Condors, colca canyon, being HIGH
Trip Start
Jun 03, 2008
1
9
23
Trip End
Sep 22, 2008
Arequipa,
Peru
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Got into Arequipa, which featured a colonial main square like the other cities in Peru. That night we had a group meal where I tried the likes of guinea pig and alpaca meat. The guinea pig didn't have much meat on it, a cross between duck and pork.. and the alpaca meat was kind of a cross between pork and beef. I thought it was a lovely meal but I don't think my stomach agreed with it, and I went straight back because I wasn't feeling too good! The next day was just exploring Arequipa, starting of with Juanita, an ice maiden found recently in a mountain. She was well preserved and it is believed that she was offered as a sacrifice to the mountain gods, she was only 14, was basically born for that purpose, when the time came she was made to walk miles and miles, then sedated and killed with a blow to the head. There were a few other mummies there too, the place showed the different artifacts they found with the bodies like the clothes and pottery that was offered to the gods. It was a good tour, learnt a bit more about the Incas and the kind of culture that existed in pre-Columbian Peru.
Spent the rest of the day exploring Arequipa, didn't go inside the monestary, which used to have rich nuns in there that had slaves and partied it hard. That evening managed to stumble upon a couple of things that I would consider were highlights, one was a group of teenagers rehearsing some sort of dance performance in one of the hidden squares that nobody really goes to after dark, they were really good and the dance was kind of like a traditional south american / bollywood style performance.
arequipa
They obviously weren't expecting an audience when me and Sat were watching them, the seemed a little embarassed but appreciated our applaud before we left. We also found this guy selling paintings in the street, but he was surrounded by locals. Basically he used spray paint canisters and stencils, and seemed to be giving a tutorial (in spanish) to all the people surrounding. It was quite cool because one of his techniques would be to spray then set the art alight! Perhaps to dry the paint or something, but it looked quite flashy and he finished an impressive piece of art in 15 minutes. It was another half a day's drive to the town of Chivay, which was very small and loated in the valley of some mountains. We drove to a height of 5000m above sea level... at the very top we stopped for a little jog to the highest point... and oh my I didn't even jog for 20 seconds before the altitude hit me and I was well dizzy, like the feeling where you're so drunk that you're about to pass out! It was all good tho, a couple of minutes of deep breathing and I was fine, but yeah I hate altitude sickness! We got to Chivay, had some food then played a bit of poker. Since we were up high, it was freezing and the hostel was kind enough to give us hot water bottles which helped a great deal.
It was an early start to get the coach to Colca Canyon. It is one of the three largest canyons in the world, and is twice as deep as the grand canyon in america. The view was amazing, and we got to see some andean condors come out, which is like a vulture, with a wingspan of 3m! They are in mating season so many were out and about and they were massive! The guide on the coach was really really good, he explained a lot about Peruvian culture, and how things have changed in recent times, the effect of tourism, and generally about the lives of everyday Peruvians in modern times, and the social, political and economic issues that surround it.
Our next destination was Cusco, which used to be the capital of Peru, where we were going to prepare for the Inca Trail. From Chivay, I got my turn to sit in the drivers cab, where the view was amazing and it was interesting to see it all from the drivers perspective. THat night was a freecamp by a river at over 4000m above sea level! The altitude was really getting to me because I hadn't acclimatised yet, so that night wasn't a pleasant one.. dodgy headaches and freezing temperatures equals unhappy steve. It was so cold that the water bottle INSIDE our tent was frozen in the morning, and the thermometer told us the temperature was -13degrees at sunrise.. bloody cold, but I had a million layers on so it wasn't too bad. We got to Cusco in time to watch the Euro 2008 final and I realised I shoulnt have bet for Germany to win. Boo Hoo.
