Crismar Hotel Arequipa

... look down toward the blue pacific and cafes are open to the outdoors. The malecon looks down on the sea and a hwy that hugs the coast. The cliffs look fragile - made of dirt and rock and look like they may crumble into the sea.

After a lovely morming stroll, I head back to the hotel and enjoy a small snack before my next flight. The sun is full and strong now as my driver takes me thourgh the scenic route along ...

... help an old lady across the street.

After two and a half hours walking in the midday heat, we reach the rickety bridge at the bottom of the canyon that crosses the river. Despite drinking gallons of water, we feel dehydrated and in need of a rest. Next to the bridge there are half a dozen local women who shout at us when we appear, drawing our attention to the bottles of water and fizzy drinks they sell. At twice city prices they are doing OK for themselves and, under their ...

... most important. Because she was sacrificed so high up on the summit she was frozen in the ice and perfectly preserved for 500 years. Her body is displayed in a crystal cabinet kept at -22 degrees at 95% humidity to preserve her features. Its amazing that her skin and features are still apparent today with very little decay or decomposition. (No photos allowed I'm afraid... you'll have to google this one to see what she looks like ...

... children. They do not have a bathroom. Their sponsor bought them a toilet which sits inside of a makeshift brick wall.

Josette used to work in the cardshop, before the disease had progressed this far. Now, she and Juan Alberto stay at home and work on the cards together at home. They do stitched cards. Basically, they can maneuver the cards around using what still works of their hands, and then they use their mouths to help them pull ...

... or blue. It is labyrinthine to wander, so the map and walking tour provided is appreciated. I start in the "parlours" where the nuns could sit behind lazy susans adn pass goods to the outside world or receive goods without being seen. Near here are the novice's cells, clustered around a beautiful courtyard. I had always considered a cell to be a small, bare room with a bed and maybe a table. These rooms, however, are huge (gotta have space for those servants) with many ...

... upstairs, I refused point blank and began to explain the term ‘insurance’ to her. She told me that there wasn’t any insurance and she then consulted with the owner in light-speed Spanish after which he offered to split the price of the damage to the new bus, 50:50. Again I refused, but to avoid a full blown argument in Spanish, at the very least, I offered to pay s/50 only and he accepted my terms. I did apologise profusely and explained my case and to be fair ...

... let alone a condor, 18 swooped out over the valley! It was unbelievable! One of the best things I´ve ever seen. Take a look at the photos on the normal link. The backdrop of the mountains made for scenes I´ll never forget.

In the afternoon we hiked down into the canyon itself and to our first hostel. The scenery was staggering. The hike took about 4 hours but all down hill. Our group consisted of two other English lads, who were absolute legends. Really funny guys who we ...

... horns in a kind of pushing contest until one knows he´s beaten and runs off" kinda encounter. It was a fantastic experience with the stands filled with locals and their families, guys waiting until each bull came out, roaring approval and then betting each other in beers as to who was going to win. Had to laugh with the owners massaging the balls of their bulls to further rev ém up, and with tough names like "The Samurai", "Terror of ...

... good kind. One was the Mother Superior from Canada and she was down here giving encouragement to her Peruvian contingent. Her companion was one of the nuns from Peru. They were having a good time. People could choose their hotel, thereby choosing the total cost of the tour. We went for ¨basic¨. It definitely was, but we didn´t have time for a shower and it had the requisite three wool blankets so it did the trick. We had several stops to look at ...

... route, picking up more and more people; the ticket inspector was regularly climbing along the bus banging on the windows telling those standing to move further down to create more space.



We didn't see any condors from the bus this time, but we did see some flamingoes feeding in one of the pools by the side of the road.

Seconds before Katie asked me if flamingoes lived up ...