Highlights from Peru: Colca Canyon

From Arequipa, we ventured to the Colca Canyon. To reach the Colca Canyon, we passed through Pampa Cañahuas National Park. The views were stunning, as were the seemingly endless herds of wild alpaca, llama, guanaco, and vicuña.

Alpaca, llama, guanaco, and vicuña are all closely related. Llama and alpaca can both be domesticated, and therefore are much more common, while guanaco and vicuña will not breed in captivity. In Peru, the meat and fur fiber of the alpaca are considered to be of particularly high quality.

Above, a riverside thermal pool. The Colca Canyon is full of hot springs, with multiple locations to visit in nearly every small town.

Above, the Incan ruins of Uyu Uyu, located just outside the town of Chivay. Below, a spring-fed waterfall that is critical to the still-operating agricultural water management plans of the original Incans. Through a system of canals and tanks, water can be sent to any of the millions of terraced fields. We hiked to both the ruins and the waterfall from our hotel just oustide of Chivay.

Sorry for all the donkey pictures...there were just too many. Although the local farmers raise llama and alpaca, neither serves well as a pack animal. Therefore, to transport their harvests from the fields to their homes or to the market, donkeys are a necessity.

Above, the beginnings of the Colca Canyon. Although the walls of the canyon are not as steep, the Colca Canyon is in fact more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon at a maximum depth of 13,650 ft.

Above, a local traditional dance being performed in the central park of the small town of Chivay. This particular dance is well-known because both males and females don dresses and spin.

The most famous point in the Colca Canyon is the Cross of the Condor. Almost daily, Andean Condors can be seen gliding upwards on the warm thermal air. Fully-grown Andean Condors can have fully-extended wingspans of 3 meters and often way upwards of 20 or 25 lbs!

Above and below, more shots of the Colca Canyon and the surrounding environment. We arrived at the perfect time--the rainy season had just ended, so we had clear skies, but we were still able to enjoy the plant life brought by the rains.

Highlights from Peru: Arequipa

Above, a view of a few of the multiple volcano peaks constantly standing guard on Arequipa skyline.

Above and below, nighttime shots of Arequipa's Cathedral from the Plaza de Armas (Central Park).

We went on a nighttime tour of Arequipa's famous Santa Catalina Monastery. Closed to the world for hundreds of years, the entire complex, taking up multiple city blocks and basically existing as its own little city within a city, is hauntingly fascinating at night.

Today less than 30 nuns reside in Santa Catalina Monastery, but in its heyday, it housed hundreds. Its functions included churches, bakeries, schools, and libraries. Until very recently, the general public had never been allowed inside. It was originally founded by a nun who accepted new nuns from only wealthy Spanish families or from the highest-class families of Arequipa and Peru, and the lifestyle they lived within the monastery did not change much from how their own families lived outside. They all had their own private apartments, with multiples servants, and generally lived in one of the most intricately and richly decorated monasteries in the world.

Above, this was the room where the nuns were able to maintain contact with the outside world. They would talk through the gated boxes, but their visitors could not see or be seen by them. Also, all their conversations could be monitored by the senior nuns as this arrangement did not exactly afford much privacy.

Arequipa is most famous for its trademark architectural style. All of the buildings are made of the same white stone, which is quarried nearby. The stone forms from the ash that spews from Arequipa's constantly erupting neighboring volcanoes. The white stone gives off a special sparkle, especially at certain times of day, and gives Arequipa a very unique appearance.

Highlights from Peru: Cuzco

Above, a shot from the municipal market, one of the most stunning, sensory-wise, places I've ever been. From cow heart, to live frogs, to exotic spices, to shoes and cleaning supplies, this place had it all.

Including...frog soup. When the lady hawking the soup told me her frog stew helped with not only menstrual pain and male impotence, but also migraines, asthma, and weight loss, how could I say no? And for the record, the frog meat (literally, that bar-b-qued frog perched in the top left corner of the bowl) was real good, but the soup in general, while not horrible, was a bit fishy.

The Saqsaywaman ruins are perched high on a cliff overlooking the city of Cuzco. While much still remains, the conquering Spanish actually raided the vast majority of the stones of the Saqsaywaman fortress to build their churches, monasteries, and homes down below in Cuzco.

Cuzco is a city full of very steep, pedestrian-only alleys, making it an extremely interesting, though equally tiring, place to explore.

Above, traditional dances performed in the central plaza in front of the main cathedral (built almost entirely from stones pillaged from the Saqsaywaman ruins pictured further above) to celebrate Peruvian Labor Day.

No big deal...just some tasty guinea pigs at a local food fair.

Above and below, more of Cuzco's trademark alleys.