Arequipa & the Colca Canyon

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Hey everyone-

I just arrived from my trip to Arequipa and the Colca Canyon. After a pretty tough ride home from Lake Titicaca I decided to take a flight. I could have either chosen a 10-12 hour ride on the bus or a 30 min. flight. It wasn't too hard to chose! I really loved Arequipa. There were several neat things to do and it had a unique European flavor. The plaza de armas and nearby buildings were all painted white. (a.k.a. "The White City"). The first day I visited an incredibly interesting museum featuring a well preserved mummy. Juanita, the Ice Princess, was a 12-14 year-old girl sacrificed by the Incas 500 years ago on the peak of a volcano. She was perfectly preserved, organs intact, by a large glacier that was later melted by the eruption of another nearby volcano. The Incas believed the mountains were gods and had to be appeased in bad times and only the best, most beautiful virgins were sacrificed. It was an honor to be chosen because one was going to commune with the gods. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pictures, but I did take home some postcards. It was fascinating to see her.

The next morning I headed out to visit the Colca Canyon. It takes nearly 5 hours to travel 100 miles since the majority of the unpaved, dirt road is traversing mountains. We stopped numerous times at different points to see wild llamas, vicuñas, alpacas (these are seriously interesting to watch!) and miscellaneous points of interest. They are all part of the camel family. Vicuña wool is the finest in the world and partly because each animal only produces 200g of it each year the price per kilo has reached a staggering US$500-900. We stopped at a cafe to drink the famous Mate de Coca (which is illegal in the states because it is comprised of 7% cocaine) to help with the altitude. Anyway, there was a tame vicuña wandering around looking for a handout. This one lady really wanted to take a picture with it and kept grabbing at it's neck and trying to pull it even though it was entirely obvious it wanted to get away. Sure enough, the animal turned around and spat at her! Hehe...I thought it was hilarious.

We stopped in a small town called Chivay to spend the night (to avoid the long traveling). It was brutally cold that night..around 30 degrees IN MY ROOM. I booked the tour in Arequipa for $20 (hotel, transportation, and guide). Apparently my room cost the company $3-4 and that's exactly what kind of room I stayed in! Luckily it was only one night. We ate at a restaurant which offered local folklore dancing which I gladly took part in!

5am wake up call. We were on the road by 6am to visit the canyon and most importantly, see the Andean Condors at the "Cruz del Condor". Colca Canyon is the 2nd deepest canyon in the world with its deepest point at 4160m (considerably deeper than the Grand Canyon) I, however, did not see that part since I was not hiking. Andean Condors are the largest and heaviest flying birds on earth with the second largest wingspan reaching nearly 10 feet. I perched on the ledge with a bizillion other tourists and watched as they soared higher and higher until the were circling only a few meters above us. It was heart-pounding to see the giant birds. I was snapping my camera like crazy trying to get a shot of one of about 15 condors who are only out between 7-9am.

With a successful trip we headed back to Arequipa. This morning before my flight I visited an old monastery called Santa Catalina. Again, I loved it. It was like a self contained city with it's own streets! It was the family's responsibility to build living quarters for their daughter on site..many being quite lavish!

I'm back in Cusco now awaiting my 6pm meeting with the trekking company. I leave tomorrow for my 5 day hike to Machu Picchu. Wish me luck!

Jen

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Photos

El Misti
This volcano overlooks Arequipa

Alpacas
Alpacas and local women..You have to offer a tip everytime you take a picture of someone! Some people make a living this way!