colca canyon (peru)

hat festival on the various local buses

chivay barbed wire with flare ............................. local outdoor equipment

weekly supplies from the city ......................................... afternoon chat in chivay main square

caldo blanco (traditional soup)..................................cabanaconde terrace

canyon cactus ............................................. healthy, out of breath hikers in the canyon

oasis paradiso, at the foot of the canyon ...............................posing pet alpaca

the end of the trek at last! ...................................................interesting scene in cabanaconde church

where´s wally? ....................................... bus stop nap

the only condor spotted .................... the ¨vallee del fuego¨garden

pepina-papaya (cucumber-pawpaw) fruit

as you may have guessed it, we are not too fond of crowds and instead of taking a typical tour offered by the hundreds of agencies, we went solos to the colca canyon.

the trip there was enjoyable as we stopped off, after approx 4 hours, in the town of chivay for a few hours. even though it was just under 4000m, the effects of the altitude were evident. the town was nestled in a valley, with a monsterous cross cut in the valley and alpaca´s in the town square with their owner´s in traditional dress (i soon started to become intrigued by their woven hats).

then came the second leg to cabanaconde, which is the last village served by a bus service. it became quite clear about 15 minutes before the bus arrived that we were not the only ones heading in that direction as a queue started in the middle of the bus parking lot.

picture this: an enromous cross on a nearby greener-than-green hill, a dusty parking lot with a row of about 4 families and 6 loners reading the paper, eating etc. then towards the back of the queue, the tourists. clearly not accustomed to such tactics on getting a good spot, or a seat at all!

so the seat situation was not the best as there were many free seats but all with either a bag or a (beautiful) hat preventing us from sitting. now i understand what all the fuss was about (i think that they may be worse than the mexicans getting on the bus or metro)!!

anyway, after much stopping and starting, the quantity of people seemed to diminish as we reached the terminus...thankfully. did i mention that the windows could not open and that does not mean that there was aircon. not at all!!

cabanaconde is probably half the size of chivay and has a lovely, quaint feeling. we stayed in the BEST hostal called ¨vallee del fuego¨owned by the famous pablo. the rooms overlook the crop fields and the canyon and have a little garden that absorbs the sunlight during the day. the restaurant is constucted all out of stone and has a wonderfully warm indoor fire. there are candles on the tables and pablo´s brother mixes some good tunes whilst one eats and drinks merrily. as you may sense, i enjoyed this place immensly -

the reason for our visit to this part of the woods was 1) thanks so sarah who spends about three months in this continent every year and 2) to do a hike to the oasis paradiso.

the hike was not a conventional one; it started downhill, for about 1 1/2hrs, and ended uphill, approx 3hrs. thank goodness, there was a refreshing swimming pool waiting for us at the bottom and the thin, cool air at the top. i didn´t realise the impact a change of a few thousand metres would have. at one stage, it was just (just!) the lack of breath that made me stop.

although it was a mighty strenuous hike, it was well worth it. the views were breath taking and the satisfaction of reaching the top of such a mountain made it.

one thing must be said, that churches in the two villages that we visited were beautiful. they were brightly painted with a little less kitchness than usual.

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Notre petite escapade au cañon de colca nous a permis de nous échapper dans la campagne aréquipénienne. Pas moins de 6 de bus local surchargé ,qui s´arrête toutes les 5 minutes pour récupérer un ou deux campesinos avec la récolte de leur champs (soit deux sacs chacun de 10 kg), pour rejoindre le village de Cabanacondé. Sur la route les paysages sont magnifiques. Les plaines désertiques peuplées de lamas et d´alpacas laissent peu à peu palce au cañon avec ses cultures en terrasse: patates, mais, piments, haricots, puis les fruits dans la vallée.

Enfin, cette escapade nous a permis d´observer quelques beaux habits traditionnels de la région parmi lesquels le chapeau melon et la robe traditionnel.

La cañon est célèbre notament pour ses condors. Une randonnée nous permet de descendre au fond du cañon et de profiter de la piscine de l´auberge ou l´on réside avant d´entamer la difficile remonter vers le village (1000 m de dénivelé a 4000 m d´altitude). C´est notre première expérience avec l´altitude et on a pas trop eu de problème même s´il est vrai que le souffle manque un peu parfois.

Enfin, j´ai eu l´occasion de prendre qq menus de jour à base de caldo blanco (soupe de poulet avec des pates) et steak d´alapaca en sauce (pas mauvais du tout), le tout accompagné de mate de coca.

arequipa

arequipa cathedral ------------------ menu del dia (soup of moron)

the central market - an array of colours -------- corn and potatoes of all colours and sizes



et la, j ai combien de doigts (how many fingers) ????-sta catalina monastery (the cemetary and washing area)

entrance to the monastery ------------one of the colourful courtyards

view from the rooftop ------------------------------confession bench

entrance to a peruvian bank -------------- church facade

respect! how to be a real nun-------------------- another view of inside


arequipa's balconies view


cooking time ------------------------------ -bon apetit

arequipa is a lovely city, complete with colonial charm and a wonderful ambiance. it is known as the white city as many of its buildings are made of sillar - a white volcanic rock. needless to say, it is situated near a variety of volcanes, namely the ¨el misti¨, a snow capped volcano measuring about 5822m.

one of the many museums, cathedrals etc in the city, we visited the santa catalina monastery which is a cloistered convent and was constructed (out of sillar of course) in 1580 and was later enlarged in the 17th century. at that time, only wealthy spaniards, paying an extravagent dowry of approximately $50 000 thesedays (!), were accepted and they had one to four slaves on hand (!!). it is not as though they were moving into a hotel, as their rooms were cells, so to speak. a lavish cell, shall we call it. it had a kitchen off the main room and some had a fire place. i´m guessing that those were the lucky ones as the rooms mustvé got pretty damn cold with the stone floors.

the colours of the monastery are magnificant with oranges, blues and plants on almost all the window sills. there are three courtyards with beautiful painted arches and some with fruit trees. the monastery still houses about 20 nuns today. not too kak -

¨el museo santuarios andinos¨ is also recommended as it tells the tale of ¨juanita¨, a 500 year old incan girl who was offered to the god´s. she was found only in 1995 in the crater of the ampato volcano (6380m). one is actually able to view this beauty, which is somewhat freakish.

when we were not stimulating ourselves interllectually ;), we went exploring the market (where we bought many a lunch and loads of interesting fruit; the pepino-papaya for example), watching the world go by in the plaza de armas (main square) and hanging out in various spots where locals were congregated.

after being here for quite a few days, i can understand why unesco nominated this city a world heritage site (in 2000).

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Arequipa, la ville blanche, nous a acceuilli pour qq jours. La ville est entourée de volcans a 6000 m, et elle est située a 2000m d´altitude. C'est la roche volcanique qui donne cette couleur blanche a la ville. La cathedrale domine la plazza de arma, rendez vous des pigeons peruviens.

Durant le séjour, on profitera pleinement des marches afin de se concocter qq plats dans la cuisine de l'auberge. Le matin, on va choisir des légumes et quelques patates (le choix est immense, plus de 4000 variétés au Pérou) et le soir, on mange tout ca tranquillement en écoutant la musique, comme a la maison.

La ville possède un monastère de nonne fondé peu après l´arrivée des colons. C´est une véritable ville dans la ville, avec ses propres rues, ses propres maisons et ses jardins, le tout entouré d´une grosse muraille en pierre. Les nonnes qui y residaient avait meme leur femmes de menages. Par contre, afin d atteindre la veritable sagesse et de comprendre le monde, elle devait porter une sorte d armure avec des pics un peu partout, ca devait etre sympa tout ca (cf la photo how to become a real nun)

Le musee santuarios andinos possede la fameuse momie Juanita, trouvee a 6380 m d altitude sur le volcan ampata en 1995. Le volcan etant entre en eruption, la neige du sommet a fondu et la momie, enterree il y a 500 ans par les incas, s est retrouvee mise a jour. Juanita aurait ete sacrifiee afin de soulager la colere des dieux. Ce genre de sacrifice etaient assez courant chez les incas. Des pretres parcouraient les differentes cites afin de trouver les heureux candidats au sacrifice, ceux ci devaient etre noble et ages de moins de 13 ans. L heureux elu se voyait alors recu par l inca meme a Cusco et cheminait ensuite jusqu au lieu de sacrifice. En l occurence la mere Juanita a du marcher 3 bons mois pour rejoindre le sommet de l ampata. L etat de conservation de la momie est vraiment incroyable.

Enfin, a Arequipa, on a pu essayer le fameux pisco sour, cocktail avec du pisco (ceux qui suivent le blog sauront ce que c est) et du blanc d oeuf. Avis aux amateurs, moi, je prefere une bonne arequipeña.

nazca lines

mummies in chauchilla cemetary

desert around the graves -----------------------nazca line - the hands

nasca line - the tree ---------------------mirador off the panamerican highway

two to three hours from ica, is nazca; famous for its nazca lines. almost every second shop is a tour agency offering flights over the lines. we decided to do it the ¨routard/ backpacker¨way and caught a public bus to the mirador (on the side of the panamerican highway), walked to the ¨natuaral mirador¨AKA a hill where we could apparently see other lines then caught a gas carrier back into town. for sure, we saved a few buckaroos and did it at our own pace. we even made a friend along the way; chris, an american solo traveller, who seemed to have the same brilliant idea as we did.

the nazca lines are a serious of hundreds of geoglyphs scattered over about 500 square kms, thought to have been created by the nazca culture between 200BC and 700AD. one is able to see human, animal figures and many, MANY perfectly straight lines. these are all thought to have a meaning, religious perhaps? unfortunately, there are sooo many theories behind this phenomenom that it is difficult to know what to believe...

we also visited the chauchilla cemetery, about 40 minutes outside of town. it was kind of a scary experience with some of the graves still intact, dating from about 1000AD. unfortunately grave robbers got to the graves first and stole many valuables that were left. we were able to see mummies, wrapped in cotton with their skeletons and hair still well preserved with various offerings for the after life ie: ceramic bowls, necklaces, combs for weaving and some woven articles.

we stayed in a great little hostal called ¨hostal guadaloupe¨ which had a lovely, mellow vibe and was surprisingly filled with frenchies. obviously this address could not have been in ¨the lonely¨! we took delight in eating in cheap eateries where, for less than 10 soles (just over $3), we received a soup and a main meal which left us full to last the day!

i definately cannot forget to mention the cake sellers, who sell pieces of cake for s1,50 on the street corners. i would, without a doubt, recommend the pineapple cake. mmm.

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Nazca est principalement connue pour ses lignes et figures géométriques tracées dans le désert. Ces dessins datent apparement des années 200 a 800 et chacun a sa petite thèse quand a leur signification:

- pour Victoria, l´archéologue en bois qui a repris le travail de maria reiche (l´archéologue allemande qui a rendu les lignes célèbres et qui a passé sa vie sur le site), ces lignes et dessins sont un livre a ciel ouvert que nous transmettent les anciennes civilisations. Ces lignes nous indiqueraient les sources d´eau, chose importante quand on sait que l´endroit est un immense désert. Les dessins eux seraient une sorte de calendrier astronomique, avec chaque dessin pointant sur une ligne qui indiquerait certaines dates importantes de l´année tel que les solstices. Sa théorie est intéressante mais elle contient pas mal de point douteux. En outre, le fait qu´elle soit persuadée de venir du cosmos et d´avoir plus de 3000 ans (elle a également eu le temps d´enterrer ses 18 maris) donne une dimension un peu mystique à ses dires...

- pour d´autre, ce serait juste des dessins artistiques fait par les anciens afin de faire plaisir aux dieux (qui peuvent les voir depuis le ciel)

- enfin, pour ceux qui aiment la fiction, la dernière théorie mettrait en scène les extra terrestres. les lignes seraient les pistes d´atterrissage et le dessin du vieux aux grands yeux serait celui d´un homme vert venu de l´espace.

Pour s´y retrouver, c´est donc assez difficile mais ca rajoute du charme. En fait, comme on va s´en apercevoir plus tard, le Pérou regorge de lieux aux origines plus ou moins inconnues.

Autre visite, celle d´un cimetière de momies datant de l´époque paracas (200-800 je crois) mais qui aurait été pillé au début du siècle. Il n´empeche que les momies sont bien conservées.

Les paysages désertiques sont fascinants et les gens acceuillant. On se régale des menus du jour a 5 soles (1 euro) meme si Karis a du mal a trouver des options végétariennes.

huacachina dunes

view from our room ------------pisco (local grape alcohol) fermentation jars

huacachina oasis ----------------------sandboarding at sunset

huacachina is an oasis town not far from ica. when i say it´s an oasis, i really mean it. one minute you are cruising along the panamerican ¨highway¨surrounded by sand dunes, the next you stumble across palm trees and a lake. the moment we landed in lima, we got onto a bus this side.

we stayed in the oasis (of course!!) with honey-coloured dunes surrounding us, that we befriended with a sand board. it was loads of fun riding but super tiring climbing back up. we spent a few hours messing around until the sun set and the night chill sent us packing.

believe it or not - there are also wine estates. ok, perhaps ¨estate¨is somewhat of an exaggeration. it was more of a farm, an 150 year old farm that still produces wine and pisco-induced wine, the artisanal way. the tour was extremely interesting and of course the tasting, not too bad either. although we were a tad disappointed that it was pisco that we were tasting and not the wine that the ¨estate¨ was ¨famous¨for...

i did not realise that central and south america would be so different. it does not only concern the landscapes but also the comedors. this must be the only place (so far) where customers actually can order 2.5l of coke, or other sugary soft drink, and drink it in the restaurant! so it is quite the norm to spot an over-sized plastic bottle on the table. not only did this amaze me, but also the price of a meal. often a full-on meal of a starter and main would cost the same as a packet of m&m´s! i´m not kidding!! something must be seriously wrong here...

needless to say, a fantastic introduction to peru!

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A peine arrivé sur Lima, on prend un bus en direction de huacachina, petite oasis perdue au milieu du désert. Quelle surprise en sortant de Lima de découvrir ces grandes étendues désertique le long de la cote pacifique !! De plus, je ne m´attendais vraiment pas a trouver un pays aux infracstructures si développées. En effet, le bus est vraiment comfortable, ce qui nous change radicalement du chicken bus du Guate...

Huacachina est une petite ville construite au milieu d´une oasis. Elle est entourée de dunes de sables et du haut de ces dunes, les désert s´étend sur des kilomètres. Pas grand chose a faire sinon de se reposer, de gouter a la cuisine locale qui s´avère assez différente du Guate : pas mal de fruits de mer, souvent accompagnés d´haricots blancs typique de la région.

Les dunes nous offrent l´occasion de s´adonner au sand boarding. Par contre, par opposition au snow boarding, il n´y a pas de remontées mécaniques, aussi, après deux ou trois remontées, l´enthousiasme initial en prend un coup et la session de sand boarding se transforme rapidement en séance d´observation du désert et du coucher de soleil sur les dunes tout en essayant tant bien que mal de récupérer son souffle.

De plus, on a pu visiter une vieille fabrique artisanale de pisco, alcool local a base de raisin fermenté. Apres la visite, on a meme droit a une degustation des differents types de pisco produits (pisco jeune, pisco vieux, pisco amer). Cette degustation ne me laissera pas indifferent, en effet, a midi sous un soleil de plomb, les effets du pisco sont plus ou moins immédiats, si bien que le reste de la journee consistera principalement en une grosse sieste.