The Blaus - South America and Europe

6 de Mayo - Pisco, Peru

We decided to take the bus to Pisco, about 3 hours outside of Lima so that we would not have to stay too long in the overcrowded, slightly dangerous city of Lima. We were also drawn to Pisco by its history, as it was one of the major ports of South America two hundred years ago. It is also near the grape growing region of Peru, and instead of making wine, they mostly make brandy from the grapes, which they call Pisco. The popular South American trago (drink) Pisco Sour is made from this brandy. The name Pisco Sour actually originated in San Francisco, which was a major trading port with Pisco, and people drank so much of the brandy from the port of Pisco, that they created a drink in SF and called it the Pisco Sour. We were expecting a quaint colonial city on the water with many restaurants that serve ceviche (another dish which originated in Peru) and Pisco Sours. We found Pisco to be quite a bit different than what we expected.

First of all, it was a long bus ride from Cusco to Pisco. When we were buying our tickets at the bus station, and comparing prices and services, we were told by one of the bus companies that the trip would take 14 hours, which was quicker than the trip the other companies advertised. We decided to buy tickets with that company, as we were told they make less stops and offer "direct" service to Pisco. We were supposed to arrive at 7am, but did not arrive in Pisco until about noon. Something we are quickly learning is that you can not trust anyone to tell you the truth that is in any kind of sales role in Peru. Even the bus companies lie to you about specifics on the tickets. We also had asked if we were getting dropped off at the Terminal de Omnibus in Pisco, and the reply was yes. As it happens, we were dropped off on the side of the Panamericana Highway. They pulled over, told us to get out, and threw our bags at us, and that was it. We weren't sure what was happening, and by the time we figured it out and were mad, they were gone.

We found a taxi and went to a hostal to drop off our stuff, and then go and have Pisco Sours and fresh fish after our long bus ride. We walked to the main square where the typical colonial era church and other government buildings were located, but thought that this certainly couldn't be the real Pisco. It was dilapidated, and didn't look like it ever had any glory days at all. The more we hunt out the cities of previous grandeur, the more we see that unless they have a major tourist attraction near them, they are pretty much distant, sad, elderly relatives of a life long past. It is sad to see these famous and historically important cities turned into nothing, but as bigger and better ports are built, industry moves away and these towns are permanently left behind. Pisco is not the first such town we have visited.

We were able to find a good restaurant where we ate a huge plate of Ceviche, a heaping portion of Arroz con Mariscos (rice with shellfish), and we drank a couple of Pisco Sours each. Pisco Sours are made of Pisco, egg whites, sugar and lime juice. They are very good, and quite strong. After the meal we decided to look at the oceanfront, so we took a motorbike taxi (like a tuk-tuk in Bangkok that has a seat in back and three wheels) to the shore, and strolled for about 5 minutes. It didn't smell good, there was a dead sea lion rotting on the beach, and it seemed a bit dangerous. We could see that beach town was never going to be a selling point for Pisco. We then walked back to town, and bought a ticket to leave the next morning to Lima. As luck would have it, there was a party for some teenagers next door to out hostal, and they rented a karaoke machine that was blasting until midnight. We were happy to get on the bus and out of Pisco the next morning. At least we can say we have had a Pisco Sour in Pisco.

posted by The Blaus @ 7:25 PM