Cusco, Peru
10 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Cusco, Peru
10 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
On our way to a free walking tour of Cusco, we went to the Plaza de Armas, the main town square, and saw thousands and thousands of people there with music and marching bands. Every Sunday they have a huge parade and local schools, military personnel, local politicians and bands are invited, on a rotating basis, to participate. The parade lasts at least an hour and a half, and everybody takes it extremely seriously.
We met our red shirted guide, at 9:20 and started our tour. The original town of Cusco was only about 12 blocks by 8 blocks and had a population of 20,000 people. It is now 400,000. In the early days, ritual offerings consisting of meat, bread and symbols of the important things of their lives would be presented always at sunrise in the Plaza, and always facing the east.
Our guide commented on the ridiculous price of coffee at coffee shops. He said that you could buy one kilogram of coffee in the local market at 25 SOLES which is just under eight dollars. The price for a cup of coffee at a coffee shop could get as high as, you guessed it, eight dollars!
The original Inca houses were only one story high. The town walls were much higher. A picture of Lee standing at the corner of one of the many remaining Inca walls shows how big the stones were. They are so huge that it seems almost impossible that they could have been moved. They are also perfectly shaped and notched to fit each other. In every case the walls lean in to minimize wall crumbling or bursting out during earthquakes. Virtually all the walls in Cusco and at the major Inca historical sites in Peru have survived earthquakes as high as 7.8 on the Richter scale. Some of the stones are slightly rough on the surface, the result of the chiselling that they used to form them. Others are remarkably smooth, achieved by sandpaper like abrasion using very fine river stone.
During the 400 or so years at the height of the Inca influence between 1350 and 1450, there were approximately 10,000 royalty. When one of their sons was born, they would be given a 1/2 acre of property but when they died, they had to give it back to the government. Therefore, there was no private property.
We visited a courtyard that had both llamas and Alpacas. Llamas are the taller of the two, their ears are laid back and can carry up to 25 kg of cargo. Anything over that they just refuse to move. Alpacas are shorter and are sheared every 2 to 4 years, their ears are short and stand up. They are both of the camelid family. Another member of this family is the Vicuna. They are the slightest of the three, rather like small white tail deer and they are a national treasure protected by law. Their hair is so fine that it commands $3000 for fleece which is sheared every 2-3 years. The babies are so agile that they can walk five minutes after birth. Clothing made of the Vicuna hair is usually the natural brown colour and a scarf costs $1700.00 and up.
Guinea pig is a Peruvian delicacy. It is called Cuy (Kwee). The reason they are so popular is because they grow particularly well at this altitude, they don’t take up much space and they don’t eat much. We had Guinea pig earlier. He also talked about quinoa which was used like milk 25 years ago and only farmers would eat it. However, after the astronauts took it to space in 2015 because the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and dietary minerals, it became very popular. It grows easily in unfavourable conditions, is easy to prepare and stores very well. It is extremely popular in third world counties as well as North America and is now a staple of Peru.
The women on the streets, in the Plaza, and even in the fields, wear colourful clothing consisting of wide brim hats (with a profile not unlike a pilgrim’s hat), pleated skirts and a colourful wide shawl (called Lliklla) that they use across their shoulders to help carry things either in front or behind them. Many of them carry their babies, hammock style, on their back. To get it into position, they put the baby in the shawl in front of them and deftly swing it up and around their head so that they end up carrying the baby on their back. I wonder what the practice sessions were like when they were first learning to do that!
We saw the remains of a palace where there were eight rooms per block, with an open quadrangle in the middle. It was closed on Sunday but because you could look through the glass walls surrounding it, we could see most of the area. One of the churches in a plaza just a couple of blocks from our hotel was built between the 16th and the 17th century and was called San Blas. It had a lovely wall behind it of cascading water. Every time we went by, there were lots of people on the steps and lots of cars stopped waiting to pick up passengers.
Our guide talked to us about Cocoa leaves. Chewing them allows the workers to work harder and longer and reduces hunger and thirst. Chewing the leaves was even better than making cocoa tea. Lee and I have had many cups of cocoa tea but have not chewed the leaves.
The final leg of our walking tour was to climb a set of stairs 105 steps high to an amazing lookout over Cusco with the traditional red clay terra-cotta roofing tiles. Up another few steps and we were at a bar where we were all treated to a small Pisco Sour. The barmaid mixed the Pisco sours for our group from scratch and explained each of the ingredients as she went along. After receiving our drinks, we spent some very comfortable time looking out over the town. We said goodbye to our guide there and tipped him handsomely for his services following which we walked back down the hill to the hotel.
That evening we were pretty tired and opted to go to a Peruvian type hamburger restaurant that Gary and Karina found. We did indeed order hamburgers with French Fries. They were delicious, tender and flavoured with local spices so that it didn’t taste like a normal hamburger from North America. The restaurant was a very popular place with quite a few people from hostels coming to enjoy a reasonably inexpensive meal.Baca selengkapnya
Cusco, Peru
9 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C
Cusco, Peru
9 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Free day in Cusco. Hotel Ananay Quinta San Blas
We had an unhurried breakfast and then set off for the Plaza des Armas to find the Scotiabank and the Tourist site to buy a ticket that will let us into many different Inca sites and museums over the next 10 days.
The walk down 3 or 4 blocks involved navigating very narrow streets with cars going down and very narrow sidewalks, made of cobblestones, and steep steps down, as everything is on a hill. We also had to go around ladies with Llamas and Alpacas who want you to take a picture and pay for it. We are in a very different country and loving it.
Once our transactions were complete, we headed back up to the hotel to drop off our money and pick up our backpacks to go on a hike to test out how we handle the altitude and walking up many steps in preparation for doing the 12 km of the Inca trail. Gary said that if we could handle that, we could probably handle the Inca Trail. Before we left, we decided to eat the leftover pizza from the night before and oranges purchased in Arequipa and then we had a little rain so a change of clothing and finally after fiddling around for at least an hour, we set out for our walking adventure.
We walked uphill on both cobblestone roads and many steps for about 20 minutes, stopping to catch our breath as we went. Another 20 minutes and we reached the entrance to the site called Sacsayhuaman (many different spellings for this site) Pronounced a bit like Sexywoman, which is the second largest Inca site next to Machu Picchu. It covered 2000 square meters within a 3000 Hectare park. We started hiking up some more grades that Gary and Karina said would be similar to the Trail. Most of these steps in the rock were much higher than the normal step height. It was difficult and we had to keep stopping to get our breath, but we made it to the site. With Gary’s help he asked a taxi driver if he could find an English-speaking guide and he found Amelia who was wonderful, a bit quiet but very knowledgeable.
Sacsayhuaman is located 2km. from the city. In 1983, together with the city of Cusco, this monumental complex was considered the first of the new seven wonders of the world. The Incas called it the House of the Sun and the Spaniards called it a fortress because of its zigzag shape. The construction, which is made up of three platforms one on top of the other, was one of the most important religious complexes of its time. The enormous boulders that form part of the construction were put together perfectly without using mortar. The heaviest weighs up to 125 tons. Archaeologists are currently excavating and have discovered water fountains, canals and rooms. The site is at an altitude of 3,701 m. It is located on a steep hill that overlooks the city. The fortified complex has a wide view of the valley to the southeast. Archeological studies of surface collections of pottery at Sacsayhuamán indicate that the earliest occupation of the hilltop dates to about 900 CE. According to Inca oral history, Tupac Inca "remembered that his father Pachacuti had called the city of Cuzco, the lion city. He said that the tail was where the two rivers unite which flow through it, that the body was the great square and the houses round it, and that the head was wanting." The Inca decided the "best head would be to make a fortress on a high plateau to the north of the city. However, archeologists have found that Sacsayhuamán area was originally built by the preceding Killke culture. On 13 March 2008, archaeologists discovered additional ruins at the periphery of Sacsayhuamán. They are believed to have been built by the Killke culture, which preceded the Inca. While appearing to be ceremonial in nature, the exact function remains unknown. These structures occupied the site for hundreds of years before the Inca, between 900 and 1200 AD. The Inca expanded on what they found, beginning about the 13th century.
Francisco Pizarro (Spanish Conquestor) sent men to transport the gold and silver from the Temple of Coricancha to Cajamarca a city in northern Peru and the base of the Spanish encampment. They found the Temple of the Sun "covered with plates of gold", which the Spanish ordered removed. Seven hundred plates were removed and added to two hundred trucks of gold transported back to Cajamarca.
The best-known zone of Sacsayhuamán includes its great plaza, capable of holding thousands of people, and well designed for ceremonial activities, used during rituals. The stones used in the construction of these terraces are among the largest used in any building in pre-Hispanic America. They display a precision of fitting that is unmatched in the Americas. The stones are so closely spaced that a single piece of paper will not fit between many of the stones. This precision, combined with the rounded corners of the blocks, the variety of their interlocking shapes, and the way the walls lean inward, is thought to have helped the ruins survive devastating earthquakes in Cuzco. The longest of the three walls is about 400 meters. They are about 6 meters tall. The estimated volume of stone is over 6,000 cubic meters. Estimates for the weight of the largest blocks vary from 128 tonnes to almost 200 tonnes.
The Inca used similar construction techniques in building Sacsayhuamán as they used on all their stonework, albeit on a far more massive scale. The stones were rough-cut to the approximate shape in the quarries using river cobbles. They were dragged by rope to the construction site, a feat that at times required hundreds of men. The stones were shaped into their final form at the building site and then laid in place. The work, while supervised by Inca architects, was largely carried out by groups of individuals fulfilling their labor obligations to the state. In this system of mita or "turn" labor, each village or ethnic group provided a certain number of individuals to participate in such public works projects. Although multiple regions might provide labor for a single, large-scale state project, the ethnic composition of the work-gangs remained intact, as different groups were assigned different tasks.
Following the siege of Cusco, the Spaniards began to use Sacsayhuamán as a source of stones for building Spanish Cuzco; within a few years, they had taken apart and demolished much of the complex. The site was destroyed block by block to build the new Spanish governmental and religious buildings of the colonial city, as well as the houses of the wealthiest Spaniards. There is not a house in the city that has not been made of this stone, or at least the houses built by the Spaniards. Today, only the stones that were too large to be easily moved remain at the site.
Among all the fascinating ruins, we came upon rock slides in the area called the Rodadero Hill, a series of smooth rock channels that run down one section of the rock hill. The well-polished slides are a strange, incongruous sight among the straight lines of monumental Inca architecture. Even more inconsistent with Sacsayhuamán’s general vibe of military power and somber ceremony are the kids—and adults—happily sliding their way down the rock chutes. that were supposedly off limits to adventurists.
After our very informative walk around the site with our guide Amelia, we made our way back down, and on the way, we came upon a funeral being conducted outside a house. We did not feel we should take any pictures, so we just waited until they carried the coffin off to the sounds of music. We stopped and rested and had our bars for a snack at a curve in the road. We were all fairly tired after our climbing and walking around at the 3700 meter elevation.
We finally returned to our hotel and had a little lie down before heading out for dinner. We tried one restaurant called the Uchu Steakhouse, but it was already booked up, so we went along to another called Inkazuela and it turned out to be great. Their main courses were all meals in a pot like casseroles. We each ordered something different and we all raved about how good our meal was. We walked back up the winding narrow streets back to the hotel and right to sleep.Baca selengkapnya
Chivay to Cusco
8 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Chivay, Peru
8 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Chivay to Cusco Hotel Ananay Quinta, San Blas . Guide Oscar, Driver Manuel
We were up early this morning for a 6 :00am departure from the lodge by taxi to the nearest the town of Chivay to catch the Mercedes-Benz tour bus to take us to Cusco. Our guide was Oscar and the driver’s name was Manuel.
On the way, Oscar handed out three interesting snacks. One looked like peanuts but was actually roasted corn kernels. The other one was a phenomenally rich dark chocolate bar and the other was like a rice crispy bar.
As we neared the top of the peak, elevation of 14,400 feet the geography flattened out quite a bit and we stopped for a break at same place as we did on the way to the canyon. In the distance we could see Mount Sabancaya.
Tourists had made Apachetas (Inukshuk like) piles of stones all over the hills here. Along the way, we saw many paddocks built out of stone walls to hold Llamas and Alpacas.
Mining is the main industry in Peru, predominantly copper which also contains many other valuable elements in it. The major companies working the mines are Canadian. We left the paved roads and bumped along roads under construction. At one point we saw a very bad truck accident. The truck had rolled over and shortly afterwards we saw an ambulance speed by. As we drove along, we saw many more big herds of Llamas and Alpacas
As we approached Cusco, we were down to about 12,300 feet and there was quite a difference in the vegetation; some yellow flowers or weeds and rich green tufts of native grass that looks a bit like fescue but not as high.
About 40 minutes before our lunch stop, we stopped at Lake Langui, or Little Lake. It was quite pretty, and we took a few pictures. At our lunch stop we had a choice of eating from a buffet or ordering one of several readymade sandwiches. The six of us ordered the sandwich feeling it would be faster, but they were so dry, we could hardly swallow them. Our driver, Manuel was an absolute maniac, taking way too many unnecessary chances at passing. We really feared for our lives.
Along the highway we saw large flocks of sheep, llamas and sometimes cattle being managed by a single shepherd, most of them women dressed in their traditional costume, pleated skirts, colourful top and sweater buttoned tightly in the middle, wide brimmed hat and always the wide, colourful shawl they use to carry things in, including babies on their back. It’s quite something to see them in the field all by themselves very often just standing quietly. It must be a very lonely job. Because the road straightened out and allowed faster driving speeds closer to Cusco, the driver had less need and opportunity to kill us. He must be very frustrated!
As we entered Cusco, we could see what looked like a large number of red brick homes under construction everywhere. It turns out that because lending percentage rates are not very controlled in Peru, the lenders can get up to 100%. Subsequently, people build as much as they can afford without borrowing, leave it for a while and then build a bit more when they can afford to. The result is that there are numerous buildings that look like they are either fully under construction or abandoned.
We entered the heart of the city and were met by a driver and our guide Edouardo, who will take us to Machu Picchu and hike with us up the Inca trail a few days from now. We were dropped off at our hotel which was an old house turned into a hotel. In the centre was a courtyard where we waited until our rooms were assigned. Edouardo stayed with us and talked about what we might expect on the Inca trail and also at Machu Picchu.
We settled into our rooms and then set out to go to a restaurant that Gary had researched called Cicciolina. When we arrived, we found that it would be at least a half hour wait. The manager said that he would take us to his other restaurant called Baco which served Pizza. It turned out to be quite a walk but lovely and the pizza was delicious.
Walking around Cusco in the dark is quite an experience as it is all on a hill with very narrow oneway streets, and alleged sidewalks sometimes only one foot wide. As well, you are either going up or down trying to pass people going in the opposite direction. On the way back to the hotel we were a little confused as to how to get there but finally found the right door. We now know it is a blue door so will be easier to find next time.
Another long day so right to bed.Baca selengkapnya
Colca Canyon, Peru
7 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Colca Canyon, Peru
7 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Colca Canyon, Peru
7 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Driver Gustavo. Guide Marco
Up at 4:45, breakfast at 5:30 and out to van at 6:30. We are off to hopefully see the Condors. Marco showed us lots of good views. First stop was in Chivay to see the children who are in their last year of Primary school, perform a dance called Wititi (weetitee), a traditional folk dance associated with the beginning of adult life. The girls wear white hats signifying the snowcapped mountains and the boys wear coloured hats that partially covered their faces and skirts of overlapping layers to disguise they are boys and get close to the girls. It is danced with rows of male and female couples performing a variety of steps to the beat of a band. Typically performed by young people during religious festivities celebrated throughout the rainy season. We then went into the Immaculate Conception Church and spent 10 minutes viewing interior.
Next we drove along to the first stop to view the canyon which was formed by the movement of the Tectonic plate that heaved up the land 130-150 million years ago. At our viewing site it was approximately 1000 metres deep with a dried-up riverbed at this point due to an upstream dam. Marco told us about the condors. They are actually a vulture that lives up to 80 years of age and has a wingspan just over 10 feet. When it is flying it is only spread about 7-8 feet. It’s main source of food is Alpaca that the Puma’s kill and then the vultures clean up. We took a number of pictures in the area and then Marco spotted a Condor coming down the canyon, it flew by us and then after a couple of minutes it came back by us and did this a couple of times more. We were very lucky to get a few pictures as it was hard to follow in flight. Condors like this area because they can just walk to the edge of the cliffs and then drop off to catch the thermal updrafts.
On our way back up to the van, huffing and puffing, we saw a bright yellow flower on a cactus. When this flower stops blooming a fruit develops which is called Sancayo. This fruit was used for medicinal purposes for the liver among other things but today it is used to produce a refreshing drink and ice cream. It looks a bit like a woolly round cactus. The ladies scrape off the spines and then it looks more like the outside of an avocado. Inside the fruit looks similar to kiwi fruit but is more gelatinous and quite sour. They blend it with sugar syrup and water, and it is very good.
When we arrived at the actual viewing location it was very busy with tourists and busses. We walked around for a while and the busses thinned out and then the last 15 minutes we heard “Condor” and rushed to take pictures. This was again not easy, and we didn’t have as good luck as we had before. The one we did see was identified on the back with a yellow tag because it had been rehabilitated after an accident and was being watched by the condor care people.
We drove along further to a stand selling the Sancayo and watched as the lady blended it for us. While we were there Lee talked to a fellow from Santander, Spain and then a couple joined her and they were from Barcelona and were very nice, with good English.
We then returned to Maca, which we had passed on our way to see the canyon and bought Sancayo Helado (the Spanish for ice cream). We enjoyed it while walking up a slope looking into the souvenir stalls. Just at the end Lee spotted some belts and called Don over to take a look. While he was browsing Lee thought she would buy a holder for her water bottle,but ended up with an embroidered purse which held both her bottle and her iPad as well as the belt Don purchased. We then returned by bus to our hotel. Don and Lee ordered a lunch at the restaurant of a Peruvian chicken Caesar salad and a jug of minted lemonade, we sat out on the porch looking over the valley. We find we are constantly thirsty and sour things seem to help.
We watched people zip lining across the valley to a spot above and behind us. We went for a hot spring tub, and then to the dining room for another delicious dinner. Early to bed again as we have an early start to Cusco.Baca selengkapnya
Colca Canyon, Peru
6 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Arequipa, Chivay, Colca Canyon. Peru
6 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Arequipa, Chivay, Colca Canyon. Peru
6 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Arequipa, Chivay, Colca Canyon. Peru
6 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Driver and Guide, Freddy
We were up early to be ready for our pickup at 9:30. Had breakfast, made sandwiches with the items we bought at the market the day before and waited in the lobby until the call came that the van had arrived. The porters from the hotel had to wheel all our luggage up 2 steep blocks as the square is only for pedestrians. It was quite a slog for them.
Our driver , Freddy, was very friendly and had good English. We slowly headed out of Arequipa through the morning traffic. Freddy told us about the three volcanos called Misty, 5825 meters, Pichu Pichu,5644 meters and Chachani which has 5 craters, 6075 meters.
Arequipa is at the end of the Atacama Desert, that runs from Chile along the coast up to Arequipa.
We passed through the town of Yura where there were box like houses that were built for the tourists after an earthquake, but no one came, and they had no kitchens, so they stayed empty. Yura is a mining town(copper) and very dusty because of all the trucks that pass through. They only work in the mine at night because of the pollution. The highway passed through rock walls chiseled out in solid formation. Our ears started to pop, and we were now at 3200 meters. At about 11:00 we saw our first wildlife sightings of Vicuna, a protected animal with very valuable wool. We entered the National Reserve where they have patrollers constantly watching over this animal. The yellow grass is called Ichu which the Vicuna love. These animals come in a white and fawn colour only and live on high ground. They cannot be kept in captivity or tamed as they will not breed.
Our first stop was at Chinitos Patahuasi the highest point of our journey so far at 4018 meters. We all needed the Banos (washrooms) and then had Inca tea, which is a combination of Coca, Muna and Chachacoma leaves, good for altitude also for warming up. We bought Peruvian knitted hats here and were glad to wear them as it was getting colder as we continued upwards.
The next leg of our journey we saw more animals, a large herd of Alpacas, and then many groups of Vicuna. Vicuna usually are 5-6 in a group one male the rest female and babies.
Our next stop was to look out at all the surrounding Volcanos. When we got out of the van it was snowing and blowing and at a higher altitude than we had experienced and we all got the wobbles. We had to walk about 50 meters to the washrooms over rough paths and it was quite an exercise. There were a number of vendors at this point and even they looked cold and the shawls they were selling looked enticing. Back in the van our driver said he had something to help Mike as he was really feeling lightheaded. He opened a bottle of alcohol and because of the pressure change, it literally exploded all over Mike and back into Freddy’s face. A complete surprise to both and we all had a good laugh after we realized they were both were alright.
We drove through flurries and then we started our descent into Chivay. The land was all terraced and really beautiful, each switchback brought a new exciting view both up and down the valley. When we reached Chivay, at 3635 meters, we thought we were in the valley and saw agriculture and people working the land. However, from there we continued on switchbacks down, down until we finally came to our resort at 3250 meters.
The Colca Lodge was beautiful with lovely swiss like interior, open beams and lots of red upholstery. It sits on the banks of the Colca River and is surrounded by hundreds of Pre-Inca terraces that have been declared a Peruvian national heritage. The lodge has 4 or 5 hot tubs fed by the natural hot springs and a small Llama farm across the river. We each were in rooms away from the main lodge with king size beds. Don, Judy and I went down to enjoy the stone tubs, each at a different temperature of hot. Very peaceful ,only a few others there. 2 fellows from Germany and another man from Switzerland.
We had a lovely Peruvian dinner, no alcohol tonight because of the altitude, but fresh minted lemonade which was delicious.Baca selengkapnya
Arequipa, Peru
5 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Arequipa, Peru
5 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
After breakfast, we made our way to Mondo Alpaca, with great service and selections. Don selected a sweater and we bought hats for the boys and scarves for the girls. On the way back, we visited several other stores and Lee found two other selections. One sweater plus one sweater coat. We found toques for Lilah and Callie and one for Lee. We had a lovely Peruvian/Mexican lunch on a patio at a small street side restaurant
Back to the hotel for a washroom break and then off to Bank of Nova Scotia (which is the only bank in Peru that does not charge transaction fees), to top up our money reserves. Off then to see the Mercado Market about 6-7 blocks away. Great market with unbelievably huge stalls selling vegetables, meats, fish, cheese and seemingly thousands of hats. As we were running out of luggage space, due to our purchases, we bought a large woven plastic bag with zipper top, to accommodate our excess baggage. We named her Big Bertha. We all bought some wine as well as ham, cheese and bread for sandwiches the next day.
Don, Lee and Judy elected to continue on to the Museum of the “Frozen Maiden” called Museo Santuarios Andinos. We saw the Juanita Maiden, who was killed as an offering to the Inca Gods sometime between 1450 and 1480 when she was approximately 12-15 years old. She was discovered on Mount Ampato in southern Peru in 1995 by anthropologist Johan Reinhard.
The location was in the bottom of a volcanic cave and she was still in frozen state. We saw a 20-minute movie depiction the ceremony of the offering the young girl to the Gods. and the 1995 discovery by Reinhard of Juanita. In the day, it was an honour to be selected as a "sacrifice". It may have been accepted practise of the day, and maybe even an honour to be chosen, but it was heartbreaking to hear the story.
Recently, they have found more remains, mostly of Peruvian girls, but also some boys found in the mountains. We were led on a tour of rooms containing may artifacts of ceramics, textiles, and objects that have an approximate age of 550 years and correspond to the Inca Culture that were buried along with the human offerings.
Juanita's remains were sent to John Hopkins hospital in the USA to be X-rayed and studied. They were well preserved because they had remained frozen and are now displayed in a clear sealed freezer at -20C. There are 2 female maidens, the other is Sarita found on Sara Sara (Ayacucho) mountain and each one is on display only 6 months of the year.
We met back at the hotel and walked to a restaurant for dinner called Chica. It was in one of the old stone houses not far from the Plaza de Armas.Baca selengkapnya
Arequipa, Peru
4 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Arequipa, Peru
4 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Arequipa, Peru
4 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Arequipa, Peru
4 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Arequipa, Peru
4 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Tour of Arequipa. Guide. Pilar
Pilar met us at the hotel, and we started our morning walking tour. The first stop was one corner of the Plaza de Armas to see the San Agustin Church, started in 1596 by the Jesuits and finished in 1698. The designs in the façade were mostly symbols of offerings, lambs, hummingbirds, corn, seashells etc. Pre Inca decorations were also used such as the dragon and fish scales and the national flower called the Cantuta or Quechua which looks much like a honeysuckle. The church was destroyed in an earthquake in 1868 and then rebuilt by the end of that century.
Inside, we saw some indigenous paintings, but they were unsigned. The altar was made out of 447 pieces of cedar and walnut and covered in gold leaf. Next to the church was the school of the Jesuits started in 1767.
Leaving there we saw what looked like ice cream but was a frozen cheese called Queso Helado. We all tried samples and said it was good but didn’t buy a cone.
Pilar told us that Arequipa means “You stay here” in the Inca language. We walked towards the Basilica Cathedral in the middle of the Plaza. It was built in 1621 with white volcanic stones and brick vaults. The cathedral was finished after 35 years in 1656, making it the most important monument of the city. A fire destroyed it in 1844 but it was finally rebuilt in 1868. We didn't go inside but there is a museum that contains religious art that is more than 400 years old, and oil paintings and religious objects made in gold.
Pilar pointed out 3 volcanos we could see over the roof of the Cathedral, Chachani, Misti and Pichu Pichu. Chachani is 2 million years old and 6700 metres high. Misti is the closest to Arequipa.
Arequipa is also called the white city because all the buildings surrounding the Plaza are made from a stone called Sillar that is from the volcano Misti. The stone was cut into very large blocks and brought from the quarry 18 km away. When it got to the city, they cut it to the sizes they wanted.
As we walked away from the Plaza, we saw very large houses owned by the wealthy. In the 1600’s the citizens wanted to be close to the market square which is now Plaza de Armas. Each house had a large courtyard that you entered first and then the other rooms such as kitchen and bedrooms branched off of this. Because of the thick stone walls the houses were always cool. There were gargoyles built into the flat roofs to direct the rain into the courtyard instead of running down the walls. Nowadays the buildings have been bought by banks and many turned into restaurants.
The next stop was at the Iglesias de San Francisco. Originally built in the 16th century, this church has been badly damaged by several earthquakes but still stands, However, there is a large crack in the cupola – testimony to the power of quakes. The garden-plaza doubles as a mini-park.
As we walked further from the Plaza the houses became smaller. The streets were built in curves. Many of the houses had geraniums, in pots, that looked like small trees. They grow all year round here. We came out to a busy area where we had to cross the street. Pilar was very good at timing so we could safely get across.
We went to the Mondo Alpaca where we saw both Alpacas and Llamas (pronounced Yama in Peru; any word with a double LL is pronounce like a Y). We were given a tour of the museum factory that showed the processes used to make wool, from carding through to weaving. We had a quick peak in the store and decided that we would come back the next day to shop.
We continued on to see the Santa Catalina Convent. This is a city within a city. In 1579 less than 40 years after the Spanish arrived in the city, the convent was founded. Since its inception, women from diverse social backgrounds entered the convent to serve as cloistered nuns, never to return to their home and family. In the 1500’s it was only the very wealthy who could afford this luxury. Usually the oldest daughter was supposed to marry and then any daughter after could go to the convent if their parents could afford the dowry. It was considered a great honour if your parents could afford to pay for more than one daughter to go.
There are now six streets, the convent expanded over many years from donations. In the old days each nun had either a single cell or if not as wealthy they might be with cousins or sisters or other relations The rooms were very simple, a bed, with a chamber pot, sometimes a kitchen, some had a desk, and some had a musical instrument. The family had to provide everything, the Nun's clothing, bedding, furniture and pottery. Many had beautiful drinking cups and bowls for washing.
Most of them had a servant who cooked for them and cleaned and emptied the chamber pot etc. They had to go to prayers every 3 hours. Nowadays, the girls who go can leave if they don’t like it or want to continue their lives outside after their education. They live in dormitories and their families do not have to pay huge sums of money. Women can enter up to the age of 55.
As it was now 2:00 we were all very tired and hungry and tried to get into a couple of restaurants in the area but because we were going out for a celebration dinner, we didn’t want very much We ended up back at the hotel and then walking around the corner to a small café where Gary and Karina introduced us to Empanadas. We then set out to find a Scotiabank to get small bills of Soles. This was quite an adventure and when we got there the lineup was probably an hour or more long, so we took out larger bills from the ATM there. A lady directed her son to show us a Western Union office where they would give us small bills. It was about 4 or more blocks back and was tucked into a small courtyard. We were able to exchange some bills but not all. Lee decided she wanted to buy some stamps at the post office that we had seen on our walk in the morning. The others went back to the hotel. We walked back 5 blocks to the post office and tried to find someone to speak English. We found out that this office did not sell stamps and that we would have to go back up to the Western Union area. Off we went and Lee stood in line for quite some time, hoping to find someone who understood English. Don had the app “I translate” so he brought up the Spanish for me and I started the purchase. In the middle of the proceedings I found out I didn’t get enough stamps and gave her another 20 Soles, then another lady barged in front and was given service. In the proceedings the vendor went away, and I took back my 20 soles on the counter. She came back and gave me 2 more stamps and 20 Soles. Not sure how it all ended up on her end, but I think I got a bargain somehow.
By the time we had finished our navigations to these various areas we felt we knew this part of Arequipa very well. Back to the hotel to get ready to walk to the Zig Zag restaurant to celebrate Mike and Judy’s 52 anniversary. We navigated the steep circular iron stairway to get upstairs. Fine going up, but after wine, not as easy coming back down. It was a beautiful restaurant and the service was delightful. Don and I shared a vegetable salad which had artichokes, asparagus, eggs, and was a meal in itself. Then we had a Trio Especial de Carnes- Beef, Alpaca and Lamb and polished it off with a chocolate mousse dessert. It was a wonderful evening and so nice to all be together. We window shopped on the way back to our hotel.Baca selengkapnya
Arequipa, Peru
3 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Lima to Arequipa. Hotel Casa Andina
Our hotel in Lima was very close to the airport, so it took only 35 minutes to get there. We flew by Latham Air to Arequipa and it was a pleasant flight with easy check-in. We were picked up by Pilar, our guide for tomorrow and delivered to our hotel. As we drove, she gave us all sorts of information and even came into the hotel to give us more. The Hotel was in a fantastic location, right on the Plaza with lots of activity to see and participate in, just by walking out the front door.
We did some shopping for snacks, liquor and wine for the mandatory cocktail hour. Walked around Plaza des Armas. Walked up to a restaurant called Zig Zag and made a reservation for dinner for this evening but also checked out our own hotel for dinner possibilities. As we returned to our rooms we met up with Gary and Karina who had just arrived from Chile. We decided that since Zig Zag was such a nice restaurant, and that Mike and Judy’s anniversary was the next day, we would cancel Zig Zag for tonight and rebooked for tomorrow. We ate at our hotel, Lee was still not feeling great so had a bowl of soup while the rest had a casual dinner. It is so nice to have Gary and Karina with us now, and as a bonus, they speak Spanish. Although they claim they are not fluent, it sure sounded great to us. Everyone tired, so early to bed tonight.Baca selengkapnya
Ica to Lima, Peru
2 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Ica, Peru
2 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
Ica to Ballestas Islands to Lima
Javier picked us up at 6:30 in the morning at our Hotel Las Flores in Ica to take us to the Ballestas Islands Boat Tour in Paracas. We headed north to Paracas about an hour away, but we only got ¾ of the way there when we ran into a roadblock and had to make a huge detour. Javier was really racing against time to get us to the boat. Edourado was already at the boat and had made all the arrangements to get us on the boat by holding it until we arrived. It was a pretty tense time but thanks to everyone we made it. We set out from the dock on a very full turbo boat, all decked out in our life jackets and headed out to sea. On the way to the islands, on the Paracas Peninsula, we saw El Candelabro, a large-scale geoglyph. Although the exact age of the Candelabra geoglyph is unknown, archaeologists have found pottery around the site dating back to around 200 BCE. This pottery likely belonged to the Paracas people, although whether they were involved in the creation of the geoglyph is not known. The reason for the Candelabra's creation is also unknown, although it is most likely a representation of the trident, a lightning rod of the god Viracocha, who was seen in mythology throughout South America. It has been suggested that the Candelabra was built as a sign to sailors, or even as a symbolic representation of a hallucinogenic plant called Jimsonweed. The Paracas Peninsula is a desert peninsula within the boundaries of the Paracas National Reserve, a marine reserve which extends south along the coast. The only marine reserve in Peru, it is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We then sped further out to sea to visit the Islands. Composed largely of rock formations and covering an estimated area of 0.12 square km, these islands are an important sanctuary for marine fauna like the Guanay Guano bird, the Blue-Footed Booby, Cormorants and the Tendril. Other notable species include Humboldt Penguins and two varieties of seals (fur seals and sea lions), among other mammals.
Once we reached the islands, we saw several arches in the rocks. As we motored closer, we could see the Humboldt Penguins and then we saw lots of sea lions lying all over the rocks. We saw Cormorants with red bills and red feet which did not make them any more attractive. The Ballestas Islands are known by many as the Peruvian Galapagos. Some people say that one can see larger concentrations of birds and mammals on the Ballestas Islands than on the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.
As in the Galapagos Islands, Paracas Peninsula also has its share of fascinating endemic and highly localized birds and mammals associated to the Humboldt Ocean Current. The birds and animals concentrate here due to the presence of the Humboldt Current, considered the most productive marine ecosystem in the world, as well as the largest upwelling system. Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water. Depending on the presence and availability of massive schools of sardines, anchovies and jack mackerel, the Humboldt’s current provides a most fascinating spectacle in watching flocks of mixed species of sea birds on a feeding frenzy. Blue-footed Boobies, Peruvian Pelicans, and Peruvian and South American Terns perform spectacular dives for fish of different sizes. Guanay Cormorants, dive-chase the fish while Inca Terns, Kelp and Band-tailed Gulls benefit from the leftovers and what can be taken from other fishing birds. Before the invention of synthetic fertilizers, guano from bird droppings was an essential agricultural fertilizer and. Peru was the biggest producer in the world, due to the large nesting bird populations of the Humboldt, Current and the arid climate´s ability to preserve the guano. A hundred years ago, the government took over management and sustainably manages the guano production, monitoring the bird populations and rotating guano extraction through the islands every few years
We returned to mainland and started our return to Lima. Javier was still our driver and we had a very enjoyable trip back to our hotel near the airport, Palmetto La Perla. We had dinner at the hotel on the top floor and repacked for our plane ride the next morning to Arequipa.Baca selengkapnya
Paracas, Nazca Lines, Ica, Peru
1 November 2019, Peru ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
