After the death-defying Nasca Lines flights, I was really looking forward to spending a few "tranquillo" days in Arequipa. I was not at all disappointed by the city, which was calm and beautiful and interesting. On our first morning, I visited the Museo Santuarios Andinos to see "Juanita the Ice Maiden". Juanita is the frozen body of an Inca girl who was sacrificed 500 years ago on a nearby mountain. Since her body froze immediately after she died, her internal organs are all completely intact. Very bizarre, but actually really cool.
In the afternoon, I did a really incredible "Reality Tour". We visited a stone quarry, where workers live in deplorable conditions, a cooperative day-care, and a common kitchen. Throughout the tour, we were told all about Peru's social and economic problems, the problems with corruption, and why cocaine is such an important part of the economy. Our guide, Miguel, was really amazing because every year he chooses a new day-care and kitchen to support for one year and help them get started. After a year, he leaves them completely self-sufficient and moves on to another. It was a really amazing tour and extremely interesting.
That evening, we drove to Chivay and spent the night there. In the morning, we went to visit Colca Canyon, which is one of the biggest canyons in the world, to see the flight of the Condors. I'm not that into birds, but they are pretty cool because they are gigantic (the heaviest flying bird in the world) and they don't flap their wings, they only glide. At Colca Canyon, we also learnt a lot about the local indigenous lifestyle. That afternoon, we drove to Puno, where I am now.
On our first morning in Puno, we took boat out onto Lake Titicaca, which is just incredible. It is the largest and highest navigable lake in the world and absolutely breathtaking. We visited a reed island, which is a man-made floating island where indigenous families continue to live a traditional lifestyle. We then took a boat over to Isla Amantani, where we spent the night with local families. The families live in very basic homes with no electricity or running water and they maintain a very traditional lifestyle. In the evening, we were dressed up in local costumes for a fiesta with the whole community. It was a really amazing experience and I absolutely loved my family. They had three small children, who were obsessed with asking us about country capitals. They also had a baby named Elvis, which I thought was hilarious.
Today, we took the boat back to Puno where we are staying the night. Tomorrow, we drive to Cusco to get ready for the Inca Trail. Really looking forward to that, although the altitude is making even the most basic physical activity feel like torture!
Love,
Sarah
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