Canyons and Condors and Colonial Stuff
16 Jul – 19 Jul, 2005
Arequipa. On the map, it looks like we are getting to the coast. But, it’s still 2300metres. Getting lower, but still a long way up.
Arequipa. Home of Juanita, “The Ice Princess”. She was found frozen in the high Andes, frozen only a matter of hours after she was sacrificed several hundred years ago. And so she remains, now on display in a glass freezer that keeps her at 50 degrees or so below zero. Bundled in a tight ball with ice encrusted all over her, she is so like Joanne at night, despite finding all available blankets. Yes, my wife is the other “Juanita Princesa de Hielo”.
Nice Colonial architecture is found throughout the city, with the Monasterio de Santa Catalina a definite highlight. For centuries, it was a city within the city, with the nuns living a cloistered life that was not as focused on poverty as many of their contemporaries. When Rome found out, they sent down one of their best to set matters straight. She must have been a fun lady…
Monasterio de Santa Catalina
A full day bumping along unmade roads to Colca Canyon (one of the deepest in the world) culminated in a trip highlight at Condor Cross. Here, we sat for a couple of hours, watching these spectacular birds rising on morning air currents. Who knows how many we saw? Of course, they went out of sight, and returned, but at one point we could count 10 in the air. 8 of these were flying “together” and one by one flew directly over our heads, within 2 or 3 metres. We estimated seeing 15 to 20, in all. When they flew close, we could see their expressions. Did one wink at us? The head was nodding and bobbing as it flew as if it was checking out the assembled crowd and was giving its approval. Did that one just do a rubber neck stare at Jo as it flew past? We felt like it was a performance, and they were actors who set out to engage every member of the audience individually.
Tags: Animals, Architecture, Arequipa, Peru, Peru, Travel
Richard and Jo