From San Pedro de Atacama we took an overnight bus to Arica, the closest town to the border of Peru... Arriving here at 7 in the morning after a long, horrible almost sleepless night, the look of the grotty outskirts of the city didn't appeal to us, with nowhere to stay and no pressing commitments we decided to move on rather quickly, heading straight to Tacna, the Peruvian border town, ignoring the advice of the guide book and changing our money with a guy shouting "Cambio Cambio" who then directed us to a taxi that, once filled with other people (there were 6 of us altogether, ourselves the only gringos,) took us over the border to Peru, stopping at Chilean customs, heading through what seemed to be a wasteland for 20 or so minutes, then finally reaching the border to Peru, getting our passports stamped and then on to Tacna. In Tacna we decided to keep heading straight on to Arequipa, I think the second largest city of Peru, another 10 hour bus ride away. Around 24 hours later we found ourselves in a beautiful, bustling city and were very glad to go to bed! I can't recount exactly what we did there, as we left Arequipa for Cusco 2 weeks ago, but it was a beautiful city and changed our perception of Peru entirely. I thought it would be much dirtier, much scummier, and while there was poverty to be seen it wasn't to the extent that I thought it might be. While it wasn't to be seen so much, I have no doubt it is there to the extreme, just very well hidden.
We did our first trek of our trip into the Colca Canyon, only a two day trip, one day down the canyon, straight down for 17 kilometers, then another 4km or so up the other side before heading back down to the bottom to a hostel, purpose built, for the night... The next morning up at 5am for a walk straight up back to the top of the canyon. For James it was a stroll in the park, for me it was like moving mountains, it was such hard work, but it really was worth it. We met our beautiful friend Marielle from Holland who traveled on with us to Cusco, but has now, very sadly gone home... Due to my huffing and puffing I took very few photos, but here are a few.
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| Condors flying at 'Cruz De La Condors', at the top of Colca Canyon |
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| The path heading down into the canyon... 17 km straight down. |
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| 800 year old terraced farmland in the Colca Valley |
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| James with an eagle in one of the small towns that rely entirely on the tourist dollar |
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Right after this James fell into a great big puddle of llama poo and stagnant
water! It gave us all a good laugh! |
The markets here in Peru are amazing! So much food, fruit, vegetables, meat and fish... It is a little hard to handle as a westener filled with western ideals... refrigeration, cleanliness.... The meat and fish sit out in the open, often covered in flies, on benches caked with dried blood.... Not really my cup of tea, so we have been buying our meat from the supermarket... but the fruit and veg are to die for! We have been living on avocado, you can get a kilo for 4 soles, about AU$1.50, and they are just delicious... Here are a few photos of the big market in Arequipa, there is one similar close to where we are staying in Cusco.
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| So many different types of potatoes! A staple part of the Peruvian diet. |
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We all like chicken tonight... well... maybe not these chickens! Fly blown and
unrefridgerated. Just what the doctor didn't order! |
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| Nothing here is wasted, every single part of every single animal is utilised. |
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| All of the meat is like this, not just the chickens... |
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| Piles and piles of delicious olives! About AU$2 per kilo... mmmm... |
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| Aisles and aisles of delicious, fresh and very cheap fruit. |
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| Anything you want you can find, dried or fresh! |
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Cicharon, delicious and wholly unhealthy fried pork.. mmmmm.... though I
must say I don't entirely trust the market version! |
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| Beautiful textiles in every colour under the sun... |
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On the top level of the market there is a big room filled with
live animals, chickens, ducks, rabbits and guinea pigs, all
for sale dead or alive, this lady is preparing a guinea pig... |
