As we headed off the coast toward Arequipa, we started climbing into the Andes.
A few hours later on the high desert, we reached the point where you can see some of the Nasca Lines. There are over 300 of these diagrams carved into the desert. They are all well over a thousand years old. Many of the drawings are animals or symbols. They include monkeys and whales – none of which are within hundreds of miles of this isolated place. Additionally, the drawings are very large and you can’t even see what they are unless you are very high above the ground and this is a very large, very flat desert. By far the strangest drawing in my mind is a drawing of an astronaut. How did that happen?
W traveled all night on the Peru Hop bus and in the morning we were near Arequipa and could see the largest of several active volcanoes that surround the city. This is the most famous one, called El Misti.
We made it to our hotel one block from the city center. We had the best room, I think. That second floor with the long balcony. These folks really took good care of us. Packed lunches for us on our trek to the Chaco Canyon and when we discovered we left our Nikon camera on the van, they helped us arrange retrieving it.
From our room balcony we could see this street vendor right across from us.
Just up the street at the next corner this street musician played his ten string lute and sang from his soul. I think we have a brief recording of him.
This is the central cathedral in Arequipa. The center of town is the park right in front of the cathedral. Arequipa is sometimes called the white city because of the color of the volcanic stone this and many other buildings are constructed from.
En la noche
With El Misti in the background
A door in an art museum
door closeup
The buildings around the central park have these high arched ceilings. This is from a second floor restaurant we ate at.
Early in the morning before the streets fill with people.
Santa?
throughout the main thoroughfares of the city were all these creative tire art pieces.
Not Arequipa. A street in a small city way up in the mountains where we stopped for a meal before exploring Colca Canyon.
On the all day trip to Colca Canyon we passed through some high ground at around 5,000 meters. That’s about about two and a half times the altitude of Denver. At this point they had markers around a circle showing which mountains on the skyline were visible.
At this altitude, it is common to have headaches, nausea and severe weakness. I put a wad of coca leaves in my cheek to help but later we got some local pills that were even more effective. Yes. Snow.
Sorry. This is a bit fuzzy. But we are starting to see some of the incan stone work in this area.
The beginning of the canyon
Deeper into Calco Canyon. It is said to be twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. We were hoping to see condors, but none got close.
She’s a doll. Dali Llama.
Another dolled up llama.
Get your picture taken with a large bird. Or not.
A rare pack of vacunas in the wild. They were almost extinct in colonial days. Their wool is the finest grade.
Charlotte with a baby. Alpaca or llama? She can’t remember.