More Protests

Well...I don´t write as eloquently as Jeff, however he is busy trying to find us a Peruvian Punk Rock Show.....so your stuck with me. Anyway, our travel plans are temporarily on hold as we are unable to leave Arequipa.

I don´t even know where to start the last few days have been so action packed. Lets see I´ll try to start from the begining.

We left our beautiful hotel in Haucachina surrounded by 200 ft high dunes Tuesday night....we took a 12 hour overnight bus to Arequipa. We decided on the $13 bus instead of the $26 bus....let me tell you it was miserable. I couldn´t sleep at all....the bus was complete dark, no aisle lights or anything and no toilet. It finally stopped once and me a another girl were directed to pee in a dark dirt alley that was not hidden from the street in any way. First suggestion....splurge on the more expensive bus!!!!

Anyway, when we arrived in Arequipa I was miserable from no sleep and it was 4:30 in the morning which meant it was too early to go to our hotel. So we hung out in the bus terminal, which was pretty cool, lots of people to watch even a person having a seizure.

Our first day in Arequipa was ok. Jeff nor I felt great, we had accended 2300 metres (6900 feet) over night....which isn´t really good for anyone....so we took it easy...walking around, enjoying the views of the snow capped mountains from concrete mansions and ancient catholic churches.

Hmm....here´s where things started going bad, well not bad, just interesting. Remember blog entry numerio dos? Well the teachers strike has now turned into a transportation strike.

We booked a 2 day tour to the Colca Canyon to see the highland life and condors and the 2nd deepest canyon in the world. We were told that we had to leave at 2am instead of 8am because the strike was going to close all the roads. Well we left at 3am and already there were boulders and burning tires in the streets. Luckily our van could swerve around the small barriers and after assending another 1000 metres we made it to Colca Canyon.

This region is an area stuck in time. It seemed prehistoric and words could not discribe the view. We finally made it to Cruz del Condor at around 8am....this is a completely different schedule from what most people do but most people do not have to leave a protesting city at 2am to make sure they can get out. Anyway, the Condor were amazing...I know they are only birds but they have a 12 foot wing span and look incredible as they glide through the air on the thermal currents rising from the canyon floor.

Well, I was sick....very very sick....I think I was yellow by the time we finished watching the condors. And this really wasn´t the place to be sick as it took us another 6 hours to get to our hotel in a small indian village called Chivay. Unfortunately, Jeff and I slept all day....and missed out on this beatiful indian town. We finally awoke around 6 for dinner. We ate with a few people on our tour at a peña, which is a restaurant with local music and dance. And as much as Jeff was making fun of people who dance at these places he could not refuse a malaria dance with the beatiful indian girl who requested a dance. I have pictures of this....Jeff lying on the floor of a restaurant shaking as an indian girl put her skirt over his head and whiped him. I think I can hold these photos ransom. He´ll be completely embarassed. Oh....he also broke down and bought a woven peruvian hat!

Wait....where was I....oh right....so I started feeling better finally....and the next day...Wednesday we spent the morning relaxing in a natural hot springs. A few hours later we were quickly whisk out of town because the local in Chivay were starting to protest the inequality in the distribution of the tourist money in the Valley. As we were leaving Chivay...our guides were informed that the roads back to Arequipa were closed and the only hope we had of getting into the city was on an old dirt road. This was a road cut out for 4x4 and yet we were in a van! The road was long bumpy and windy but 5 hours later we made it back to Arequipa where the driver swerved to dodge rocks and road blocks.

So this morning...we decide to try to get out of town....and still...there is a transportation strike....the bus terminals are closed, the protestors are, as we speak, trying to take the airport. This morning, we realized we were not going to be able to get out today, so we decided to have a maintenance day....you know....send emails, finish our itineray, do laundry etc....so we started by having coffee in an ice cream shop near the plaza de armas, as we were sitting there, I noticed they closed the door. Finally I got up to see why...well there were probably, well...more thousands than we can count people marching by the door. After seeing this we quickly packed up our things and headed out. The protestors filled the plaza, burned tires in the streets and we caught it all.

I think I found my calling I think I want to be a war correspondent. I love following the chaos!

So, all that was several hours ago, we decided to have a few drinks and enjoy the day.....at this point no one is leaving this town, however we all have good hopes for tomorrow and in the mean time....this is a cool place....lots of good food, beatiful, we have a nice hotel...so we are not worried...it could put us a few days behind schedule but really how many people do you know that get stuck in peruvian cities?

We are going to try to up load video and photos later....more as we know what´s going on.

P.S. I didn´t proof read this....I hope it´s ok.

---

---