Not Lost in Peru!: Ica tour and Winery

James: I guess after a later start around 10 AM. We were picked up by our tour guide contractor, William. He took us around the city if Ica, giving us background info. Our first stop was at a chocolate factory, Helena. It is famous in Peru and recently started exports to Miami. With their walls open to the factory with glass windows, you could see dozens of people working inside. From people working with Carmel to white chocolate, mixing in local fruits and nuts (pecans are local here). We sampled some in the store and then quickly brought several dozens grams of chocolates. Mateo's favourite was the Chocolate Mint Bon bons. Janice's and my favourite was the Carmel centered pecans covered in dark Chocolate. Yum.

Chocolate shop w our guide William

Chocolate shop

We then went down the main commercial street in Ica looking for a camera lens cover (we lost ours in the sand dunes). William dropped us off at this....market, where sales people operating out of booths are very aggressive. It was an electronics type of market, which is not a great word for the place, but the best I have. We wander through the place asking vendors for a camera shop...we were given many different directions, but eventually ended up a booth with an old man. He looked at the camera and reached into his showcase and pulled out a used camera lens cover. it was very basic, and in his words, the "only one." So we bought it.

Commercial street in Ica - crazy busy

Our next visit was a place to get a haircut. William yelled out the window to woman on the street and asked if she could cut his friend's hair. She said yes, I jumped out and followed her through a maze of hair dressers, probably 12 deep, to her chair. Where I proceeded to get my head shaved and my goatee annihilated. It cost 10 sols. good enough.

We then stopped at the Ica Regional museum and viewed clay pottery (like the stuff we bought yesterday) dating back 200 years, textiles, and 5 mummies from Nazca area, and some skulls with elongated heads. We could not take any pictures in the museum. ON our way out we got to to see the Nazca Lines, a la museum, out back, painted on the cement. 18 sols totals.

Nazca line drawings behind museum

Then we headed to an artisan winery called. All the wine and Pisco made here is made without machines or chemicals. The grapes are pressed by foot and mechanical press made of wood, then it ferments in clay pots that are 4 feet tall for 12-14 days, and is then pumped into a huge concrete cistern lined with copper. Here is is fired to 80 degrees Celsius then the vapour is cooled through a Large tube and cooling system, and eventually the wine is produced.