needed to pay a toll, $4:25. which appeared outrageous for such a crap highway floor. The reasonably candy toll taker within the tiny sales space assured me they’re making ready to resurface the freeway…and the cash will likely be used to enhance the floor.
That is mining nation, clearly:
Why the highway indicators are so tall I couldn’t say however maybe they’re designed to forestall graffiti. In that case it really works.
The actual fact is they’re an financial necessity right here. Their wool is prized and their meat tastes like beef and isn’t in any respect gamey they usually thrive at ridiculous altitudes dwelling effectively off the ghastly scrub grass that grows right here. Such are the cultural diversifications it’s a must to make to discover these international locations correctly. It’s a dive into their tradition to eat the native meals and Peruvians are very good cooks. Some eateries are a bit too primary even for us:
There are, as you will note, a ton of gasoline stations in Juliaca. Some are closed, many look badly run down and a few are firstclass. We crammed with gasoline at a clear trendy gasoline station and weirdly we bought the most effective worth on the town, purely as a result of Layne knew it was more likely to be among the many most cost-effective. She watches this stuff and scored $3:60 for a gallon of normal.
In Peru for some purpose gasoline stations are known as “grifos” which is completely distinctive and bizarre and I do not know the place the phrase comes from. Tuk tuks at these frigid altitudes have completely enclosed cabins:
Your bus breaks down so that you repair it on the road. And a gringo drives by snapping a fast image of your efforts. Such is cultural adaptation. I used to be studying on a Promaster discussion board how Costco refused to put in new tires on a van because it was too huge for his or her carry and “coverage” didn’t permit them to alter the tires within the parking zone outdoors the workshop. South America is the land of the free nowadays…
These are the suburbs of this metropolis of 1 / 4 of one million folks close to Lake Titicaca, and it simply highlights the poverty of this area:
Peru is proud to assert they develop 4,000 styles of potato. I counted round a dozen completely different sorts of potato in my soup the opposite day. Brown and purple knobs alongside huge yellow slices of the extra acquainted King Edward model which I nonetheless choose.
Google Maps has a passionate want to avoid wasting us seconds on our journey so generally we find yourself taking absurd direct routes that don’t keep in mind the realities of life within the streets. How might they? However I nonetheless really feel fortunate to have digital mapping in my cellphone. I keep in mind scuffling with paper maps and having a map in my cellphone appears miraculous. Our van is the older mannequin and doesn’t have built-in dashboard mapping and I don’t actually thoughts as my cellphone is nice sufficient.
The difficulty with saying boldly that this metropolis was a nightmare is that essentially the most nightmarish bits are unimaginable to {photograph}.
These are the moments if you want eyes within the aspect of your head as a stream of site visitors like particles in an overflowing river simply pushes up towards you and swirls round like a log jam.