Day 37 : Countryside tour : Spitted at by a llama!

Today I have a very light plan, just joined a half day morning tour to the countryside, seeing some lookout of the El Misti and Chachani volcanoes, some famous houses and a mill farm in the surrounding neighborhoods outside of the downtown areas. And then back for lunch, and just plan for my trip to Chile tomorrow. I am planning to take a morning bus to Tacna - the border town (already bought the ticket), and then I will have to find out how to cross the border to Arica, Chile, either by train or taxi, there are bus too. But I prefer the early two options. As of this morning, I still don't have a hotel booking, and not sure what time I will arrive in Arica. I shoot out a few emails last night to a few hotel in Arica. The first one comes back is US$37 a night. Everyone says Chile is the most expensive country in South America, I am afraid it is true, although I am only staying in Chile for 2 and a half week. I think I will be able to manage the higher cost. Now I am realize the next 10 days I will be running a bit hasty, visiting 3 cities separated by long distance before the Easter Island. I probably could have used a few more days to see Chile, but probably not going to change my tickets again which costs a lot of money. Will just do my best to see whatever I can.

Back to the countryside tour, the highlight is the Mirador de Yanahuara, Mirador de Sachaca, and Molino de Sabandia, the low point is the alpaca clothing shop where has a mini zoo containing all 4 members of the llama family. Like vicuña, guanaco is also not domesticated and it is the first time I see this guy, they can hardly be seen in the wild in Peru too if I understand correctly. Anyway, the whole point of going to that shop is not for the zoo, but trying to get you buy some alpaca products. Try a type of ice-cream called Churrito (a mixture of milk, coconut, vanilla and cinnamon) in the little shop after climbing the Sachaca tower, the ice-cream tastes really good. I like it. At one of the sightseeing point - La Mansión del Fundador, or the mansion of the founder of Arequipa. I try to walk closer to a llama to take a picture, that breast spits at me, Bitch! I don't know if it hits me or not, probably do, but with little spit, I can smell it all the way back to Arequipa. Molino de Sabandia is a old mill, the area looks quite beautiful, you can see the owner of the mill sitting in some private areas sipping his tea, very relaxing.

I think this tour is not a must for visiting Arequipa, but if there is extra time, and instead of wasting bargaining with the taxi driver to go to this place and that, the tour can save you some times to dealing with the taxi drivers. It does go to a few good lookout places, where one can takes a lot of pictures. I would recommend people to take the morning tour (9:00am-1:00pm) though, partly you still have a good afternoon to spend to do whatever you like, and the weather tends to be better in the morning, it seems so far, for the time I have been staying here anyway.

Have a good lunch menu for 5 Soles (less than US$2). That is so much better than the two lunch buffets I had in the Canyon already. What the hack! Pick up my laundry, go back to the hotel, grab my laptop, start my cafe tour, go to two cafes where Wi-fi is available, the first says they have it, I connect to it and it does not work. The second does, so I sit there sipping my tea and typing my blog entries for 2 hours. Dinner, I have gone completely western, I just feel the need to have something satisfying and something I am totally comfortable with at the very last. Probably not as exciting as the Cuy dinner, but it's a very satisfying dinner, for 35 Soles (less than US$12), I have a cream of mushroom soup, two BBQ meat combo with fries, and a coca cola. They are good too. (see the picture). The beef is probably a bit raw for me, a couple friends of mine would love it. I eat it anyway.

Get another email from another hotel in Arica, they offer me a room for US$16 a night, so I quickly confirm it. I still have not had an idea about the train crossing the border, the tour details in Arica. Guess I'll find out tomorrow. The bus is scheduled for 7:30am in the morning, which means I must leave the hotel before 6:30am, probably no breakfast. I better sleep early tonight. More in Chile...

Photos here: Day 37

Day 36 : Colca Canyon Day 2

Get up at 4:55am, the guide said there will be a person knocking on your door at 5:00am, there isn't! Luckily, I have my cell phone to wake me up, take a quick shower. Go out to the dining room waiting for breakfast at 5:30am as instructed. The dining room has no one, and the light is off. I start to wonder if I am still in a dream. About 10 mins later, la señorita finally comes to serve the breakfast. Just some breads, juice and tea. I am like I can help myself for that. Other tour mates starts to show up. One of the American girls oversleeps, and she does not show up until 5 mins before we leave. I don't blame her, she has no alarm, and expecting someone to knock on her door, which does not happen until everyone is already eating breakfast.

Anyway, taking off to a town called Yanque, where we pick up a few other tour mates who stayed in a better hotel. The town is small but cute. In the early morning, before the kids go to school, they are dressed in their traditional clothes and dancing around the fountain near to the church. It's probably for tourists and get some extra money for their school or themselves. But it's actually kind of nice. We are on our way to the Condor Cross lookout (or Mirador de Colca Canyon) after we get everyone. When we leave the hotel, it is still cloudy, but as we get to Yanque, the clouds start to break up, thanks god. Turn out we have quite a good weather for viewing condors. Before long, we arrive at the lookout, there are a few condors flying next magnificent to the cliff already. The guide says the luck is on us today. The view is , the condors are huge and they are so close to where we are, although these few condors we see are not the biggest one, the adult condors have some white furs around their necks. The few we see do not have that, they are young condors, but still it's quite exciting to see them cruising around the canyon. I also see hummingbirds, snow cap volcanoes, the world's 2nd deepest canyon (some 3600m deep) and many cactus. After an hour or so, we head back down to Chivay for lunch, after stopping by a called Maca (in Peru, Maca is a herbal substance equivalent to Viagra, kind of funny.) In Maca, I take a picture with a little girl and her alpaca, they are so cute sitting on the ground. I just can't resist. In the church next to us, there are a lot of people having a funeral. It's probably not a good idea, but I take some pictures of the people around the church. I just love their faces, their clothes, and the colors. They are all good elements for pictures. So, today's photo album has a lot of local peoples' faces.

After another money wasting lunch buffet, we are heading back to Arequipa. I am totally disappointed with the meals of this tour, the 3 meals together is already more expensive than the tour itself. It's their way of grabbing your money I supposed. I don't mind if they are more expensive, but give me some options and wish they at least tasted better than a 3 Soles menu. Back to town, I am searching for a place where I can do laundry. I also join another half day countryside tour for tomorrow. At dinner, I finally try the guinea pig (the locals call it Cuy). A must-check out picture of the day, it looks really scary, they cut the guinea pig along its tummy in half and just spread open, deep fried it, and lay on the dish with head and everything. I need to operate it into smaller piece and just eat it like that. When I first open it leg, its claws prick on my fingers, it feels a moment of disguise. But after all, I am a Chinese who supposes to anything that moves. So, I chew on it. It tastes really good in fact. Kind of like eating deep fried pigeons. At the end, I even eat its lower jaws and the cheeks. Those are the best part usually. For fish anyway. I would eat it again if there is opportunity, maybe cooked in a different way. I also treat myself some ice-cream tonight, mango and coconut. Yum!

I walk by a saloon, just decide to go in and have a hair cut. I know they are charging me more because I am tourists, he pretty much make up the price as I ask them, but it's much cheap compared to what I usually paid in the US, so I try not to think about it. I just want to keep the hair short enough to leave no shape when I take off my hat. They actually do a lousy job, I have to go back to the hotel, ask for a scissor and cut a little more to make it look balance. Oh well. The next time I will cut my hair will probably be either in Australia or Hong Kong.

Back to the hotel after a fine evening, satisfied with the Cuy. I finally try it. In this trip, I have been setting some little goals everyday, I need to do this, I need to try that. So far, I have met these goals so far. I am happy about that.

Photos here: Day 36 (Yanque y Condor Cross), Day 36 (Maca y la noche)

Day 35 : Colca Canyon Day 1

When I am waiting at the lobby for the tour to pick me, I find that there are 2 British guy, and 2 German guys have joined the same tour. We are all waiting, the tour bus is late. When the first vehicle arrives, they pick up the Germans. The tour is so big that it takes 3 vehicles in total. Me along with the Brits are picked up by the second Mercedes van. The weather isn't good at all today, very cloudy. I am just hoping we will still see something. Our first stop is a convenience store for everyone to pee. Once we get to the hillside, it is not as easy to find baños (toilets). Based on the original itinerary, we would go around the body of the volcano Chachani to its behind, and then we will pass by some local villages, the national protected zone where we would see some lakes and vicuña, continue to the highest point of the trip Patapampa at 4910m, where we will see 3 volcanoes, including the one the ice-maiden Juanita were found. Lunch at Chivay, then we will go to a hot spring, dinner with folk music and dance.

We do get to see some vicuña, they are the same family with the llamas and alpaca, but much more elegant and skinny. They are not domesticated either, so we only see them behind some fences. Kind of excited. Until the rain starts falling down, we continue going up the hill, the altitude does hit some of us, people start to chew on coca leaves. It's the 2009, I am coca candies instead. :P I think people just chew it for experience. I heard it tastes really bad by itself. Anyway, we get to the peak at Patapampa, we see no volcanoes, they get white out. It is snowing on the top of the mountain. We get a quick pee, steal a few snapshot of the "green" rocks (which only exists above 3500m sea level), and the stack of rocks where people place their offerings to mother Earth, those stacks of stones are everywhere. Disappointed that we don't get to see the volcanoes but we move on to Chivay to have lunch - an expensive and tasteless lunch buffet, I mean even Panda Express in the US is better than that lunch buffet. I hate it when they assume that tourists like buffet. That's so 1980s! Chivay is also the town we will stay a night. Check in at our hotel. My room is literally a bed (well two beds) in a box. But the whole tour + hotel is only 60 Soles (US$20). What am I complaining about, right?

Take a quick nap for the altitude, then we get to the hot spring, it's cold at the mountain areas when it is cloudy, even though it's almost summer and it's quite hot in Arequipa at this time of the year. I have brought my swim trunks. At first, kind of worried, since it's those swimmer's kind of brief style. Luckily, the tour mostly consists of European, and they are also wearing those kind of briefs, so I am not like the only one who exposes my thighs. Anyway, it is good to be in the hot water for a while, I even go into the sauna too. Steam for another 10 mins. We must go back to the hotel, and get ready for the dinner. The dinner is as disappointing as the lunch. It's not buffet, but as expensive and does not taste good. The folk music and dance is ok. A bit touristy. They are playing with the Belgium group and French group to see which groups shout more loudly. When they announce there is this amigo from China in the house, and my tour guide makes me raise my hands, I am almost embarrassed. This is the thing I hate about joining a group tour. Seriously.

Go straight to bed after the dinner, since we need to get up at 5:00am to go to the Colca Canyon lookout to see the condors (a huge bird when it extends its wing, it can reach 3m long). At least the shower is hot, and the bed is comfortable enough. No complaint. But because of the weather, I have taken much pictures today. Hopefully, the weather will be better tomorrow.

Photos here: Day 35

Day 34 : Walking in Rhythm in Arequipa

The actual first day to sightseeing in Arequipa. I leave the hostel around 10:00am, pass by some tour agents to inquire about the 2 days Colca Canon tour and 1 day salt lake tour. Everyone is doing the canon tour when they come to Arequipa so it's quite formulated, I realize, after I ask around in 7-8 tour agencies. It costs between 60-180 Soles depending the hotel of your choice. At the end, I join a tour for 60 Soles (US$20) for tomorrow and will come back on Tuesday. We will stop at the highest point at 4910 meters to see 3 volcanoes, some village, a hot spring, then onto a lookout place to see the world's second deepest canon and the condors. For the salt lake tour, turn out it is much more difficult to find. It sounds like a beautiful place, a huge salt lake set behind some 6000m mountains and volcano, and there are often different kind of flamingos around. But the problem is that it does not have a regular tour. I must do a private tour, and it will cost US$120 if I have no one to split the cost. So, I am not doing it. Instead, after I will come back to the canon, I will join a local suburb tour. Arequipa is big, there are some surrounding neighborhoods that is recommended by the Lonely Planet, a half day suburb tour probably will save me from bargaining with the taxi driver constantly. Will take an early to Tacna (the border city with Chile) on Thursday morning (Nov 5). Still debating whether I want to stay in Tacna for a day instead of going straight to Chile. We'll see.

After dealing with all the agents, I visit the 'Juanita' or the ice maiden. She is a mummy, sacrificed during the Inka time (about 500 years ago). She was so well-preserved because she was located on the top of some 6300m Andean mountain completely frozen until the nearby volcano erected in 1995, the snow started to melt, and she was eventually exposed and are found by some anthropologists. Her internal organs are all intact. She was completely dehydrated of course, so she looks much small than a 12-14 years old girl. There are 3 other sacrified children in the same period and region, supposedly there was some disasters at the time. They were all found by Juanita is the only one on display and the most well-perserved as well. It is really quite interesting to see actually.

Lunch at some local joint, a big dish of stuffed pepper, something like a lasagna but made by slice of potato and cheese, some deep fried something, and rice. Chicha morada (a purple corn drink) and a grossly-textured fruit jam/sauce (whatever it is). The meal is for 5 Soles. Enough to make me very full.

Visit the convent of Santa Catalina, a must visit if you come to Arequipa. It's actually right across from my hostel, taken the whole block by itself with walls surrounded it like a small town on its own. It was a monasteries for monks or nuns. The walls are in bright colors such as red, blue and yellow, which is quite unusual, like they were having a great time in there. But it was from Spanish colonial time, that may be why. To enter the convent is expensive, for 30 Soles (no student discount), equivalent to US$10, but I was there wondering around for 2 - 2 and a half hour. It is so relaxing in there. They also make their own pastry and have a tiny cafe where I have my first coffee and a carrot cake after my 2 days diarrhea. They let you take picture anywhere in the convent, that's also a major reason why I enjoy this place so much. Just look at the pictures of the day. You know what I am talking about.

Just cruising around the streets aimlessly for another hour, among the countless colonial buildings. Behind the main plaza, you can see two huge mountains (one active volcano) in the background. It is really unfortunate that the air is smoggy (probably because of air pollution) that you can only vaguely see the mountains behind the white smog. Maybe after the rain, the pictures will show much more clear. But oh well, I can wait for the crowds to step out of my picture frame, but I can't wait for the rain.

There are some guys sitting on the street trying to chat me up. I have no idea what their intentions are, but I can barely understand their Spanish anyway, so we talk for like 2 mins, I just shook my head and say I need to move on.

Need to leave for the Canon at 7:30am, so I better sleep earlier tonight. That's all for now. More after the Canon...

Photos here: Day 34 (Arequipa City), Day 34 (Santa Catalina Convent)

Day 33 : Cruz del Sur : Puno to Arequipa

Today is on the road. Wake up around 7am, have breakfast, upload photos, blog entries for a couple hours in my hotel room. Then, go out for lunch. My stomach is till not a 100%, so I want to eat something not as adventurous. Go back to the same restaurant I ate with the Bermuda girl last night. Their lunch menu set for the day looks pretty decent, with a potato appetizer, soup, a chicken with rice, and some kind of lemonade drink. I have a cup of coca tea too. It's really pretty good for 8 Soles. I need a big lunch anyway, since my bus to Arequipa is for 3:30pm - 9:00pm, after checking in the hotel, I don't think I would go out and eat again. I pass by some bakery shops and get two pastries in case I am hungry on the bus.

Still get an hour before heading to the bus stop, so I Visit the coca & custom museum, where I watch a quite interesting video about their fiesta dances, with different names and costumes. Learn more about the coca leaves - the sacred plants for the Andeans. Then, I head to the bus stop. What do I know? I bump into the french couple who was on the same islands tour with me, we also bumped into each other at dinner last night. Today, we are the same bus again, the third time. If I see them again, I think they are stalking me.

The bus is really fancy actually, I am sitting upstairs in the front, with the big window in front of me, but I close the blind most of them anyway because of the late afternoon sun, and I am watching the movies on the TV next to my feet. They play 3 movies for the 5 and a half journey, and I watch them all. The first one is called Dreamer, oh god, almost get tears in my eyes. It's about a girl, a horse, a dream, I guess. It's a good movie, but I hate to watch this kind of movie on a plane, bus or in a public place where I have to hold my tears back. At some point of the movie, I have to look outside the window, and hold my tears back, chill, don't come out. Silly. The other two are Little Man (kind of a stupid movie), and Red Eye (kind of a intense thriller). I want to write my blog during they play Little Man, they have wi-fi on the bus too, I am amazed. But I don't want to block of the view for the girl next to me, so I close my computer and watch the movie as well. The road is bumpy on and off anyway.

I am really impressed with this deluxe bus company Cruz del Sur, there are also a dinner box with a sandwiches and cake, and drink in the middle of the ride, it's almost like a plane ride, better than United at least. After 6:30pm, it gets pretty dark outside. There is no light in the highway, we are driving down from some Andean mountain areas to a lower altitude areas, I mean without seeing what both sides of the road are, just pitch dark and with the bus flying. I can't allow myself to imagine further. If I can, I will not take another bus. It's also a pain to bargain for taxi with a huge backpack on your back at night. The french asks me if I want to take the taxi together to the main plaza. My hotel is just a few blocks off the plaza anyway. It's Halloween, turns out the Peruvians take Halloween much more serious than we do. Or at least they love to party. Traffic is horrible everywhere, taxi raises their price, everyone on the street are masked or painted on the face, there are even fireworks!? I see from afar just before the bus arrives at the station.

Anyway, get the hotel safely around 10:00pm. The hotel looks really cute, I have to share some pictures on my photo albums. The room is good side for one person, with cable TV, wi-fi, a dresser I can walk in, some nice painting on the wall. The outside is pretty handsome too. It's slightly more expensive, US$28 a night, more than my planned range: US$15-25. But oh well, I come all the way down there, might as well enjoy it. Watch another horror movie on TV before heading to bed, my 4th movie of the day!

Photos here: Day 33