MACHU PICCHU***PERU
MAY 2 - 14, 2013
PERUVIAN LEGENDS
Small group tour of Peru by Discovery Tours, Gate 1.
May 2-3, 2013
Miami***Lima***Arequipa
Left Miami on LAN Chile 2511 and arrived in Lima where we changed planes (LAN 2125) for Arequipa, elevation 7,661 feet. The Gate 1 agent picked us up at the Alfredo Rodriguez Ballon International Airport and checked us in at Hotel Libertador. After an hour or so of rest I went out to check the city whose historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
AREQUIPA: The Plaza Mayor or Plaza de Armas surrounded by the Portales with a fountain in the middle which has a bronze sculpture of a winged pixie with a trumpet (Tuturutu) and the Basilica Cathedral, which was built with ashlar (volcanic rock).
Back at the hotel we had our first taste of Peru with a pisco sour and a welcome dinner of local cuisine.
May 4
Arequipa City Tour
San Camilo Market has exotic fruits and vegetables, several different kinds of potatoes and corn.
The
Santa Catalina Monastery was built in 1579 and still functioning as a monastery for nuns.
Drove to the outskirts of the city to view the volcanoes like
Pikchu Pikchu and
Misti and the district of
Yanahuara.
Lunch was at a local restaurant called
Sol de Mayo where I tried one of their more exotic dishes -
cuy, crispy, deep fried guinea pig.
Went back to see the center of town at night stopping at the
Basilica Cathedral first, then to another church and later for a beer at one of the nice restaurant/bars in town.
May 5
Colca Canyon***Colca
Left Arequipa and on our way this morning to Colca Canyon which is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon at 13,650 ft deep. On the increasingly upward ride we stopped for a view of the three of the highest volcanoes in Peru:
Ampato, Hualca Hualca and Sabancaya. We really felt the altitude at that point, over 12,000 feet. We all chewed coca leaves to alleviate the illness.
Passed through the town of
Chivay before finally arriving at
Colca Canyon which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and the condors were already flying all over.
Stopped at a small town named
Achoma which was busy with tourists and locals with their alpacas, llamas, vicuñas, guanacos and condors.
Lunch was at a local restaurant called
Alpaca Chef.
We got to our beautiful, rustic hotel,
Colca Lodge with thatched roofs, and native animals in a fenced in corral. Went to the mineral springs pools and enjoyed the spa with some of my fellow travelers. Before dinner, had an Ariquepeña beer at the bar.
May 6
Andean Hills***Lake Lagunillas***Sillustani Tombs***Puno
This morning we drove through the Andean Hills passing a lot of native animals and before getting to the Las Lagunillas area with flamingoes and other birds.
Sillustani is a pre-Incan burial ground on the shores of Lake Umayo near Puno. The tombs, which are built above ground in tower-like structures called chullpas, are the vestiges of the Colla people, Aymara, who were conquered by the Inca in the 15th century. The structures housed the remains of complete family groups, although they were probably limited to nobility.
Checked in at
Puno Libertador Hotel which is right by Lake Titicaca, then later had a beer by the fireplace before dinner.
To view the next portion of the trip, please go to the Blog Archive below and click:
PUNO***LAKE TITICACA***SACRED VALLEY
