It’s On My List

February 11, 2025

General San Martin was our final port in Peru. It is a small, commercial port town. HAL provided a free shuttle to the larger town of Pisco, but I had booked a shore excursion for the day, “Peru’s Pisco & Wine Country”. Pisco is not only the name of a city it is the name of Peru’s national spirit, which is distilled from grapes. The Pisco Sour is the national drink, although the ship warned us to be careful if we chose to sample the drink, as it is made with egg whites, which of course can be problematic if not handled properly. In full disclosure, I had a Pisco Sour at lunch in Trujillo the day before the warning was issued but had no ill effects.

I chose this excursion not only because I like South American wines, but because I have found that winery tours tend to be a good opportunity to explore different geographic regions within a country. This tour was perfect for that. Just outside of the port lies the Paracas National Reserve, where the desert meets the ocean. Some of my onboard friends did a dune buggy and dune surfing tour in the desert, which they said was the highlight of the trip so far for them.

Moving away from the coast, we traveled along the famous Pan American Highway, which extends all the way from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. It’s always cool to travel on a famous road, even if only for a short while. As we headed into the Ica Valley, the landscape changed from desert to a lush agricultural region where irrigation canals lined the roadside. We passed a variety of fruit trees – mango, orange, and tangerine, as well as fields of blueberries, melons, and grapes.

Our first stop was the Tacama winery, which has been producing wine since 1540, making it the oldest winery in South America. We had a tour of the beautiful grounds and the wine-making facilities before heading into the tasting room where we sampled three wines and a pisco, paired with local cheeses.

We could see the Andes in the distance, and our guide explained that they were covered by clouds because it is the rainy season in the mountains, which is a very good thing as the valley depends on water from rivers fed by runoff from the mountains. He also explained that the white we could see on the mountainsides was sand blown across from the desert.

After a very nicely done tasting, we climbed back into the bus to continue on to the pisco distillery. A note about my experiences with HAL’s shore excursions so far. The buses have all been very nice – clean, modern and air-conditioned. And the group size has been 30 people or fewer, leaving us plenty of room to spread out. At most sites, such as the winery tour, the group is split in half to make it easier for everyone to see and hear everything. These ship excursions may be a bit pricier than booking independently, but they sure are convenient and so far, I’ve been really happy with them.

After a bit more scenic driving through the valley, we arrived at Hacienda La Caravedo, the oldest working distillery in the Americas (established in 1684). We were greeted by our enthusiastic guide, Jesus, who started the tour with a walk under a long arbor where the eight different types of grapes used for pisco were displayed. Jesus explained that the flavor of each variety of pisco comes purely from the grape – there is nothing added, not even water, and there is no aging in oak or any other type of wood.

We had an interesting tour of the facility, which included some beautiful vantage points from which to view the mountains, as in the photo at the top of this post. We then sampled five different varieties of pisco. I have to admit they all tasted way too strong to me. Although pisco is made from grapes, it is not wine; it is a distilled spirit that reminded me a bit of tequila, which I also cannot drink straight.

After the tasting we had a delicious lunch of local beef and potatoes and the biggest lima beans I have ever seen. During lunch local musicians and dancers entertained us with Afro-Peruvian music, which is very popular in the coastal region. We then were treated to a brief demonstration from a Peruvian paso horse and rider. These horses are known for their exceptionally smooth gate, and they “dance” to music. It was quite lovely to watch.

Having been fed and watered, we had a quiet hour’s drive back to the ship. Some of us may have dozed off for a bit. Looking back at my experiences in three Peruvian ports, I feel that my visit to the country, while brief, was rich. I learned about ancient civilizations, Spanish conquistadors and revolutionary heroes. I also learned that potato cultivation originated in Peru 8,000 years ago, and that there are more than 4,000 varieties of potato!