Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By Ross Knutson

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway′s visit to Peru. What, one might ask would this famous writer be doing in Peru?

Hemingway spent his time in Peru in the seaside town of Cabo Blanco, a then thriving fishing village, with a Warner Bros. film crew shooting scenes for the cinematographic adaptation of his acclaimed book “The Old Man and the Sea”.

During his month stay Hemingway resided at the then famous Fishing Club, a hotel founded by foreign investors with an interest in big game fishing. Ever the sportsman, he was always photographed watching bullfighting, hunting or fishing, Hemingway must have been captivated by the record breaking fish being pulled out of the ocean near Cabo Blanco in the 1950s, most notably swordfish and marlin. It was a few short years before his arrival that a record breaking 1,560 lbs (707kg) marlin was caught (see photo below).


Hemingway was by no means the only famous person to have stayed at the Fishing Club as its guest list also included such notables as Marylin Monroe, John Wayne, James Stewart, Spencer Tracy and Nelson Rockfellar. But it is Hemingway “don Ernesto” that the locals remember most. Peruvian journalists who interviewed him during his stay in Cabo Blanco remember him talking about his love of Spain, his fascination with bulls and bullfighting, and as his time serving as a war correspondent in Europe.

His one month stay in northern Peru was to be Hemingway′s only sojourn to South America. However, Cabo Blanco is still visited by a famous writer as Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa is said to make trips to Cabo Blanco.

A journey to Cabo Blanco today would find many changes compared to the Northern Peru of Hemingway’s era. For one, climatic changes brought about changes in the water temperature, which drove away the big game fish. With no fish to catch the Fishing Club closed its doors several decades ago and with it the memories of Hemmingway and the other millioners and Hollywood stars who once stayed in its rooms. However, Cabo Blanco is not a faded memory of the past.

Recently, Cabo Blanco and the rest of Northern Peru, has become increasingly popular with both national and international tourists who aim to take advantage of its warm climate and sandy beaches (see photo below). Adding to its popularity was the discovery, in 1979, of the “Peruvian Pipeline”, a set of breaks that produce excellent waves for surfing. The popularity of the “Peruvian Pipeline” has continued to grow and now Cabo Blanco attracts surfers from around the world.


As we look back on the 50th anniversary of Hemmingway’s arrival, what would Hemingway think of these changes? Perhaps he would be disappointed that the sport fishing has left and now surfers lay claim to the ocean. However, being Hemingway, there is a chance that he would view these surfers as some type of modern day “matadors” locked in a struggle where victory and defeat and not so easily distinguishable, a theme that was a central part of many of his works.

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1 Comments

# Todd Hamilton says :
19 April, 2006 [ 02:33 ]

I stayed on the beach below the old fishing club in 1980. At that time, it was used as a temporary residence for oil workers and their families, working on platforms offshore. My travelling companions and I used the building for it's supply of water, and happily spent the days body-surfing, watching for dolphins and generally living well on less than $1/day. There was nothing else there, just a fishing village along the coast where we would by fish, vegetables and beer. Until a 19-year old travelling companion decided he would swim "sin shorts", and was seen by one of the oil worker's wives. We were shortly thereafter "encouraged" to leave, and hopped on a an open flatbed truck for a ride across the Sechuran Desert to Chiclayo. I have a fantastic memory of that trip, the prefect parabolic dunes, and the sun sinking into the Pacific.

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