farewell Peru

After a quick flight from Arequipa to Lima, I am now in an internet cafe in the airport waiting for my flight home. My flight to Houston is at 11:50 pm....then a flight to Chicago at 9 am. Just 16 hours of travel left. Ouch. Not sure what I will do in this airport for 3 more hours. I am getting very sleepy. As some of you know I am usually in bed around 9 pm!

I am not sad to be leaving Peru. My visit was quite fulfilling and more than I could have hoped for. I am eager to get home -to change my clothes and peel off these layers. I've been wearing the same two outfits for 24 days...as the pictures show! (But I did wash them, ok?)

Monasterio de Santa Catalina

One of the highlights of Arequipa was a visit to the Santa Catalina Monastary. It is an enormous complex which was described in the guidebook as a "photographer's paradise". It sure was.

I spent 4 hours wandering around in a photographer's daze. I lost Carmen within a few minutes of the visit. I found her once, then I promptly got lost again. She finally gave up looking for me and went back to the hotel.

I may return tomorrow for Round 2. These are pics taken with my good camera. I figured out how to reduce them in size enough to upload.

good eating- finally

Finally, in the last days of my trip I discovered a good restaurant. Eating in this country has been very hit or miss...mostly miss. It became a running joke with Carmen and me. The food you order here is never what you expect. The Spanish names are unrecognizable and the translations are usually way off. One of our favorite translations was seen in a restaurant yesterday. "Children's Menu" in Spanish was translated to "Menu Childlike". Not quite. The servers are usually of no help as they seem as confused about the menu as you are. The translations are so bizarre that I can't even remember them after I've left the restaurant. Next meal I will bring a pen and paper to write some of them down.

Back to my favorite restaurant...yesterday Carmen and I went there for dinner and today I returned for lunch. I had creamed quinoa with cheese. Quinoa is common here, mostly used in soups. After the quinoa I had a 'Chupe de Camarones', a huge bowl of crayfish stew. It had was piled high with seafood, potatoes, corn, cheese and the most delicious broth. I wish I had brought my camera to take a picture. It was beautiful to look at.

I took my time and ate every last crayfish, despite feeling full about half way through. I just couldn't bear to waste one morsel. It was not only my favorite food I've had in these three weeks in Peru, but possibly the best soup I've ever had.

After retiring from eating I ordered a cappuccino and a side of amaretto, which I drank slowly and with relish. I felt slightly guilty knowing that Carmen was on the volcano eating dehydrated food and probably sore as heck from carrying her tent, food, clothes and water up a mountain. But she seemed truly excited about that journey, so I didn't dwell in the guilt.

Peruvian textiles

photo by Ariana

my new home

Carmen and I said farewell today. She left early in the morning and should be nearing her volcano by now.

Meanwhile, I treated myself to a leisurely breakfast and a hotel upgrade. The price jumped from $11/ night to $35. But $25 can buy you a lot here. ...a room with a private bathroom and hot water. Bonus.

The Casa de Melgar is in an old colonial house. My room is off the sunny and flower-filled garden and cafe. I plan to spend most of the day there trying to even out my tan. I have this odd hand tan from wearing long-sleeved shirts under the hot Andean daytime sun. My hands are about 10 shades darker than my legs, which have been hidden under pants, wool socks, and hiking boots. I brought shorts and a skirt but it's been too cold to wear them for most of the trip. Here in Arequipa it's warm in the sun, but in the shade the temperature drops substantially.

Volcano? No gracias.

Tonight is mine and Carmen's last night together. She leaves in the morning for a two day hike up a volcano. Trekking up a volcano sounded like far too strenuous of an activity for the end of a trip. So instead of joining her, I will stay in town and see some more sights. I'm happier looking at colonial mansions and sipping coffee in cafes than scaling a volcano. She's the Sporty-Spice of this duo. ;-)

My flight is coming up on the 31st. I'm ready to come home!

Arequipa vista

photo by Ariana

Getting ready for Misti! (Carmen) And saying goodbye...

Yesterday, Ariana and I had a much needed day of relaxing. In this town of 1000 sights, we managed to see none of them at all, and just instead took the day as it came and gave ourselves what we needed- rest, for the body and mind.

But today we went all over, and enjoyed it, Arequipa is a lovely city! And I spent some time getting my stuff ready for our climb of Volcan Misti tomorrow. I am going with Andy, one of the two Canadians we met in Aguas Calientes. As my stuff is lighter than that provided by the agency, I am bringing my own tent, sleeping bag, mattress, etc. The main worry is all the water... as there is no snow on the volcano right now (had never heard of a snowless, 5800m peak! Even Kilimanjaro has permanent snows!) we need to bring enough to drink and cook with for our two days. I am planning on 5 litres. Which is an added 5kg. I am sure I will feel it! I am not sure how many feet 5800m is, but it is around 18,300. I have never been that high up, and am really excited! It will be around -10 C at night (sorry to Unitedstaters, don't know how to translate that into F, but it is below freezing), so warm clothes are also a necessity.

We leave early tomorrow morning, when I will have to say good-bye to Ariana, as she leaves the next day before I get back. We are planning on splurging on a nice, farewell restaurant tonight.

Stay tuned to see how the climb went!

I. Want. Food.

I woke up very hungry this morning, the last day of treatment for my stomach bugs. My appetite is back and boy, does it feel good.

Usually we have the ´breakfast´the hostel includes with the price of night's lodging. It is typically two pieces of bread, some jam and butter and tea or powdered coffee. (Real coffee is hard to come by in these parts. I had a headache for a week before I weaned myself off my morning cup of Joe.)

I woke up earlier than Carmen and just as soon as she opened her eyes I announced that I was going in search of a breakfast. A real breakfast. Before leaving the hostel I ate a Power Bar I had stashed in my pack. I walked into the nearest restaurant on the plaza and promptly ordered eggs, toast, and a cappuccino- all of which I practically inhaled.

Carmen and I visited all kinds of sights in town, but for me the real focus of the day was food. As soon as we'd finish one activity I'd say to her, "I want an ice cream...another breakfast...chips...or a pre-dinner". I have eaten more today than I have eaten in the last few days combined.

It's good to feel healthy again. I'm looking forward to my second dinner - and dessert!

Ahhhh....Arequipa

We arrived a couple of days ago in the lovely colonial city of Arequipa for the last few days of the trip. We passed on more tours and are enjoying the city in a relaxed manner. It's nice to sleep in and to wake up without an agenda. This city is just beautiful to look at and wander around in.


We met up with our friends, Amanda and Andy, who we met back in Machu Picchu. Yesterday we had a delicious lunch at a French creperie, where I ate heartily, happy to have my appetite back.

Yes, I'm enjoying this lovely (and clean!) city. We hung out to people-watch by the fountain on the main plaza. The city is full of families celebrating Fiestas Patrias (Peruvian Independence celebration), which is a big deal here. Below is a pic of Andy and Carmen in the plaza.

hasta la vista Puno and Lake Titicaca!

We finally said goodbye to Lake Titicaca and the city of Puno. I was frankly glad to get out of there as my memories were tainted by sleepless nights, and the town of Puno is really a dump. The only reason to go there is to go see the islands. Puno is about as unnattractive a city that I've ever seen on any travels. The noise level was always high, because the cars, mototaxis and tricycle taxis (didn't have the pleasure of riding one of those) were always competing for space. The Peruvian rules of the road seem to be based on the practice of honking first, then looking to see if there is traffic later. There are very few stop signs and almost no stop lights either. They somehow just trust the other car will stop...its quite terrifying to be a passenger or a pedestrian. To cross a street you must wait and wait ...and then run for your life!

I though the Lake Titicaca islands were overrated. For all the inconvenience it takes to get there...endless bus and boat rides. The islanders way of living and customs are interesting, but the commercialism of the whole thing puts a bad taste in my mouth. (Or is that perhaps my parasite medication?)

With all the millions of dollars tourists are pouring into that area every year I felt it to be a tragedy that the regular folks of the town of Puno have such very low living standards. Except for the main streets, most streets were not paved. The port, where hundreds of tourists board boats to the islands daily, resembled a floating garbage dump. The stink of urine filled the streets and bus stations was nauseating. (Sidenote: I have noticed that here it is quite acceptable to pee where you are... it is common to see men, women and children urinating on the street in plain view. ) Elderly beggars were a common sight. Poverty smacked you in the face no matter where you went.

Woman and lamb

photo by Ariana

Amantani and Taquile

post by Carmen

We left the port of Puno early in the morning for the quietest, smoothest (and one of the slowest) boat rides I've ever experienced. Lake Titicaca is quite large, but as there seem to be many islands, there is always some shore or other in view. Ariana already spoke about our stop at the floating islands of Uro. It is, from what I could see of it, a sort of living museum. The inhabitants have chosen to let tourists visit them for the advantages it gives them, the ability to keep living as they do, isolated, in peace and with no violence. They are not, however, nearly as traditional as they appear. I saw them dress up in their "traditional clothes" shortly before we arrived, so I assume they do it mainly for tourists now.

But as this seems to be their own choice, as they do not seem exploited but quite in control of these visits, I have no problems with it.


I spent the 3 hours on our way to Amantani (35km, meaning that, on land, I could run faster than the boat traveled!) lounging upstairs in the sun (and chilly wind) chatting with a new friend we made, a young, cool guy called Nick who is on vacation between a year of teaching English in Ecuador and another in Republica Dominicana. I periodically checked on Ariana who was asleep downstairs on one of the benches. She'd been feeling fine in the morning, but as her stomach has been on a roller coaster... I was very happy for the completely flat water!

Once we arrived in Amantani, we were greeted by the families and separated among them in groups of 2 to 4. Nick came with us. We arrived at a really nice house made of adobe and built by the family itself. They brought us to a room with such a small door that even I have to duck.


At 1,60m, I am not used to having to do this, so I probably bumped my head the most of us 3. I assume that the small doors and windows are to leave as much surface area as possible to the adobe, which attracts heat from the sun, and leave as little openings for the heat to escape. We were really hungry, and I, for one, greeted lunch enthusiastically. Quinoa soup, which I am really enjoying, and a plate of varied potatoes, all of which are good but you have to get past the fact that some look like big larvae (but taste like new potatoes with the skin on), and a salad made of chopped cheese, tomatoes and onions which was delicious!

I was pleased to see Ariana eat most of her soup and get a lot of colour back. But she preferred to rest after lunch, and Nick and I went to meet the rest of the group for a fantastic (uphill and breathy) walk to the father temple, from where the sunset was fabulous! And amazingly enough, in this bleak landscape where you expect nothing, you trudge up a few last steps and there is a little cafe bar!!! Unbelievable! So we quickly got a couple of beers, chose a nice spot in the rocks, sheltered from the wind, and let ourselves be awed.




The walk down was faster, thank goodness for my headlamp (the sun does not go down here, or up, it just appears and disappears, there is no such thing as dawn or crepuscule), which I wore crooked so that it would light up in front of Nick's feet too. We met with Ariana for dinner, more soup with an omelette-covered bowl of rice decorated with french fries. Then the lady of the house dressed us up in traditional clothes and brought us to a "disco", where we all gathered, looking, as the Lonely Planet predicted, ridiculous in our clothes and hiking boots! Ariana chose to let us have all the fun, and we told her all about it when we got back, which at any rate, was not late. And anyway, I was looking forward to taking the stuff off, you can barely breathe in it!! We watched the stars, which were amazing, and then I went to sleep.

I chose to not sleep with my earplugs, my first night of doing so since arriving. Which is why it came as such a shock that none of Ariana's sprints to the bathroom woke me up! She told me that she wanted to go straight to Puno, and I went to speak with the family to see what could be arranged. Fortunately, there was a boat leaving that still had room, and Ariana, now feeling good since she had no food left in her (!!!) decided to hop on it and meet me later in Puno once I got back from Taquile. We parted with my feeling guilty, but the day before we had agreed that she would tell me what she needs and I would provide as much as possible but without being a mother hen, so since she felt well enough and since her Spanish is impeccable, I thought it was fine. Nick teased me on my guilt levels for the rest of the day.

We arrived on Taquile island about an hour after leaving Amantani, and started another uphill walk to the main village, which we were very excited to visit as it was July 25th, one of the main fiestas of the year there. The walk itself only took about a half hour, was broken up once by our guide giving us explanations on customs and the peoples of the island (population 2000), and was truly spectacular, with the lake of the bluest blue and a clear sky, with the air made even more so by the altitude (still near 4000m). Once at the village, we walked around waiting for the celebrations to start (with locally bought little oranges and another beer), and once they did, it was the most colourful gathering I have ever seen!

Groups of people dressed similarly came out one after the other, showing themselves off and playing music, an this lasted for a good 40 minutes.


Then started a mass of sorts. The last time I went to mass I also did so inadvertently, at some celebration in Prague.

This was had lots of local elements into it, and it was interesting to see the mestizaje of the catholic and traditional indigenous practices. We left before it was over to have lunch of quinoa soup (good thing I love it so much, otherwise it would get tedious, but I eat it even when I don't have to) and trout caught in the lake (and introduced, apparently, from Canada).

The walk back down the 500 steps on the other side of the island where our boat stood waiting was just as beautiful, and full of people lugging their wares and water back up from the port. They must have amazing legs, these people. Can't tell with the clothes. I fell asleep in the sun on the small deck, and so did Nick, in the middle of reading. The lake was a bit choppier, which made for nice rocking.

When I got back to the hotel, I found Ariana in bed watching tv and laughing her head off at some show. So much for my guilt! She had had a productive afternoon, and was resting after a warm shower. In the bathroom stood the little container into which she was to provide the doctor with a sample of her problems. The said samples were content to not show themselves, and so Ariana enjoyed her first dinner and restful night in a while!

Now we leave the Lake Titicaca area, and I have made sure to have the name of a reputable doctor experienced in the treatment of tourist ailments for Arequipa, our next destination!

The high plains of Peru

photos by Ariana

Church in the town of Andahuayillas

photos by Ariana

Lake Titicaca...a rough ride

Carmen and I booked an overnight trip to the Lake Titicaca islands. Here is my perspective on how that went. Carmen will certainly have a different view.

I was hesitant to go on this trip to the islands because I've been having a bit of stomach problems. The trip involved long boat rides and a homestay on one of the islands. Despite my reservations I convinced myself to go on the trip since I figured this might be my only chance to ever see these islands...and we came so far to get here.

The boat ride there was fine. My stomach held up, but probably because I hadn't eaten since the previous day. The first stop, Isla Uros, was fascinating.





The rest of the boat ride I spent curled up on one of the seats waiting to hit land. We arrived 3 hours later to Isla Amantani and were taken to our host's house. With prompting from Carmen I ate a bit of soup our host family made. It settled fine so I ventured to eat a little more soup for dinner. That was a mistake. I should have listened to my instinct which said food was a no-go.

I spent a very long night sick out in the field next to the house. My sole companion was a donkey. I had to run out there several times in the night. Mind you it was about 45 degrees. The house was very simple...adoble walls, dirt floors and lots of lovely animal and strange food (?) smells. Our room was upstairs and had a normal floor and even a rug...but to get outside I had to scrunch through the 4 foot door (...why doors are so small, not sure). Several times during the night I had to bound down the stairs in the pitch dark through the dirt courtyard, past the sheep enclosure, and into the field next to the house. There was an outhouse with a semi-flushing toilet, but I found the field more...umm...inviting. The stars were very lovely to gaze out though. I've never seen so many stars.

This morning I skipped out on the rest of today's tour, which included a visit to another island. Instead I took the locals' boat straight back to Puno (the city). In the picture below I am trying to look normal, although I was pretty nervous about getting on a 4 hr. boat ride in the condition I was in. And I was cold.

For four hours I was squashed in a very slow-moving boat between indigenous women knitting alpaca hats and old men chewing large wads of coca leaves.The center of the boat was piled high with colorful bags and cloth-wrapped bunches. I guess the Amantani folks were sending their goods to the market in Puno.

After about the second hour, when my behind was seriously sore from sitting on the hard wooden bench, the motor suddenly sputtered to a stop. We were in middle of a very large body of water and I prayed the motor would start up again. A few old men bent over the motor, which looked like it was home-made, jerry-rigged by a tube to a canister of gas. To my delight they got the motor running again. Two more hours to go. Below is a picture of the mother and child that slept at my feet for much of the ride. And one of the knitting women.( I took the pics on the sly so they're not really clear.)

I finally arrived at the dock, bid farewell to my indigenous boat friends, and bee-lined it for the hotel. To my relief I found out there was a doctor just around the corner. I dropped in and he saw me right away. He is very kind and seems to know the problem. So I should be cured soon.

Carmen should be back from the tour in a few hours. I'll let her post her view, as I'm sure it will be more cheerful than my perspective.

Stay tuned.

storage closet contents at Racqchi ruins

photo by Ariana

The Andes plains in the winter

Carmen discovers working out here is not easy

post by Carmen

Ariana is letting me insert a few blogs since I am so hopelessly computer-challenged that can't really hope to have my own blog!


As running outside is impossible, I had hoped to be able to use gyms in expensive hotels, as is common in many place around the world. But it is not; even 5 star hotels rarely have gyms, and when they do, they are minuscule and only open to the hotel guests. Ariana has been laughing her head off at me for my work-outs, which are basically a mixture of jumping and running on the spot. With a 30k in 3 weeks, however, followed by 3 half marathons and a full marathon in November, skipping workouts is not an option. So Ariana had fun taking pictures of me this morning in a deserted hallway at the top floor of our hotel.





But the great thing is that the temperature is about freezing at night and very cool during the day, making exertion a lot easier. At night, we have fun bundling up in our new woolens!

goodbye Cuzco

We arrived in Puno this evening after a long day on the bus. We left Cuzco at 7:30 a.m. and arrived in Puno at 5:30. But the bus stopped at all kinds of interesting places along the way.

We visited the ruins of Raqchi.

a 15th century church

Also a museum in a small village called Pukara.

And we had a delicious buffet lunch where we were entertained by Andean musicians.

We also made a quick stop at the point of highest elevation on the trip...4,300 meters.

Everywhere we stopped there were women in elaborate costumes selling artesanias.

At lunch we tried our first taste of alpaca, which I thought tasted OK. It tasted like slightly gamey meat. But I felt a little guilty afterwards because after lunch we went into the attached courtyard of the restaurant where a bunch of indigenous women were selling their wares. They also had three baby alpacas and llamas for tourists to admire. They are the cutest animals ever! So sweet and gentle. They ate straw right out of our hands.

I wanted to sleep on the trip because I had insomnia last night and didn't sleep a wink. But the scenery was so interesting that both Carmen and I stayed glued to the window all the way. There were miles and miles and golden grass covered plains, dotted with brown adobe huts and men and women herding animals...mostly sheep, cows and alpacas. The peaks of the Andes in the background framed the scenes dramatically.

Carmen and I took about a million pictures, as usual. In fact, I am nearing crisis mode because all 12 gigs of my memory cards are full. My new SLR camera pics (the good pics) are going to have to be posted later because the file sizes are large and proving to be difficult to work with on the outdated computers they have here.

We have reservation for the day after tomorrow for a tour of the Lake Titicaca islands, including a homestay with an family on Isla Amantani. I am going to shop for more warm clothes tomorrow because the nights here dip below freezing. And there is no heating. There are plenty of beautiful and warm alpaca sweaters, scarves and mittens to be bought.

Time for bed.

Moray and Salinas -salty

I am skipping ahead. Carmen has agreed to help me catch up with some of the blog postings later, including the day we went to Machu Picchu.

Today we took a day trip from Cuzco to some ruins at Moray. The scenery on the way there was incredible.

The ruins of Moray were totally different from anything we'd seen...circular steps. The theory is that the Incas created this area as a sort of testing ground for growing crops. The steps are each a different microclimate. Seeds of different types were found by archaelogists on the different levels. Pretty cool, eh?

I found the landscape there totally fascinating.

The contrasts of the yellows, browns and blue of the sky...plus the mountains in the background. Loved it.

After visiting Moray we went to the nearby, Salinas, which are salt mines. They look like a bunch of salt lakes connected to each other. The Incas collected salt here and the salt is still harvested. Apparently some of it is exported to the States and other places by the name of Peruvian Pink salt. I bet they sell it at Whole Foods for $10 an ounce. Maybe I should have grabbed a few handfulls.

You can walk right on the paths between the little salt lakes and watch the workers harvest the salt. I got really thirsty walking around there!

Below is a picture of me putting the salt on my mosquito bites, no-see-um and sand fly bites. Yes, they all got a piece of me.

This is our last night in Cuzco. We are leaving early in the morning for Puno and then onto Lake Titicaca.