Mummies and Condors

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It had to happen sometime - I got my first fake 100 soles note this week, and from a damn ATM of all places. Put in a claim for a refund, but chances are pretty slim so have to consider it a write-off. There are so many bad notes and coins in Peru that no-one gets offended when you check every one you receive.

Arrived in Arequipa, which is known as the 'white city' as a lot of the historical buildings are made of a light-coloured volcanic rock. Nice and cruisey place. Visited the Monasterio de Santa Catalina which is practically its own municipality of around 2 hectares - an idyllic sanctuary. A real rabbit warren of a place, with different treasures in every nook and cranny.

Went to the Museo Santuarios Andinos to see the famous child sacrificial mummy known as 'Juanita'. It is estimated that she was 12-14 years old, and was sacrificed over 500 years ago on the summit of Mt Ampato. She is situated in this temperature-controlled freezer, and really well-preserved with a full head of hair. Fascinating stuff. Supposedly the priest would have got her drunk as a skunk, and then bashed her on the back of the head with a mace. Pretty brutal what they did to try and appease the mountain gods, but it was a fact of Inca life and considered somewhat a family honour if your child was selected as a Chosen One. Anyway the gods mustn´t have always been happy because 3 other child mummies (2 girls, 1 boy) were discovered further down the same mountain.

Also did the touristy thing by taking a 2-day tour to the Colca Canyon. As the highest pass was over 4800m, I was chewing coca leaves like crazy till my tongue went numb. It´s supposed to help with altitude sickness and give you a buzzy feeling, but all it did was make me nod off. Major reason for going was to see the magnificent Andean Condors effortlessly gliding on the morning thermal currents. Their wings can span up to 2.5-3.0 metres!

On the way there were vicuñas (softest wool in the world), llamas and alpacas grazing by the roadside. Plus I couldn´t pass up trying out the local hot springs at Chivay. It was not advisable for us to be out and about that night as there was a provincial celebration proudly sponsored by the local beer company, complete with street fires and firecrackers. Saw quite a few sorry looking locals stumbling home in the dawn hours.

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Photos

Canadian mountie?
Just the local tourist police

Out of Africa
Vicuñas in front of El Misti volcano

Baby vicuña
So cute and cuddly

Hanging tomb
The red stained holes represented a nobleperson´s tomb. It was better to be closer to the spirits.

Cabana & Collagua women
Two local tribes distinguished by their different hats

Santa Catalina monastery
Like a little town with streets and each nun having their own quarters