Blogs from Arequipa, Peru, South America - page 108

Eben hatte er noch Sprueche geklopft und sich gefreut, ueber das Diplom, das er vom Bergfuehrerbuero erhalten wuerde, wenn er uebermorgen diesen Berg, dessen Gipfel nur 1400 Meter ueber unseren Zelten ragt, bezwingen wird. Es gab keinen Zweifel, dass wir es schaffen wuerden. Jetzt uebergibt sich Spencer wie noch nie zuvor in seinem Leben und alles, was er in den letzten paar Stunden auf der Fahrt im 4x4 Fahrzeug an den Fuss dieses Berges in sich gestopft hatte, kommt explosionsartig und unverdaut wieder ans Licht. Wir befinden uns auf ca. 4900 Meter, im ersten von zwei Camps am Nevado Ampato, einem 6310 Meter hohen Berg in der Naehe von Arequipa, Peru. Der 4x4 Pickup hat uns am Morgen frueh um 8 Uhr in unserer Unterkunft in Arequipa abgeholt und in einer 6-stuendigen Ruettelfahrt in dieses Camp ... read more

In Arequipa we saw Juanita the Ice PRincess, from 1490AD she is a 14 year old Incan mummy sacrificed at the top of the Ampato volcano near Arequipa. She is amazingly well preserved you can still see her skin, hair, teeth and some of the cloth that she is wrapped in looks like new. I am feeling quite at home at the hostel in Arequipa, the brothers that own it (Victor and Hugo-my guide in Colca) have been really kind to me. I got a free, very decadent breakfast at a restaurant down the road which Victor's friend owns. It was a photoshoot breakfast so I had to allow my photo to be taken as part of propaganda for the new restaurant. For second course I tried Cuy. it's tasty, but doesn't have a lot of ... read more

Just did a two day hike down into one of the deepest canyons in the world, Colca Canyon. There were 6 of us in the group. me, our guide Hugo, two really cool swiss girls and two british boys straight out of high school. the walk down into the canyon was pretty rough, verry steep, rocky, volcanic stuff. Murray and Russel were both armed with leki poles and russel (or murray-i still don't know which is which) particularly liked stabbing fallen cactus 'leaves' and hurling them into the canyon below from the end of his pole, then turning around at me for a laugh and/or reaction. i gave him cop eye. everytime. We stayed the night in an oasis at the bottom of the canyon it was absolutely beautiful. there was a freshwater pool there with ... read more

**A quick note - I just accidentally published and then un-published a blog about the next four days, which we spent in Ilo. It isn't complete, and I still have to wade through the more then 300 photos we took while there, so it might we a while 'til the next post!** Jeff taught his 2nd day of undergraduate course today. Interestingly, he had 8 more students today than he did yesterday, so word of mouth must have been good! He was then invited to a meeting with the Rector (Provost) of UNSA. I’m starting to think he may really end up being famous here in Peru. Everyone seems to want a chunk of his time - which is really eating into our opportunities to get out and see the city. Elizabeth drew up a schedule ... read more

Last night I stayed in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! A five hour walk into the second deepest canyon in the world brought us to a gorgeous spot by the Colca river with thermal hot springs under the stars, and a candlelit dinner overlooking towering rock walls stretching up from the river into the sky... I picked up a travelling companion in Cusco where I was talked into visiting the nearby Inca ruins of Sacsayhuaman, Pukapukara, Templo de la Luna (a cave under a large rock with seats and all carved out of the stone and a hole to let in the moonlight on the winter solstice - amazing) and Zona X (another rock riddled with cave-like tunnels through it) on horseback. Snake, condor and puma figures were also carved into ... read more