Short Hops

Pisac is a day trip from Cuzco, a small city with a lively street market and an Inca ruin a short hop away. The ruins of Pisac have tombs I hadn't seen before. The locals cross a tiny wooden bridge below the ruins to graze their sheep and send their children to solicit pay for photos or sell macrame bracelets.

The road from Puno to Chivay passed through more desolate high altitude terrain, this time much closer to those snowy peaks. Our bus made a lunch stop in a tiy settlement, more a  square to serve some distant homesteads. The next stop was the high point of the journey, a scenic pullover with a sign anouncing the altitude which was roughly 15,000 feet. for a mile or two ahead and behind it I noticed people had been rock-stacking, creating little or not-so-little pinaclaes to commemorate their presence.

Chivay, with an entry fee of 70 soles, is the gateway to Colca Canyon. It has a market just off the square where I bought frozen yougurt  from one vendor, bread from another and thins slices of meat on a stick with a little potato stuck on the end. A taxi was hired to take us along the canyon rim, such as it is here, and to visit the small towns along it. At one, Cadi, we stopped at a small church and a very drunk man treated us to quite a bell-ringing performance. I was unable go to the town where the 'real' Colca Canyon offers hikes down, donkey rides back up, and condor sightings. I was so disappointed.

Twenty four hours in Arequipa did not offer me much more than a walk around the tourist district, the plaza with its huge cathedral and a museum or two. I did venture the other direction for short walk where small shops dominated. On one stretch, men sat in entryways, repairing shoes with solid, old sewing machines. Another bloack was mostly hardware, yet another offered fabrics, yarns, clothing. I stopped to buy chocolate covered grapes from one vendor but did not buy what looked like boiled quail eggs from her friend.

After an overnight bus trip I spent less than a day in Lima. I wanted to visit a monestary in the old-town tourist district. There is some amazing architecture in that area which is bordered by the business district and, not much further out, very poor neighborhoods such as only big cities have. No wonder people kept warning us about being out after dark with our suitcases. No matter, the airport awaits. Homeward bound.