Tour of Peru - Day 6 Puno

Pictures at the bottom of this post.


After leaving Colca Canyon, we arrived in Puno after dark Tuesday night. Puno is high. It is at 12,500 ft and I think we all felt the effects--thirsty, slight headache. On the way we used Lonely Planet Guide to find a hotel. Sandra at Don Julio Hotel was awesome. She came to the plaza to help us navigate the last few blocks to the hotel. The place was newly renovated and was the nicest room we stayed in during the whole trip, which isn't saying much.

We ate a late dinner at Ukuku's, a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet (have I mentioned how useful that book was), that was over the pedestrian street that's near the main plaza. The kids had pizza and pasta; Stace and I had some alpaca smothered in a great garlic sauce.

We saw a beautiful sunrise over Lake Titicaca Wednesday morning. We had a quick breakfast in the hotel. Jane insisted on eating only sugar. A van took us to the marina to head out to the Uros Islands. The Uros are floating islands made of reeds. These same reeds can be eaten too. We tasted them and they were okay. The islanders have to consistently add more reeds to prevent the island from sinking as the old reeds become waterlogged. Our tour boat was full of people mostly from other Latin American countries plus a nice couple we got to know from Australia. The islanders were nice. The first island taught us about their culture and way of living, let us check out their huts, showed us their handiwork, and rowed us to another island. The second island we visited was a pure tourist trap, but still neat to walk around.

The islanders had super white teeth. Maybe it's related to the reed they always eat. They were also big people, which seems odd on one hand since they are on a floating island, but on the other hand they can't go running around.

On the way back to the hotel, we saw a religious procession going on near the plaza. A band plays some sad music. A group of men carry a statue. A picture of flower petals is formed on the road. Puno has a lot of these.

Back at the hotel, the staff attacked the kids...with their cell phone cameras. It was as though they had never seen anyone with non-black hair.

We drove off in the afternoon to get up to Cuzco.

You can click on the photos below to go to the larger images.

Tour of Peru Days 4 & 5 - Colca Canyon

Pictures at the bottom.

We left Arequipa on Monday afternoon intending to go to Puno, next to Lake Titcaca. We enjoyed the nice scenery on other side of the mountains and volcanoes near Arequipa. As we were driving up into the Altiplano (high plains) we figured out that we would arrive to Puno too late, so we called an audible and headed towards Colca Canyon. 

Colca Canyon is arguably the deepest in the world. The road is arguably the worst in the world. I think it used to be paved but hasn't been touched for decades and is worse than if it had never been paved. On the way to the small town of Chivay, the combination of altitude and an hour of washboard roads caused all three kids to get sick. Fortunately, we had bags ready. (The rest of the trip, the kids agreed to take Dramamine if we put it in York peppermint patties.) After an hour on the horrible roads, we arrived to a newly paved road that was straight as an arrow. Then a long series of hairpins descending to Chivay.

We arrived in Chivay around 8 pm. It's a very small town with the standard plaza with the cathedral on one side, the police station on another, and hostels and bars taking up much of the rest. Our Lonely Planet guidebook served us well and we found a hostel on the plaza with 3 beds for $20 (less than what room service for your dog costs at the Chicago Trump Tower). For $20 you don't expect much, so it was great. It even had hot water after the front desk gave us a wrench to replace the missing knob.

We left the next morning, Tuesday, to drive  farther into the canyon to Cruz del Condor, a lookout where condors often are gliding nearby. The dirt road went through small villages. Men, women, and their animals were walking along the road to go to their fields. We approached a tunnel at one point and suddenly a huge tour bus with 4 x 4 wheels came barreling out. We got out of the way, but didn't feel too secure heading into the one-lane tunnel. When you don't know when the end of something is, it feels a lot longer. The tunnel felt like it was forever.

Once at Cruz del Condor, we saw a handful of condors soaring around. The view was nice. The canyon is really deep. A lot of nice women were there selling their goods. The women have intricate hats and vests, cowboy style, that are made by the men. 

After getting our fix of condors and canyon views, we headed back to Chivay. We stopped at the plaza for a bit, where the kids played with a baby alpaca. The locals love to touch Eva and Jane's hair. 

We left Chivay by the same bad road we arrived, no sickness this time. Then we caught the highway across the Altiplano up  to Puno. The scenery going to Puno was beautiful high plains through a national reserve. Many alpacas and related animals, lakes, and flamingos.  

You should be able to click on the slideshow below to go to a bigger view of the pictures.

Tour of Peru Day 3 - 4 Arequipa

We spent Sunday (day 3) and a lot of Monday (day 4) in Arequipa. 

On Sunday we went to church. There was a dog in the main chapel, not a dog for a blind person either, just a stray. Nice people all around. 

In the afternoon we visited sites around Arequipa. It's known as the White City since most historic buildings are made of white volcanic sillar.  We saw the Plaza de Armas, Cathedral, lookout area, Santo Domingo church and many other cathedrals.

At one church, the guardian of the church, who said he was 90 and didn't look over 60, took us through a series of doors to an outdoor patio. About 4 tough looking dogs were on the roof overlooking us. The kids couldn't get over the feeling that the dogs might pounce on them at any time.

On Monday we visited the Santa Catalina Monastery in Arequipa. Get more info on its history at that link. It was one of the big highlights of the trip. It used to be an active monastery, but now is mainly a tourist stop with a smaller group of nuns running the place. The architecture is awesome: endless nooks and crannies similar to Old Jerusalem, clay red walls, bright blue walls, nuns' cells (that's what they call them) and outdoor kitchens. It was a photographer's paradise and we (Stace) took a few hundred shots.

On Sunday, while walking around we had smelled some pizza, so we returned there Monday after walking around the monastery. We considered trying the local specialty of guinea pig, but nobody was willing. We were the only ones in the  pizzeria, sat down, and ordered. A few minutes later, two ladies entered. They were standing up behind Stace, who was across the table from me. One was on a cell talking loudly, while the other acted like she was putting her purse down next to Stace's. Then she nonchalantly started reaching for Stace's backpack without looking. She missed it and on her second try I realized she was going for Stace's  bag. I told Stace what was going on and to grab her bag. She grabbed it and the ladies took off. As far as we know it was the only attempt to rob us during the whole trip.

Arequipa was an awesome city. I don't remember seeing any North Americans, lots of Europeans. It probably rarely gets visited since it's a flight away from Lima and Cuzco. It's a beautiful place. 

Our hosts, the Moscoso family, were great. They helped us get around the city and see the touristy sites and also let our kids entertain them. Eva and Jane loved dancing for them. Peter liked to arm wrestle with Amparito. Eva loved teaching Senor Moscoso how to say words in English from her Spanish-English First Words book.

Rather than try to pare down the photos, I'm inserting this slideshow. You can try watching it here on the blog or click on it and see the bigger size on Picasa.

P.S. No promises on when we update this blog. I suggest you use google reader to simplify keeping track of your blogs.