That title can pretty much sum up our past couple of days in Peru. Yesterday were the train and the automobiles (well, minibus to be exact), and today was the plane. Yes, more travel around this delightful country to traverse the distances to reach the various sites. Today was a particularly big transition, traveling from Cusco to Arequipa.
In addition to travel, there was shopping. And I mean, a lot of shopping. Sweaters and scarves made of alpaca, hand crafted dolls, fine Peruvian silver, and native ceramics. To this point Christine and I had not bought many Peruvian goods, but today, I think we just went hog wild. Luckily the items in Peru were of very high quality and of low cost. And it's not the "Made in China" crap that unfortunately litters the street markets of Cusco. Case in point was a ceramic nativity scene crafted by native Peruvians - we bought a set in Arequipa (our current location) for 43 nuevos soles, which is about 15 bucks. I saw a similar set being sold at my parish bookstore for a little over $100. Now talk about bargains. Needless to say we parted with quite a few soles today, but I felt good that a very least I was contributing to the financial self sufficiency of the indigenous Peruvian people.
Other that the shop-o-rama, it was yet another travel day, as I had mentioned earlier. Nothing of interest to note, other than we have arrived safely in Arequipa, Peru's second largest city. The strangest thing was that the airport was not the kind of developing world chaos I have come to expect, but it was very quiet, and downright serene. After an uneventful cab ride, we wound up at our hotel in the middle of the historic colonial center of town. The unique aspect of this city is that many of the colonial era buildings are composed of a white volcanic stone, which gives the city a certain bright hue. It is quite nice. And another nice thing is the cosmopolitan vibe of the city - it's definitely not the tourist or backpacker domain like Cusco or Aguas Calientes. It is a refreshing change of pace.
But that's about to change again tomorrow, as Christine and I make the trek to the famed Colca Canyon, the world's deepest and highest. And at an elevation of 11,200 feet, it's even higher than the shortness-of-breath inducing Cusco. And Christine is already dreading it, but it'll be fine...
Hasta Luego
- Joe
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And so it comes to an end . . .
Apologies for the very delayed post. The last few days of our cruise, which officially ended and deposited us in Reykjavik yesterday mornin...
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