I left Lima five days after my arrival, on February 5th, going by steamer to the port of Mollendo, where I arrived on February 7th. There I met the railway line of the Peruvian Corporation from the sea coast to Arequipa and Cuzco. A magnificent private car had been placed at my disposal by the Peruvian Corporation, in which I was able to make myself comfortable for the several days which the journey lasted. Not only so, but the Peruvian Corporation kindly looked after my welfare in a most thoughtful way during the whole time I travelled on their line, for which I am indeed extremely grateful, as the travelling in that country would have otherwise been less pleasant.
The railroad from Mollendo went along the coast among curious eroded rocks of great interest; then gradually left the sea among sand-dunes and mounds upon the wide beach.
As the railway began to get higher and higher upon the steep gradient the scenery became more and more beautiful. Presently we found ourselves overlooking a wonderful flat valley between two high hill ranges in lovely green patches, cut with geometrical precision, and well cultivated. Giant cacti of the candelabrum type were plentiful. Farther on we got upon an elevated plateau with a white surface of pumice-stone, followed by red volcanic sand—an immense stretch of country surrounded by low hills of grey tufa and red volcanic rock.
Beyond that we came to a most interesting region of sand-dunes of extraordinary shapes, where the under soil was of a brilliant red, while the sand accumulations were of a grey colour. Some of the dunes were crescent-shaped. They stood usually in sets or rows extending from north-west to south-east. Then there were high mounds, also of sand, and dunes of all kinds, some with a double crescent, or with the inside of the crescent much indented, others with multiple concave curves. The concavity of all those dunes was on the north-east side.
I had seen a similar formation of dunes in the Salt Desert of Persia; also in the south-western desert of Afghanistan and in the northern desert of Beluchistan; but I do not remember ever having seen such a perfect formation of dunes as that to be seen in this part of Peru.
Beyond that sandy zone we had before us a red plateau with fluted sides. Great mounds of blackened volcanic sand were quite frequent, the railway winding its way around immense basins formed by depressions in the land. Then we entered a beautiful green narrow valley along a streamlet intersecting the plateau.
From Mollendo the railway gradually rose to an elevation of 2,301 m. (7,549 ft.) at Arequipa, where I remained for the night.
The Great Inca Ruins of Viraccocha, in Tinta (Cuzco).