Blogs from Peru, South America - page 1120

Our first day in Arequipa, after a NINE hour overnight bus ride! Marlon of Marlon´s Travel good as his word was waiting for us at the bus terminal. We checked in upacked, showered and slept for several hours before venturing to the Plaza de Armas. We stopped in on the Campania church and paid the 2 sole entry fee (less than a dollar) very worth the view. Then we went to the main catherdal which was a bit of a let down after seeing the spectacular dome in Campania. We went to the terrace on the plaza for a meal - the view was great even if we had to go up six flights of stairs to get to it. Arequipa was founded in 1540 and seem much more European in a way maybe because of ... read more

Huacachina is an oasis in the desert of Southern Peru. Being a suburb of Ica it is close enough for convenience but far enough to escape the packed city. Surprisingly, being in the desert, the region is home to the majority of Peru's wine and Pisco wineries or Bodegas as they are called locally - hence our visit. The vineyards are irrigated by the Rio Ica which channel water from the Andes to the Pacific. We arrived at our hostel late afternoon, quite a lively place with a younger crowd and loud music. This is not normally our prefered environment but as we were here to taste Pisco this was not a problem. The problem came when we went to the hostel bar - the Pisco sours they were serving were rubbish. A Pisco Sour is ... read more

ALL ABOARD! Well the train ride from Cusco to Puno was 11 hrs of beautiful scenery. We had good food on the ride and I managed to lose at least 5 crazy eight countdowns to Jeff. Upon arrival into Puno we were met by a woman from our hostel...we stayed at Hostel Uros which was cheap and clean and had a tourist agency right across the street. So we immediately booked our tour to the islands. You can go to the Uros islands yourself but if you would like to stay the night you have to book through an agency to ensure a spot with a local family. UROS ISLANDS These islands were so cool. The Uros people built them with only reeds, they are floating islands a few meters deep. When we set foot you ... read more

After a few uneventful hours we arrived in Arequipa, Peru's second most-important city (both historically and economically), which is nicknamed La Ciudad Blanca ("The White City") because many of its historical buildings are made of sillar, a perfectly white volcanic rock quarried from the nearby volcanoes. The area was first occupied by Aymara Indians, and indeed it is believed the name Arequipa comes from the Aymara language, meaning "near the peak"; this would be a reference to El Misti Volcano, which at 5,822 meters (19,100 ft) high, towers high above the city. The Incas would later conquer the area, but it was not until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors that the city was founded in 1540. Consequently the city's architecture has a strong Spanish influence. This is more notable in the Santa Catalina monastery, which ... read more

Peru: Lima, Cusco and Machu Pichu (March 31- April 8) The spirit of the Inca is alive- in the mountains, the sky, and in the heart of the Sacred Valley in Peru at Machu Pichu. I began the week flying from Bogota to Lima with an open mind and came away with spiritual enlightenment and one of the most awe-inspiring scenes I will ever see. The Inca people had built this civilization to worship the Gods of nature and founded their economic capital in the city of Cusco and their spiritual center in Machu Pichu, located in the heart of the Sacred Valley. The 4 day hike through the valley was clearly the way to feel and understand the culture of the time and appreciate the ruins of the Incas, who dominated most of South America ... read more