Blogs from Arequipa, Peru, South America - page 15

Hi everyone !After arriving back in Cuzco we took the two days easy. Sadly on the first day I was still ill so ended up back in the hotel on my own. About 5 I decided to get a Starbucks and McDonald's with the others to try ad make myself feel better ! The day after I was determined to get out and do something as we had time to kill until 7.30. I went to the inca museaum. There were lots and lots of pots there - that's enough pots for me this holiday I think! They also had some of the mummys which had been preserved, scary but very interesting and couldnt believe they survived so long without just breaking! I took some sneaky pictures so you could see ;) after a 10 hour ... read more

Machu Picchu is a hard act to follow, so we were keeping expectations low as we headed toward Peru's canyonlands. An all day ten hour bus ride from Cusco to Arequipa gave us time to read, relax and take in the colorful Peruvian countryside. The ride to Arequipa is the Altiplano of Peru, high altitude treeless plains sliced by lazy rivers, rural farms, and rocky roads leading off to far off ranches and valleys. Boredom is rarely present, for if one becomes tired of scenery outside the window, the action inside the bus can be entertaining. Hence, at a short middle of nowhere stop, a couple of Indian women board with a large greasy bag smelling of something cooked. Surprisingly, they display a huge chunk of roasted Alpaca right down the bus aisle. Watch you step ... read more

Have just completed four days in Arequipa and the high Andes - Colca Canyon experience. All great. Arequipa is our favourite city so far. It has a very Spanish influence in architecture and culture. It has been wonderful to walk the narrow cobbled streets that have lane ways and entrances coming off the street often marked by arches and huge wooden heavy doors that lead to more cafes and shops. The main plaza is surrounded by colonades of doubled storied arches on three sides and on the fourth the cathedral with its two spires. Most buildings are white being made from volcanic rock as three major volcanoes surround the city and and give Arequipa the name of the White City. While here we managed to catch up with an ex teaching colleague for Glennie, Vincent Morere, ... read more

Went on a two day tour from Arequipa. Saw some great scenery that we had missed before due to the overnight bus ride to Arequipa. The roads are very windy and and the land is very dessert-like with many cactus and volcanic rock strewn about. We were lucky to see wild Viccuna and learned about the differences between llama, alpaca, and viccunna. I didn't try the cocoa leaves (for atlitude) as I was worried they might make my stomach upset. We reached the highest point at 4900m! Here there are rocks stacked up as offerings to the gods. I got very light-headed and had to walk so slow and sit to take some breathers. But good news - I didn´t faint and land in the squat toilet :) I felt better as we descended to Chivay ... read more

So we were off on a 6 hour bus journey to begin our next trekking escapade. The journey in itself was an experience. This was truly a local bus. We stopped every few minutes to pick up people on the roadside. We had a comedian performing, a one man band of panpipes, singing and guitar (John bought his CD he he), the well-dressed local ladies with a new fashion of handmade embroidered skirts and waistcoats or sequined hats, every seat taken and every aisle space taken up even more and a smelly duck! At this stage 6 hours feels like nothing to us but the constant madness did feel a bit much today for some reason! We arrived as darkness fell on the town of Cabanaconde. This was to be our home for the night. A ... read more