Tradicion Colca Colca Canyon

... suddenly as you turn a corner you see it. The Oasis. It is indeed and oasis, a patch of green in the yellow-brown-green on the canyon's bottom. Quite a beautiful view.<br>Toward the bottom it doesn't gets less steep. But it goes get colorful, the erroded edges turn frankly yellow/white/red as it touches the river that carved them.<br><br>1h40 to go down.<br><br>In the oasis are of course tourist ...

... for Arequipa.<br><br>Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru but only a fraction of the size of Lima. It has some lovely colonial architecture and the center was good to wander round. Unfortunately I was ill for a couple of days (mix of a cold and the altitude) and was confined to my hostel bed. Peter managed to demonstrate much patience during the imposed inactivity. He then made up for the lack of activity later by signing us up to a trek in the Colca Canyon ...

... sind fuer zwei Stunden gewandert und waren schon aus der Puste, was soll das noch beim Inca Trail werden ??? Ja liebe Familie der Oderbruchler in den Bergen .... das geht doch nicht gut :-)<br>Unser Hotel war in einem Tal versteckt, mit wunderschoener Aussicht.. <br>Haben dann noch den Cruz de Condor (Geier Aussichtspunkt) besucht und die majestaetischen Voegel bewundert.

... soup followed by main course (trout) and dessert. AFter lunch it was more 'Inca flat' ie slightly up and down to our first campsite, arrving about 4.00 - all tents set up, bags deposited and wash bowls ready. After afternoon tea of coca tea and popcorn we had a ´meet the porters´ session. Most of them were in their 30s and early 40s but have to admit they looked a lot older. We also introduced ourselves.....saying our name ...

... us! <br><br>At the end of the evening, we met our Inca Trail guide who gave us all the insights and details we needed for the trip. We're SOOOO excited! <br><br>To round out the day, we had a delicious organic dinner at Green's Organics just off of the Plaza del Armas! Anden lake trout, ravioli with beet sauce and stir fry....yummmmmmm. Not to mention the chocolate tart with caramelized oranges. <br><br>

It´s been a busy week. Toni and I caught the night bus from Arequipa to Cusco, which was quite lovely actually. We arrived at 6:30 am, found a hostel, and arranged to start Spanish lessons that afternoon. No time like the present!<br>We lucked out with spanish schools, we stopped in at the first one we walked by, and it has been wonderful. The people are very competent and also very friendly. It´s really like hanging out with some fun people and incidentally learning ...

Half the reason of wanting to travel for me is tasting some of the local cuisine. So here are some of foods of Peru that I made a pig of myself...<br><br>1. Lomo Pobre - Tenderloin with eggs and papas fritas<br><br>2. Some sweet, gooey fruit drink that´s served warm for breakfast. I don´t know what exactly is in it, and I don´t think I want to know.<br><br>3. Typical Peruvian breakfast - meat (beef?), boiled potatoe, rice... also soup ...

... popcorn in the street. Additionally, we decided to go and have a proper look at the 12-cornered stone on Hathun Rumiyok. Unfortunately there was a bloke there who spotted our vague interest and began to spew out a whole load of facts about the stone and Inca architecture; before we knew it we were on an involuntary and slightly unwanted tour of the streets, and this bloke was pointing at the snake and the puma - looks just like a bunch of rocks in a wall to the untrained eye ...

Dear Blog,<br><br> After an exciting morning of exploration, in the early afternoon, we headed to Huayocari Hacienda for an enjoyable private lunch. Huayocari Hacienda is a private residence that was built in the fifties by one of the most prestigious families in Cusco, landowners and art collectors. It had an impressive collection of Inca and colonial art and artifacts to view. <br><br> The ...

... 00 am I reach a small village nested at the foot of the Hualka Hualka volcano, where girls from a local school do the ritual dance every day at the same time. They are wearing traditional colourful clothes, and the music is played from a portable cd recorder by an old man. <br><br>I get off a bus and decide to reach Cruz del Cóndor on foot, and it takes me about 1 hour. The views are ...