Arequipa and the 4 hour walk home

What a weekend! It was filled with new experiences, exciting views and walking home for hours through villages.

First let me start by assuring you all that I am safe. As you have probably heard by now Joran Van der Sloot, the man who was “accused” (yet we all KNEW he did it!) of murdering Natalee Holloway in Aruba 5 years ago, killed another young girl in Lima last week. He was apprehended on his way to Chile and brought back to Lima where he is in jail and awaits an indictment. It was very scary to hear that he was in the same country as I am and that he had fled after committing the crime. I am very happy of course that he has been caught and will finally pay for what he has done and justice will be served at least for one life he has taken.

Michael and I left for Arequipa on Friday night. We were supposed to be picked up at 7:20 pm in order to get to the bus station for our 8:00 bus but they were late as usual and we had to basically run out of the taxi and to the line for the bus. I have found that most Peruvian people are usually always late anywhere from 10 minutes to sometimes even a half hour, but when it is something important like making a bus you can’t afford to be causal with the time. When we were boarding the bus they fingerprinted us and they were video recording each passenger’s face for security purposes. It was really weird but I guess it is for our safety in case anything was to happen during the overnight trip.

I had not been able to keep any food down since Thursday afternoon so the bus ride was not very fun for me. I sat on the aisle so I could get to the bathroom easily throughout the bumpy 9 hour ride. The seats reclined pretty far and I tried to sleep but even with my Ipod music on full blast it was broken due to the man in the aisle seat next to me keeping me awake with his hyena like snoring.

I was sleeping at one point and rolled over in my uncomfortable seat trying to adjust when I saw ski masked men walking up and down the aisle touching our luggage. I freaked out and thought that they were terrorists and our bus was being raided like I read happens sometimes to overnight buses in a travel guide book. I learned that it was only a check point along the way for security to make sure no one on the bus was bringing anything illegal and that they were wearing ski masks because it was so cold outside. I was relieved but seriously can you imagine being woken up at 3:00 am to ski masked men in a foreign country?! It got my heart pumping for a few minutes. Since I had to keep my Ipod on all night to drown out the snoring, it ended up dying around the time we pulled into the Arequipa bus station at 5:00 am.

We got a taxi and asked him to take us to our hostel so we could sleep for a few hours before exploring the city. Come to find out the road that our hostel was on was under construction and he had to drop us off at the very end of the street and we had to walk down to find it among the cement trucks on the gravel road. There was no sign of the name out front of where we were staying so we ended up walking up and down the street for the next half hour trying to figure out which one was ours. Finally we figured out the address by asking and had to bang on the large wood door for another 10 minutes to wake up the man at the front desk to let us in. We got to our room and crashed for 5 hours in our own very comfortable beds with down comforters.

When we woke up we went out for lunch in the main plaza, which like Cusco is called Plaza de Armas. I think every city or village in Peru calls their plaza this as well. While we were eating lunch we saw Ariana and Lindsay who were also in Arequipa for the weekend and we ended up spending most of the weekend with them throughout our tours because they did the same ones.

Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru, was very different from Cusco. It had a much stronger European influence in its architecture and the people there were dressed in ‘normal’ clothing. Meaning, I did not see anyone in the traditional Inca dress walking around with their alpacas or lambs like in Cusco. I have never been to Europe, but I imagine Arequipa would fit right in in Spain or Italy with its buildings, streets, bridges, people, food, etc. Arequipa’s buildings were all made of white stone and there were palm trees there which made me miss South Carolina, and it was a lot hotter than Cusco so I could actually wear shorts for once! There is a large volcano called Misti that last erupted in 1540 in Arequipa that you can see from all over the city. I like Cusco a lot better and would not have wanted to spend any more time than I did in Arequipa.

After lunch, we went to Santa Catalina, which is an old convent that takes up a whole city block in Arequipa. It was like a whole city inside a city and it took us more than an hour to walk through. We got to see where the nuns slept, prayed, studied, confessed, ate, cooked, did laundry, were treated for illness, were buried, etc. It was really interesting to see all of the old rooms and how they lived so secluded from the outside world. There was beautiful artwork towards the end and numerous statues of Christ throughout. My favorite part was the architecture of the convent and the colors used. It reminded me of something you would see in Greece with bright blue and rustic orange and the courtyards were wonderful with fountains and pillars. It was only opened up to the public in 1970 as a museum and I don’t believe anyone lives there today.

Next we went to my favorite part of Arequipa which was Juanita the frozen girl. She was a child sacrifice during Incan times to the mountain Gods so that the volcano would not erupt and ruin the villages below. She was discovered only in 1995 after the eruption of the Sabancaya Volcano by Dr. Johan Reinhard on the Ampato Volcano outside of the city. Archeologists believe that she was chosen by her village to be sacrificed and therefore at the age of 12-14 she was taken up to the top of the mountain wearing only sandals and the ritual clothing to be killed by a blow to the head and left to the Gods. They found cocoa leaves and the ritual drink, Chicha, in her stomach which would have acted as a sedative to her already great fatigue and hypothermia from the climb up the mountain at 6, 380 meters above sea level. They found three others on Ampato, another girl and 2 boys who were also sacrificed to the Gods. The children would be buried with offerings to the Gods like pottery, figurines, and tools. They were always dressed with a blanket over the shoulders connected with a large pin and wearing a large a headdress. They were placed in a shallow grave sitting in an upright position. When archeologists found Juanita she was still in the perfect position despite having tumbled down the mountain. Her face was exposed to the environment for about 2 weeks because the blanket that the Incas place over the children’s faces was lost in the fall. It was amazing to see Juanita in person in the museum and also very eerie to think that she was a real person from so long ago. You could see her arms, fingers and legs in the position she was killed in. Her face was still all together with teeth, lips, eye sockets and you could see on her forehead where they struck her to end her life. Her hair was still there was well. I was amazed at what history can tell us and how cool it was that they found this little girl who could tell us so much.

We had dinner, which I was still not able to keep down and at this point starting to worry that I had some sort of stomach flu, and went to bed early because we had a long day of traveling ahead.

Sunday morning we were picked up at our hostel by the tour guide at 8:00 am. After having breakfast I felt sick so everyone on our tour van knew from the start that I was not feeling well and babied me the next two days. There was a German mother and daughter, two women from Barcelona, a couple from Lima, two Americans who were teaching for a year in Chile, a couple from Massachusetts, a girl from Taiwan, and a guy from California. I bought some water and Gatorade and tried to stay hydrated since I had been vomiting for that past 2 days straight. We started our drive out of Arequipa by entering the Salinas Reserve to see the vicuñas, which are part of the alpaca and llama family. They are much smaller and their ears go straight back rather than up. They are put in reserve lands because they are endangered species. The drive felt very much like a safari because once we got out of Arequipa the land was extremely dry and desert like. We stopped along the road to take pictures of the vicuñas as they were grazing on the dry grasslands among the high mountains. As we drove in the reserve I thought it was funny to see “vicuña crossing” signs similar to signs like we have for child or deer crossing. There was a picture of a vicuña on a yellow triangle to warn drivers of the many in the area.

As we drove, I saw a lot poorer side of Peru with random homes made of stones and some without even a roof along the deserted highway. I asked our tour guide how in the world these people can survive out here in such isolation and she said that many have to live off of herding their alpacas, llamas and some sheep because the land is too dry for any agriculture and that on the weekends a public bus will come by that can take them into Arequipa or the other city of Chivay which we were on our way to so they can get food, water and other supplies. I could not imagine living so far away from civilization with no resources. What if there were an emergency? These poor people just have no other means and have to do what they have to do to survive.

We stopped at other sites along the way for pictures. There was an enclosure of alpacas and llamas that a man and his two young sons brought for pictures and we also stopped to see some wild ducks and herring. Next we stopped at rest area for cocoa tea for those affected by the increasing altitude and a bathroom break. There was an adorable little German Sheppard puppy that wanted to play and out back two baby alpacas munching on some corn stalks. We were literally in the middle of the desert because all around us were cactuses, mountains, and very dry open land.

We arrived in Chivay around 2:00 pm which sits in Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world. It was a small little mountain village with a plaza and dirt roads surrounding. We had lunch and then were taken to our hostel called Colca Inn. Around 4:30 our tour guide picked us up again and we went to the hot springs. These hot springs were MUCH better than the ones in Aguas Calientes. They looked like pools and were very clean. They still smelled like sulfur because of the natural water from the springs, but I didn’t feel dirty being in them like our last experience in springs. We saw Ariana and Lindsay there and spent about an hour relaxing in the hot pools.

I really missed my mom and dad after we got back to the hostel because I had been sick now for 3 days and so I went out to call them before meeting back up with the girls at 7:00 for dinner. After crying on the phone for about 5 minutes and only spending 8 soles I felt mentally and physically better for the rest of my trip. Ariana gave me some Canadian medicine called “Gravol” for motion sickness and nausea and the next morning I felt a million times better.

Monday morning we had to wake up at 5:30 am in order to get breakfast and be picked up at 6:00 to travel to see the condors, Peru’s national bird. After picking up the whole group at each hostel we headed to Cruz del Condor, where the large birds glide through the canyon. We stopped in the village of Janqué on the way and saw some girls dancing around the plaza at 7:30 am to some flute music. It took about an hour to get up to the viewing area where we met up with the girls again who had come up in their van a few minutes earlier. The condors had just begun to gracefully glide through the canyon and it was a beautiful site. They didn’t even need to flap their wings because the breeze carried them through the canyon. Some flew right over our heads and others simply glided across the canyon with such ease and tranquility. We stayed there for about an hour watching the birds and then got in our van to head back down the mountain road stopping at some spots along the way.

We headed back down and stopped at some viewpoints to take pictures. The views were remarkable. There were tiny villages set deep in the canyons and ancient terraces still used for irrigation and cows that grazed on them. At the viewpoints there would be random women selling things and you would wonder how in the world they got there and how long it took them. They would have to carry all of their things every morning to these viewpoints just hoping that tourist vans stop and buy something. It was incredibly sad when they had children on their backs that spend the entire day out in the hot sun with their mothers waiting to make maybe 10 or 20 soles from a couple tourists. On the way we would see men walking up and down the mountain roads with their herds of cows, donkeys, sheep, etc. We traveled through tunnels cut out of the mountains along cliffs.

We stopped in a tiny village called Maca to take pictures and get water. There was a woman with her alpaca and a hawk who I took a picture with. They had a beautiful little church and a few tiny shops but that was the extent of it.

We went back to Chivay for lunch and from there headed to Arequipa. I think Hispanics really like American oldies because so far every tourist van or bus I have been on they have played them. Our driver was blasting old jams the whole trip back to Arequipa on the road that was similar to the Pacific Highway in California but without the ocean of course. The drivers were crazy and passed each other on the two lane highway even though they couldn’t see who was coming on the other side. It made me very nervous! The song Heaven is a Place on Earth came on and I thought of my best friend Val because we used to be obsessed with that song in 5th grade. Following was the song Karma Chameleon which reminded me of my sister because I used to steal her 80’s hits CD in middle school with that song on it. It was a nice little call from home and made me think of how much I miss my friends and family back in the states.

We stopped at the highest point along our route which was 4,910 meters above sea level to take even more pictures. From here we could see Misti, Ampato and two other volcanoes. The air was very crisp and clean up here and it felt great to breathe it in. Some of the others in our van had headaches and trouble breathing at such a high altitude, but surprisingly I was fine and actually enjoyed the cold air.

We got back to Arequipa and had time to kill before our bus at 8:30 pm so we met up with Ariana and Lindsay again at their hostel and then went to dinner at a cute little rooftop restaurant where you could see all of Arequipa. We got to our bus on time this time and we headed back to Cusco after saying goodbye to two girls I have become great friends with. Our bus was like a sauna it was so hot. When I asked the bus attendant to turn down the heat because I could barely breathe it was so hot she told me it was cold! Four other ‘gringos’ around us agreed that it was awful and they complained too so she finally kicked up the AC. My seat was broken this time and it would only stay reclined if I kept my body weight on it because it would not lock into position so my sleep was yet again broken due to sweating profusely and having a jacked up seat.

So you would think my blog entry would end here because we got back home and that was it right? WRONG! The best is yet to come…

I am awakened at 7:00 am to a bus that is stationary. We have been sitting still for the past hour or more and no one really knows why. We learn that there is an agricultural strike and the village people have blocked off the road for the next 24 hours and are not letting anyone through. We have the option of sitting and waiting on the bus or walking 20 kilometers (about 13 or so miles) back to Cusco. Michael and I decide after a half hour of waiting and realizing they are not going to let up that we better start walking. We get off the bus and see buses, cars, and trucks backed up ahead and behind for miles. The sun was glaring on us on the right side and we had no sunscreen but we had no other option if we wanted to get back to Cusco that day.

We see that we are in Tipon which is supposed to be a 45 minute taxi ride from Cusco. We end up walking along this road for the next 4 hours with our luggage (backpacks and a purse for me) through the strike. There were logs, rocks, broken glass, burnt out cars, tree trunks, and people sitting in the road for the next 13 miles on our trek back to Cusco refusing to move. Businesses and schools were closed in all the small villages in between since every person was fighting for the cause in the street. Apparently they wanted the government to give them more water for their agricultural needs. We were walking through the countryside of Peru and it was definitely a side I had not been in yet. I took pictures of the people stationed in the streets and of the random livestock I was able to see up close like cows, pigs, sheep, etc.

At one point the protesters started walking with their picket signs to take their demands to Cusco and to gain support and followers throughout the other villages and neighborhoods along the way. The point they happened to start walking was right when we were passing them and Michael and I were actually in the crowd of protesters. It was scary and I felt very uncomfortable because as the crowd approached areas, businesses shut their doors which made me believe that this protest could get violent and I wanted to get far away from it and fast.

We finally made it to the end of the road block where a line of police men were standing to stop any further action and we were able to get a cab to our house from there. However, at that point we were only about 10 minutes from home anyway. It was noon and we were exhausted and sun burned. We told our house mom who embraced us both with a big hug and felt very bad for what we had to endure. After I Skyped my mom to tell her about my awful experience I slept for the rest of the day.

I have to start my malaria pills because I leave for the jungle on Friday! I will have another exciting weekend and a blog and pictures to follow for you all. I hope you enjoyed my crazy story. It was definitely a culture shock and something I didn’t expect to happen on my trip here but something I will never forget.

That is all for now. Adios and hasta luego!

-Hillary-