Shopping lesson

Thanks for the diagram Bri. You don´t know how helpful this has been! I think those Andean bands from Germany followed us here to South America!

We´re leaving Peru tomorrow and we seem to have escaped one Andean country without purchasing any pan flutes but we have heard enough of "El Condor Pasa" to be engrained in our brains permanently. And to think I used to like that song.

Señor Shoelace-man

Se��or Shoelace-man
Originally uploaded by maujb.

This cute little guy can say shoelaces in many languages and roams around town all day peddling shoelaces. Lots and lots and lots and lots of shoelaces.

There are a few pretenders on the streets carrying a few shoelaces but for selection, service and sheer mass of laces, this guy is The Man. A really nice guy and truth be told, Mau had quite a crush on him.

Volcan Misti from Plaza de Armas, Arequipa

Volcan Misti from Plaza de Armas, Arequipa
Originally uploaded by maujb.

One of the three volcanos surrounding Arequipa as seen from the plaza. Our friend Norman took us up to the rooftop of his restaurant so we could get this pic.

We are staying in Arequipa for a few weeks while Mau studies spanish and Don drinks beer and reads novels. A productive and enjoyable time for us both.

Colca Cañon

Colca Ca��on
Originally uploaded by maujb.

On the edge of the deepest canyon in the world. It was hot and sunny during the day but really chilly as soon as the sun went down.

On our first trip, we got only part of the way into the canyon and had to stop because Don was spewing from both ends, suffering from the altitude sickness and some bad bus food. The altitude varies from 3400 meters to 4500 meters at the top and plunges to 1200 meters in the valley. It was worth a second look, if only to see the condors. "Vale La Pena"

Actual photo of Andean Condors

Mau:

Actual photo of Andean Condors
Originally uploaded by maujb.

So I tried to take to take a pic of these birds that allegedly had a 3m wingspan.

Don: there were 12 condors flying around swooping down on tourists at the lookout and they DO have a 3-3.5m wingspan. Honestly. I know they look like Andean pigeons in this photo but they are huge and majestic. Really!

Andean Condor

Andean Condor
Originally uploaded by maujb.

These birds were huge and hard to photograph so here`s a close up of a postcard of one with Don`s thumb.

Uros islands

Uros islands, originally uploaded by maujb.

Like I said earlier I forgot the camera while were on lake Titikaka so here`s a pic of a poster of the Uros islands the floating reed islands. We even got to ride on a reed catamaran(sp?) that day.

Can I speak to the goblin of the house?

Don: Ok, so my spanish can use a bit of work. Mau and I were at this splurge hotel in this tiny town called Cabanaconde. The town is tiny and dirty and non-descript but the hotel was splendid with waterfalls and flowers. Just beautifully decorated and really comfortable so I was wondering if the owners were foreign. It just didn't seem like your typical pueblo hospedaje, feel me? So I ask the manager who is the owner? What I actually asked was "quien es el duende?", and the manager looked at me with the international "huh" expression. Later on I put it all together. Here's a quick spanish lesson.

Dueño = owner, landlord
Duende = goblin, elf

I was asking who the goblin of the house was.
Ugggghhh, why don't they just speak english?

Hey! who's throwing dynamite?!!!

We are kind of in a holding pattern in Arequipa right now as we had planned to go to Bolivia but most of the country is shut down and all the roads are blockaded with huge stones, burned out cars, and dynamite-throwing campesinos. Oh well, I guess Bolivia is out of the question at this point. Gotta love the image of dynamite-throwing campesinos, tho! Good times.

Best laid plans and Lake Boobypoopoo

Mau: I´m writing from Puno tonight. We wanted to update the blog a few nights ago but as usual we keep running into speed bumps. The nature of the beast traveling through developing countries... always unexpected problems.

Today we took a boat tour of the Peruana part of lake Titikaka. The tour guide explained that the lake straddled the Peru and Bolivian border and the best way to remember the name of the lake was the Titi part was in Peru and the Kaka part was in Bolivia. Obviously he was Peruano. We had to get up pretty early to catch the boat so I forgot the camera! (i hate myself!!!!) An of course it was quite beautiful. The lake reminds me of Lake Tahoe but in the altiplano, kinda of like Elephant Butte in NM. The water was crystal clear. We visited the floating islands of the Uros indians and another island Taquile. The floating islands were amazing. Although the lake was not so deep around the floating islands the reed islands averaged 9 feet deep in reeds. The islands were kind of spongy to walk on and several hundred Uros indians still live there after over 500 years. Taquile is pretty amazing too since it´s avoided entering even the 20th century except for a few items like a large satilite tv dish and some scattered solar panels. The islanders are pretty isolated and seem to like it like that.

One of the bigger speed bumps we have run into was a bus strike in Puno and Juliaca that started Monday and ended Wednesday so we were stuck in Cuzco a few extra days. We were worried it might have continued on longer when we watched the news Tues night and saw the bus drivers had blocked the roads and burned out two cars on the highway. There was not other way to leave Cuzco if we still intended to continue on to Lake Titikaka and Bolivia. Needless to stay we made it out of Cuzco Wednesday.

But worse than the bus strike is the riots going on in La Paz, Bolivia. A Brazilian couple we met on the lake tour today just made it to Puno from Bolivia and they had an incredible time trying to get from La Paz to Copacabana to Puno they mentioned having to spend a lot of money to get a wreck of car to drive them to the border and the car had hot ashes dumped on them at one point.

We looked into getting bus tickets to Copacabana (in Bolivia) tomorrow but the bus companies aren`t selling tickets there because they cannot get over the border. The alternative was to take a colectivo van to the border then walk 7km to the next colectivo with our packs. And then there`s no guarentee for our saftey. So we may have to write off Bolivia which includes the cool part of lake Titicaca and Salar de Uyuni down south. Seems to be just too dangerous or too much trouble and potential for getting stuck there. I´m too old for an adventure lifestyle.

We`re considering visiting Chile and possibly still seeing Salar de Uyuni from the Chilean side. Tomorrow we are leaving Puno back to Arequipa and then to the coast. We`ll keep you posted.

MC 40ft Shaka Jesus

MC 40ft Shaka Jesus
Originally uploaded by maujb.

What would a latin american town be without a huge Jesus towering over it. And we were there as evidenced by Don`s shaka.

Lil Donnie and Sacsaywaman (sexywoman)

Lil Donnie and Sacsaywaman (sexywoman)
Originally uploaded by maujb.

This immense ruin sits just above the city of Cuzco. Sacsayhuaman means satisfied falcon but it sounds more like sexy woman. This pic does depict just how huge the stones are but the entire site is only 20% of what it once was and this pic is probably not even 1/20th of what remains.

Puca Pucara

Puca Pucara
Originally uploaded by maujb.

Ceremonial Incan baths near Cuzco. Puca = hole. Pucara = to wash ceremoniously. The bathes are fed by the ancient spring known as Cacawawa. You get the idea . . .

The hills are alive...

The hills are alive...
Originally uploaded by maujb.

We had a lovely day hiking around the local ruins. Don was singing and dancing like Julie Andrews.

Don and Sacred Spring of Kakawawa

Don and Sacred Spring of Cacawawa
Originally uploaded by maujb.

Don stumbled upon the source of the Incan bath waters. It was actually clear running water and not as its name suggests.

Mau at Tambo Machay

Mau at Tambomachay
Originally uploaded by maujb.

While waiting out the bus strikes in Juliaca and Puno we visited some of the ruins close to Cuzco. This site was a ceremonial bath El Baño del Inca connected with an Inca water cult.

Recognize the sofa anyone?

Recognize the sofa anyone?
Originally uploaded by maujb.

We stayed at this sweet hostel right on the river in Aguas Calientes. The sound of the rushing river along with hot shower was the perfect ending to a wonderful time visiting Machu Pichu. Outside on the balcony of our room was a sofa that may look familar to some of you.

Big heads in Machu Pichu

Big heads in Machu Pichu
Originally uploaded by maujb.

Mau and Don at Machu Pichu, duh.

Save the drama for your llama

Save the drama for your llama
Originally uploaded by maujb.

So there was a family of llamas at Machu Pichu and this cute little calf was the star and she knew it. Tooo Cute!!!

Picturesque Machu Pichu

Picturesque Machu Pichu
Originally uploaded by maujb.

Nope this is not a postcard! Next to the ruins on the upper right you see a camera crew. That was National Geographic filming for a series on religious sites that includes a segment on Machu Pichu. So maybe we`ll be on PBS?

Don in the Peach (Machu) Mtns

Don in the Peach (Machu) Mtns
Originally uploaded by maujb.

The surrounding mountains were so dramatic too! The cliff made Mau`s knees feel like jello just looking over the side.

Machu Pichu, Peru

Machu Pichu, Peru
Originally uploaded by maujb.

Yeah, this place was really as beautiful as the pics portray it. Sorry if we have too many pics of Machu Pichu. The other nice thing about Machu Pichu was that it`s at a lower altitude in a tropical climate so the weather was so warm and unlike the winter the rest of the country is in.

Sassy Mau at Machu Pichu

Sassy Mau at Machu Pichu
Originally uploaded by maujb.

We got up at 5:30am to hike up to Machu Pichu from Aguas Calientes before the throngs of tourists arrived by bus. It was a beautiful hike and well worth it. Machu Pichu was magnificent. Although it took several hours to hike up to the site and by the time we got there the place was in ruins.

Chico and Don

Chico and Don
Originally uploaded by maujb.

On our hike up to Machu Pichu we met our companion doggy we named Chico. He was with us from Aguas Calientes to Machu Pichu. Very silly dog would insist we throw rocks ahead on the trail and he would promptly retrieve them sometimes even catching the stone in his mouth without chipping a tooth.

Plaza de Armas, Cuzco, Peru

Plaza de Armas, Cuzco, Peru
Originally uploaded by maujb.

One of the prettier sites in Cuzco was the plaza de Armas. So far we have had great weather since we arrived and this is just another beautiful day in Peru.

Corpus Cristi Dancers

Corpus Cristi Dancers
Originally uploaded by maujb.

The parade of saints and dancers concluded at one of the cathedrals in the plaza de armas of Cuzco where they would continue to dance as their saint was brought into the cathdral.

After the parade everyone feasted on Chiri Uchu, which is a delicious combination of all the local delicacies that include: baked guinea pig, boiled chicken, trout roe, roasted pork, seaweed, a fried spicey cornbread, and Inca Cola or cervesa! YUMMY!!!!! Those who aren´t accustomed to such delectible taste treats are encouraged to have a few extra cervesas before hand.

Actually neither of us could even put a decent dent in our plates. Sorry we don`t have a pic of the tastey meal. Maybe that`s a good thing?

Saint transporters in training

Saint transporters in training
Originally uploaded by maujb.

Ahead or behind each saint was a group of young boys, future saint bearers carrying a stand for the saint to be rested on during the parade. These little guys were really struggling to keep up.

The saints go marching in.

Saints go marching in.
Originally uploaded by maujb.

So each local church marched in their patron saints. The custom was to march them in on the platform from their town or church in barefeet. There were several saints and most of the bearers of the saints were wearing their shoes except for one group.

Corpus Cristi Festival, Cuzco, Peru

Corpus Cristi Festival, Cuzco, Peru
Originally uploaded by maujb.

When we left Arequipa we arrived in Cuzco in time for a parade of saints from all the local churches for the Corpus Cristi celebration. Here are some locals dancing in costume. Very colorful.

Juanita peruana mummy girl

Juanita peruana mummy girl
Originally uploaded by maujb.

Back in Arequipa we visited Juanita at the local museum. We couldn`t take pics in the museum because they were afraid we might ruin her complexion or something like that... or rather she`s still set in ice at below zero temps and the flash might melt the ice? So here`s a pic of a postcard, note Don`s thumb.

Don y Vita, Yanque, Peru

Don y Vita, Yanque, Peru
Originally uploaded by maujb.

Vita was our tour guide and guardian angel while we were in Yanque.

Colca Cañon, Yanque, Peru

Colca Cañon, Yanque, Peru
Originally uploaded by maujb.

The little canyon we visited on our way to Colca Canyon.

Happy Birthday Lil Donnie

Happy Birthday Lil Donnie
Originally uploaded by maujb.

Don`s 40th we dined on alpaca and guinea pig mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Parque de amor, Lima, Peru

Parque de amor, Lima, Peru
Originally uploaded by maujb.

In our time in Miraflores we found this lovely park on the ocean. Inspiring, yes?