July 7th - Lima and flight back to Houston

We are enjoying our last day of Peru in Miraflores, an affluent section of Lima, spending our final soles.

Yo soy no dinero!   Time to go home!

We should be back in the USA in 24 hours!  Yee-haw!

July 6th - Colca Canyon and Cruz del Condor

Today was all about the condors!  In the morning, they leave the nests for food!  

We hiked around and saw a bull ring which is used in December for real bull fights complete with toreadors...accompanied by drunken brawls and increased pregnancy rate.

Then we drove and stopped at a mirador (overlook) where a lady was selling a very sour kiwi-like fruit.

Then we went "trekking"....and saw pre-Inca colcas, which are rock storage houses for corn and potatoes.  The tower is a lookout to protect the goods against thievery. (See bottom picture.)

Then we hiked to Chivay to walk around town and have lunch.

On the way back to Arequipa, we were fortunate enough to see viscachas on the side of the road. 

They are related to chinchillas and are only found at very high altitudes.  Aren't they cute? 

Can you tell which pictures are from Joyce's camera?

We are sitting in the airport at Arequipa and waiting for our flight back to Lima.  

July 5th - Colca Canyon

We spent the day hiking and driving through Colca Canyon and various villages along the way.  The scenery is incredible!  These pictures don't do it justice...

The rock piles are offerings to the mountain gods for a safe journey, etc.

We stopped in the afternoon at a condor crossing and were in luck!  Apparently, condors lay one or two eggs every two years and the baby condor spends almost a year before their first flight.  Wing spans can range 10 feet!

We hiked to some ruins and here is some scenery that we saw on the way.

....and here are some of the people we passed along the way.

Here are some llamas we saw literally "on the road" as we drove along.

We have no wi-fi in the canyon, so I'll post this when I can.

                                                                 Nite-nite!

July 4th - Arequipa

July 3rd - Bus to Arequipa - excerpt written by Joyce

Hola friends and relatives,

Yet another unforgettable day. Where to begin?  Last night at bedtime we received the news from our innkeeper's daughter that our bus from Puno to Arequipa would be leaving at 5 AM instead of 6 AM in order to avoid getting stuck in the city of Juliaca due to the general strike protesting a law just passed by the Congress granting raises and more benefits for the poorly-regarded bureaucratic federal employees of Peru.  To this end, we detoured down a dirt road undergoing major reconstruction, in the dark, for 25 to 30 miles bypassing Juliaca.  This road would be a challenge for a Humvee and we were in a full-sized tour bus.  The fact that the mud ruts were frozen is probably the only reason that we are not still out there overturned somewhere in the vastness of the altiplano.  Finally reaching the paved road to Arequipa, we stopped mid-morning at a big lagoon for 10 minutes, not nearly long enough to to pee and also enjoy the flamingos, Andean geese and ducks and Lord knows what other myriad of birds filling the lagoon.  

Along the way, we saw numerous small groups of vicunas, an endangered species whose fleece is as precious as gold (well, almost).  

At our last scenic stop, "Misti", one of the three volcanos around Arequipa and the symbol of Arequipa was looming before us!

Arriving in Arequipa near noon, our progress was blocked by rocks in the main thoroughfare and a wall of marching protesters.

Attempting to avoid all this, our driver hung a U-turn and headed the wrong way down a narrow one-way street at high speed. Holy crap!  Confronted by a solid wall of oncoming traffic, we somehow backed up-hill and around a corner and miraculously ended up safely at our hotel.

Shortly thereafter, the riot police marched past our door in face shields and full-body armor on their way to the main plaza. Later on, we strolled over there to find the plaza lined with walls of police and saw smoke and possibly teargas across from us. (See two pics above.)  Wisely, we decided to pay a visit toJuanita the Ice Maiden, a young Inca girl sacrificed to the mountain gods about 500 years ago and found in the crater of a volcano above Arequipa in 1995.  Then we ate some tuna (cactus fruit) and walked around plaza de Armas.   

Followed by shopping and more shopping, especially at the Ekeko Mall. An Ekeko is a kind of Andean wishing doll that you give to someone you like.  That person then hangs miniature versions of things they are wishing to have, like houses, money, shoes, you name it, on the doll.   This Patio del Ekeko contained about five floors of larger-than-life ekekos and wonderful Peruvian art and handicrafts. Fabulous.

We finished the day by dining lavishly at an upscale restaurant,Chicha, owned by Peru's most famous chef, Gaston Acurio...serving excellent ceviche and Pisco drinks.  We are finally about to "hit the sack" and don't have to set the alarm for 4am.  Halleluiah!

July 2nd - Lake Titicaca Islands of Los Uros and Taquile

QToday we took a slow motor boat to the floating islands of Uros.  The islands are layered first with large blocks of totora roots which are staked and bound together with synthetic rope.  Then the blocks are topped with the totora reeds.  These reeds are constantly replenished on top as they rot on the bottom.  They have to lift up their reed houses and build up the reed base under them as well.  The whole island is anchored so that it doesn't float to Bolivia!  

When they don't get along with their neighbors, the use a very big two-man saw and saw off that part of the island and push it away from them.  

Then we rode on the reed boat at the bottom of the collage to another Uros island.

Afterwards, we rode two hours on the same "slow" motor boat to the island of Taquile.  There was a very steep hike up to the top of the island...I kept saying, "I think I can, I think I can...." all the way to the top.  Joyce gave the victory sign halfway up!

On the island of Taquile, the married men wear red caps with the point and tassel folded to the back, whereas the single men wear red and white caps withe the point and the tassel to the Side.  After lunch, we hiked another 50 minutes down to the "slow boat".  On the way, we saw a cute lamb, a gate with recycled shoe hinges, interesting birds and beautiful scenery!

Finally, we made it to the exit gate!  It was a great day!

July 1st - Puno and Sillustani ruins

This morning, we walked to the Plaza de Armas and went window shopping down a pedestrian street.  I bought a little rain stick from a music shop...it has a "witch doctor" looking face with llama teeth in the mouth!

Then we went to the central market and bought queso and pan to make a cheap lunch!

This afternoon we joined a tour group for Sillustani ruins.  On the way, we stopped for a view of Lake Titicaca!

At the ruins, we saw chullpas, which are stone towers erected to bury the dead!  We also saw another lake that has a higher elevation than Lake Titicaca, but is only navigable by small boats.  Standing in the middle of Joyce and me is a lovely lady named Devika from New York (originally from India).

On our way back to Puno from Sillustani, we stopped at the home of a family who showed us how the inside of their living complex is set up.  We found out that they mix clay with salt and water and eat it with potatoes, cheese, etc.  It helps coat their intestines and provides some essential minerals.  The big stone pictured on the right is used for grinding grain such as quinoa into flour.

They had many animals such as alpacas, llamas, huanaco, cuy, and pigs.  I think the furry guy in the middle is "Chubacka"!