Peruvian Adventure

once again, so much to write! our last night in nazca, we asked our guide to accompany us to arequipa. he was thrilled and the next day we were off in his car again. it was an amazing trip which began with a trip to a really small museum ran by his friends (this is not a surprise as numon has friends everywhere he goes). the museum was incredible. we were able to see all the information we{d been getting come together. each family group of the nazca people had an animal that represented them, like the parrot, the monkey, the condor, etc. so, the lines may have represented the different family groups. to explain the lines to those of you who had questions, the lines are these huge figures made by hand in the dirt. the top of the sand is dark, and underneath is white, so the people used sticks and their hands to make these figures. they also surveyed with strings and sticks to make the figures symetrical and the lines straight. so, in the museum, we were able to see more mummies, textiles, ceramics, the actual sticks that were used to make the lines, and most exciting, mummies of animals that no longer exist in nazca{s current climate-like monkeys, parrots, condors, that the people of nazca had conserved. these were the evidence that maria reiche used to prove that the lines were actually made by the people of nazca and it was awesome. the people here live in such a close relationship with their history that numon just picked up ancient skulls and ceramics in the cemetary like he was cleaning up his room. afterwards, we drove through a lot of desert, and saw another figure made by a different culture, a canyon made by tectonic movements, etc. the coastline was incredible as we drove south and we stopped at a place called puerto inca, which consisted of only an upscale hotel with little casitas based on incan architecture. however, we went just to visit the ruins. the incan fisherman had a community built by the sea for processing marine products. there was also a common tomb and catacombs. again, it was an incredible casual relationship with history as i found a piece of textile on the ground that numon agreed was probably thousands of years old, of course, i put it back, but it will likely just wash to the sea. it{s really an incredibly different attitude toward history, or maybe not. afterwards, we stopped for lunch in a sea town where numon{s family had spent their summers and where some of them still live. his cousin{s wife served us a lunch of white fish, french fries, rice, and vegetables. it was delicious. we had a long drive, but we broke it up by translating bob marley songs for numon, talking about our lives, or just anything that came up. finally, we arrived in arequipa, and it was easy to see how beautiful the city is right away. we got to see some parts of it quite a few times as we were lost and could not find the hostel we wanted, and when we did, it was full. we finally found one and it was crazy. the ceiling was about fifteen feet high and there was a sort of bamboo wainscoating around the bottom of th wall. the beds had blankets with the nazca line designs all over them and under a florescent light on the wall, there was a textile with an incan figure on it. the shower was the bathroom, or vice versa, ie. there was no stall. anyhow, we went straight to bed, and the next morning we had breakfast overlooking the plaza de armas while listening to an andean band. we spent the day exploring the santa catalina monastery, which was huge and beautiful and a city in itself. there were incredible oil paintings, murals, and a million little rooms, false staircases, and geraniums everywhere. that night, numon and i ate at another restaurant overlooking the plaza de armas (central square) at sunset. it was beautiful to see the cathedral framed by the colors of the setting sun and the snow capped mountains in the distance. numon had to leave that night. afterwards, cass and i went out for drinks at a little bistro that was cozy and beautiful. we tried a few more of peru{s many delicious coctails and then went back to the hostel and to bed. this morning, we ate with a friend of numon{s at a little vegetarian restaurant and have spent the day just lazing around the city and doing a little shopping. we are planning a three day trek into the canyon de colca which will include seeing condors, natural pools, and staying in bamboo huts in homestays. we are looking forward to it. today has been a big day for protests. it{s not terribly dangerous, but as the protests are about transportation taxes getting into and out of the city is sometimes difficult, so we are leaving at one in the morning to prevent problems. numon took us to an agency run by his friend, and we are getting a great price and a secure trip. anyhow, more to explore! love to you all, thank you for your posts and also for passing on the site to so many. xoxoxo

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