Posada Del Monasterio Arequipa

... took me for a tour of the city yesterday and oriented me to the sites of Arequipa. I had to buy a tube of lotion as i´ve never been to a drier climate in my life. I wake up and my throat is hoarse and my skin and eyes so dry. I discovered that Arequipa receives minimal rain per year and has 360 days of sunshine (way more than Colorado!). Also, I killed my blowdryer on day one and had to buy a new one. I completely forgot about the whole 110/220 ...

... where a family of Andean Condors have set up shop, and regularly perform aerodynamic acrobatics for the tourists at about 8 in the morning when the thermals are at their best. Knowing my luck, the only birds I´ll get to see are the friggin pigeons hovering around the cathedral. Here´s hoping. There´s also some great trekking on offer in Colca, and there´s a few thermal springs where we can soak our weary bones too. Should be good. Back to Arequippa on ...

... nos preparou fantástico jantar, introduzido, claro, pelo coquetel mais querido del Peru, o Pisco Sour (lembram da nossa experiência em Lima?)!!! Depois de muito conversarmos e saborearmos o Menu de salada de camarão, e um delicioso refogado de frango, caímos como pedras mortas na cama para o próximo dia.

Na Suiza
A estadia junto aos Seelhöfer foi uma grande surpresa para nós. Primeiro, o jantar com todos os rituais típicos de um Menu de três pratos. Entretanto o ...

... to the mountain gods to stop it happening again. To me the sheer thought that people in reed sandals made it to those kind of heights without tents and thermos flasks is miracle enough for me. Because it was so cold up there once she was killed Juanita froze almost immediately so 500 years later she is perfectly preserved down to her skin, hair, fingernails and even nail polish unchipped!

I’m sure it’s not that interesting for you ...

... know what you're eating.

After the initial shock, it was a really enjoyable meal. I confess to having to turn the dish the other way and start at the tail end - having GP look at me when I cut in to it was a bit too much. I can deal with leaving the head on a fish (even though the eyes on a fish are much more piercing, I find) but having the head of a mammal watch me as I eat it was not something that I wanted to endure for the moment. Anyway, its a ...

... té offerte à la montagne au nom de son peuple pour calmer les éruptions des volcans. Elle a été choisie car elle était belle. Elle est allée à pied à Cusco pour être bénie, puis est revenue à pied jusqu'en haut de la montagne pour être offerte. On la habillée avec les plus beaux vêtements, on lui a fait boire de la chicha très fermenté pour qu'elle soit dans un état second, puis on lui a violemment fracassé le crâne et enterré. Son corps était un parfait état. Un ...

... The next day we awoke early (i am talking real early - 4am) to take the bus to the actual colca canyon, after about 2 and a half hours of amazing mountain scenery, we arrrived at the actual Colca Canyon. There was a viewpoint which gave us fantastic views over the canyon, and we even managed to get some glimpses of the elusive birds themselves, as they swooped peacefully through the air. Defintely made the long trip to get here worthwhile!!

... things couldn't get much worse, the tv right in front of my head was switched on, and movie credits start rolling. English words, which looked promising...

I'm not sure words can adequately explain how I felt when the words "JEAN CLAUDE VAN-DAMME" filled the screen, but I do remember putting my head in my hands and wanting to cry!

The film was called "Inferno" and needless ...

... middle of the road. Meanwhile Eduardo was just watching us fighting over my bottle as if it was something that happened every day. Eventually the guy gave up, let go of my bottle and walked off. All Eduardo could say then in a blase sort of way was “that was strange”....
Shortly after, we arrived at the Plaza de Yanahuara with the mirador where we had beautiful views of the El Misti volcano and of Arequipa. The barrio of Yanahuara is a ...

... I decided doing some sight seeing. I had read about the Santa Catalina Monastery and it sounded interesting. It's like a small city within a city, very old and intensely colorful! It was a bliss for someone into photography, as the colors, contrasts, lights and shadows gave endless opportunities to experiment! I spent nearly the whole day in there, and it was just beautiful. I'd go back any day.

Then after Arequipa, I was headed to Arica, Chile.