June 27: Cusco - Puno

June 27
My Birthday. The Andean Explorer (the PeruRail train from Cusco to Puno) departed at 8am for the long 10-hour trip south to the shores of Lake Titicaca. The train trip offers great vistas of the altiplano. The altiplano is just what the name in Spanish signifies: a high plain. At this time of year- the dry winter - the skies are clear, the air bone dry, the land parched, with scrub and grasses the only vegetation you see. The high, snow-capped Andes surround the huge expanses of open space. The terrain is in contrast to the much more verdant Sacred Valley outside Cusco.

The train stopped for only ten minutes at La Raya, the highest point on the Cusco-Puno route at just over 14,000 feet. La Raya consists of a small church and marketplace near the railway- no more. Vendors have their crafts on display and are ready to make deals during the short visit there. The photo of Jim was taken at La Raya.

You can get up and move from car to car on the train. The club car in the rear has dome windows for viewing the scenery and an open area at the very back of the train for enjoying the fresh air and for watching the altiplano as you make your way to Juliaca (the only other stop en route) and finally to Puno.

Darkness had set in by the time we arrived in Puno. A cab took us directly to our hotel, the Casa Andina Private Collection. This hotel was the most modern and American-style of any we had stayed in so far, with TV, phone, heat you could regulate, a restaurant, bar, and large staff. By the time we arrived there I was suffering from my second bout of soroche, though not nearly as bad as the first one in Cusco. After a light dinner in the hotel restaurant and a little more shopping at a small tortora reed kiosk set up outside the hotel by the shores of the lake (a freezing night!), we turned in early. We had to rise at 5:30 the next morning for our departure to the floating islands, Isla Taquille, and Isla Suasi.

June 28: Lake Titicaca/Suasi Island

This would be a day to remember. We were up early. After breakfast we were led to the hotel's dock to meet the boat that would take us across the lake. We made a short stop to pick up two other passengers, a couple from England about our age. Our tour guide was a young woman from Puno, Yvonne. There were two crew members.

The boat traveled for 45 minutes before stopping at one of the Uros floating islands. These islands have been around for hundreds of years. They are made of tortora reeds that grow along the shores of the lake. Reeds need to be added periodically, as they rot from the bottom. The natives showed us how thick the islands were - about 5 feet or so, as I recall. They sit on water about 20 meters deep. When you walk, the feeling is a bit spongy. The guide books say that the islands have become too touristy, with the natives just waiting for the next boatload of foreigners to whom they can sell their crafts. Still, I found the visit entertaining. We saw the inside of the inhabitants' huts (one room, also completely made of tortora), their outdoor cook area (very basic - a small clay-like oven and an open fire for a stove), and a demonstration of how the island is made and maintained. Of course, we did see their handicrafts, and each one of us walked away with a purchase. It was pretty cold that morning and we noticed a thin layer of frost as we sat down on a reed bench to watch one of the demonstrations.

Back on board, we traveled for about two hours to the island of Taquile. This island is about 2 miles wide and 6 miles long, with a steep peak rising in the middle. The town sits at the top of the island. I was a bit disappointed that we were not staying long enough to allow for a hike to the top and a chance to see the village. The people of Taquile live a very traditional life and I thought it would be worth it to see the town. Still, we stopped at a small landing where a group of locals met us. On Taquile, all the women weave and all the men knit. Everyone wears their traditional clothes. We saw a little demonstration of how the weaving and knitting is done. Soon it was time for us to move on.

After another 2 hours or so, we arrived at Suasi Island. This privately-owned island is only about 1½ - 2 miles long and very narrow. It is truly a garden spot at 13,000 ft! The hotel on the island is constructed of local stone and eucalyptus, is completely solar-powered, and has a wonderful, welcoming staff. All meals are included in the price of the lodging. We sat on the patio and had a lovely lunch in the sunshine, then took a walk around the grounds before heading to our large and comfortable room for a little afternoon nap. At 4:30 we joined the English couple and hotel employee Oscar for a sunset hike to the highest point on the island. Along the way, Oscar explained the flora, fauna, and history of the area. We arrived at the top just before sunset. As you can see in the photo below, there's a rock pile at the very summit. You see these in many parts of Peru. Oscar explained that they are for making offerings to the earth. So each one of us placed a stone on the offering. It all seemed to fit with the mood of the surroundings. The sunset was quiet and beautiful. Can't you tell from the picture that I was in a state of bliss?

That night we had a lovely dinner in the cozy dining room, then moved outside where another hotel employee, Antonio, had set up a telescope for viewing the full moon. When we returned to the room there was a nice blaze in the woodstove in the corner that kept us warm all night.

June 29: Suasi Island - Arequipa

We slept well in our woodstove-heated room. I think it was the best night's sleep I'd had since arriving in Peru. Since the hotel is completely solar-powered, and there are no cars on the island, you can enjoy perfect quiet.

After breakfast, we took a walk around the island, from one end to the other, enjoying the views from the hillsides, and one particularly nice beach. Once again, we saw some of the wild vicuñas that live on the island. I think the herd has a total of 9 or 10 specimens.

When we returned to the hotel lobby, Oscar introduced us to the owner of the island, Marta. She walked us to the cultural center and library that she had set up and gave us a guided tour of the center, which explains the flora, fauna, and history of the island, as well as the efforts she has made to populate the island with native plants and animals. She has been replacing the invasive and non-native eucalyptus trees with native plants and trees, and has introduced the vicuñas, alpacas and viscachas to the island. The viscacha is an Andean rabbit that has a tail like a squirrel. Unfortunately, we never saw one, not on Suasi nor anywhere else.

Our departure from the island was just before lunch, about 11:30. The tour company we used to book the hotel had arranged for a private car to pick us up on the northeast shore of the lake, at a little landing just a ten-minute zodiac ride from the island. Antonio was on hand to send us off. When we reached the shore, the driver (César) and the van were waiting for us. This side of Lake Titicaca is the most remote and least populated part of the lake. César explained that the road was in very bad shape and that we'd have to travel very slowly and carefully. Actually, the road was a nightmare. Several times during the trip César had to get out of the van to check the tires, and once he had to stop to remove large rocks from the road. Still, the scenery was quite nice.

On Suasi Island, Oscar explained that this road is used twice a week by black marketeers from the city of Juliaca. They use a caravan of large trucks that stretches for miles, bringing the contraband from Bolivia to Juliaca. They travel heavily armed and no one interferes with them. The border crossing on that side of the lake has no checkpoint. Oscar also explained that Juliaca is one of the major smuggling centers of South America. He also said it is probably the ugliest city on the continent as well, and when we drove through the city later in the day to get to the airport, we saw what he was talking about. It's like a wild, lawless frontier town. Many of the buildings are makeshift mud brick structures and most streets are not paved. In fact, the streets have debris piled up on either side. But I guess you can get a fairly authentic-looking Rolex knock-off there.

Our flight from Juliaca to Arequipa was short - only 24 minutes in the air according to Jim's calculations. When we landed it was dusk, but you could still make out the huge volcanoes that loom over the city. These mountains are between 19,000 and 20,000 feet. The taxi driver dropped us off at our hotel, the Libertador, a short taxi ride from the center of town in a parklike setting called the Selva Alegre. Since it was already dark, we decided to stay in the hotel for dinner and retire early.

June 30: Arequipa

The weather was so pleasant that we had our breakfast outside by the hotel pool. The guidebooks say that Arequipa's climate is similar to southern California's. Arequipa is at about 7500 feet, and the climate is the same all year: dry and sunny. The city doesn't have a water problem since there are so many swift-flowing rivers and streams carrying water down from the high mountains. Just like in every other part of Peru, however, the tap water is not suitable for drinking.

The main square of Arequipa (the Plaza de Armas) was about a 10 to 15 minute walk from our hotel. It is a lovely square, landscaped with lawns, flower beds, and palm trees. Surrounding the plaza on three sides is a portico, and on one side is the cathedral. The cathedral suffered pretty severe damage during the earthquake of 2001, but has been completely repaired.

The morning was spent at the covent of Santa Catalina. The guidebooks say that the convent is the most significant colonial structure in Peru and perhaps in all of South America. It is actually more like a small city than a convent. The complex takes up over 5 city blocks. It looks like a small Andalucian village, with brightly painted structures, flower-filled courtyards and lovely little squares complete with fountains. It was opened in 1579 by the Dominican order as a cloistered convent for women from upper-class Spanish families. In those days, wealthy Spanish families would generally:

• Marry the eldest daughter off to the son of another wealthy family;



• Send the second daughter to the convent;



• Keep the third daughter a spinster so she could take care of the parents in their old age.
  

Most definitely, the daughter who went to the convent got the best deal. She took her servants to the convent with her, was educated, and lived a rather comfortable (although cloistered) life.

We had a light lunch in the convent's restaurant, then went to the other great tourist site of Arequipa, the Museum of the Universidad Católica de Santa María, home of "Juanita, the Ice Maiden of Ampato." Juanita is the frozen body of a young Inca girl who was sacrificed at the top of Mount Ampato probably sometime in the 15th century. She was discovered in the early 1990s during a geological expedition to the summit of the mountain. The geologists were looking at the effect of a nearby volcanic eruption on the ice fields and glaciers on Ampato. The ash fall had caused some of the ice and snow to melt. And that is how they discovered Juanita. She fell about 60 feet from the place where she had been entombed for 500 years and was exposed on the mountainside.

The museum, in addition to the still frozen Juanita, boasts a nice collection of artifacts that were found with her in her icy tomb, as well as other artifacts from other tombs of sacrificial victims.

July 1: Arequipa - Colca Canyon

Before leaving California, I’d made arrangements with a tour agency in Arequipa for a three-day, two-night trip to the Colca Canyon. At 8:00 am, the van, the driver (Roberto), and the tour guide (Jorge) were waiting for us in front of the hotel.

We left Arequipa on a well-maintained road, heading west out of the city and making a big loop around the volcanoes just to the north of town. Arequipa is the second-largest city in Peru, with a population of about a million. It is also the most prosperous large city in the country. I saw some gated communities not far from our hotel, with suburban-style houses not very different from what you’d find in California. Still, as we passed through the outskirts of the city, we saw many poor neighborhoods, with dirt roads and makeshift housing.

The road began to ascend as we went through the pass that leads to the other side of the Misti and Chachani volcanoes. From this point we could see the Ampato volcano as well. The road went up and up, then leveled out as we entered the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve. The area has some interesting flora and fauna. We passed several groups of vicuñas, then entered the area of the “bofedales”. These are wetlands that are formed by water that bubbles up from the ground. We stopped to get a close look at them and at some of the interesting bird life they attract. We saw groups of ducks and herons, but none of the rare flamingos that also can be seen from time to time. The bofedales had a pretty thick sheet of ice covering them. Jorge threw a rather large rock into one of the bofedales, but it wasn’t able to crack the ice. Though the day wasn’t terribly cold, the previous night had to have been well below freezing to form ice that thick.

Once again we ascended, finally making it to the summit – the “Mirador de los Andes” – the lookout of the Andes. At this point we had reached 4,910 meters – about 15,250 feet if I’m not mistaken. From this point you can see a large number of the major peaks of the southern Andes of Peru – most reaching to 19,000 feet or more. At the top, Jorge pointed out an unusual plant that grows in this area – la yareta. The yareta only grows in areas that are over 4,000 meters, and it grows very slowly – only about a centimeter a year. It is a vibrant green and shaped like a rock or stone. It can live even when covered in snow and can survive temperatures as low as -25 degrees centigrade.

From the Mirador we descended into the Colca Valley, stopping in the town of Chivay – the largest settlement in the Colca area. It probably has a population of about 3,000. We had lunch in town, and afterwards walked around its pretty main square. Then we drove further into the valley, passing through another nice town, Yanque, before arriving at the Colca Lodge.







The Colca Lodge is in a great setting along the Colca River. The grounds are expansive, with lots of hiking trails along the river and in the hills. Guests can also enjoy the natural mineral pools that perch above the river and offer fine views of the valley. There’s a lovely dining room with a huge fireplace, and an attractive bar, also with a large fireplace. We were very happy that the staff kept roaring fires going in the evenings, which can get pretty cold in the valley.

July 2: Cruz del Condor/Colca Canyon

We left the Colca Lodge about 6:30 am in order to make the long drive on dirt roads to the Cruz del Condor – the lookout point from which you can view the Andean condors, the largest flying bird on earth. On the way to the lookout we stopped in Yanque to see the Spanish colonial church and its impressive façade. The morning was cold and clear. We were bundled in our sweaters, new baby alpaca scarves, hats and windbreakers. We stopped a couple of more times, once to view the Inca tombs in the cliff face and another time to take in an impressive view from one of the lookouts.

When we arrived at the Cruz del Condor, there were already a number of people there. I’d say that in all about 100 people showed up that morning to see the condors. The birds live in caves in the cliff below the lookout and they’re so large they cannot initiate flight on their own – they need the help of the morning thermals. The thermals are the layers of warm air that the birds use to ascend to the top of the canyon and beyond in their daily scavenging. As the morning warms up, the birds are able to glide higher and higher.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this site, but once there at the edge of the canyon (which in itself is worth the journey), watching these birds with their 10 and 11 foot wingspan sail right past me, I was awestruck. It was one of the most impressive encounters with the natural world that I’ve ever had. The rest of the crowd must have felt the same way, because a wonderful hush and silence fell over the crowd as the giant birds glided past us.

We saw maybe twenty or so condors. Then we took a 45-minute to 1-hour hike along the edge of the canyon up to a point where the trail met the road and we met up with the van and driver. On our return trip to the Colca Lodge we stopped in the little town of Maca to see its very pretty colonial church and to visit a small outdoor market in the center of town. The government of Spain is paying for the renovation of many of these colonial churches, which up until recently had been in disrepair. We were able to see only the outside of the church, as the interior is undergoing restoration.

We returned to the lodge, had a late lunch on the patio, took a short hike, and then visited the hot springs by the river. We chatted for a time with a couple from Barcelona who were also enjoying the pools. Jim did a pretty good job of following the conversation in Spanish, and was able to chime in now and then in English. Jim says my Spanish is easy to understand and that was how he was able to follow the thread of the conversation.

The colonial church in Maca.

July 3: Colca - Arequipa

This was our last full day in Peru.

We left the Colca Lodge at about 9:00 am for the return trip to Arequipa. As we were checking out of the hotel, a large group of seniors from Quebec was gathering for their hike to the bottom of the canyon. The group would then spend the night at the bottom of the canyon, do some exploring there, then hike back up to the top in a couple of days. I was impressed! I was getting pretty winded and out of breath from the little hiking we had done, but these people were really going for it. And they had already completed the Inca Trail the week before!

After leaving the lodge, we took a different route out of the valley, past what is called the “amphitheater” (an area of ancient agricultural terracing), and into the little town of Coporaque. This is another lovely little Colca village with a pretty main square. In one corner of the square there’s a white colonial-era church that is being renovated courtesy of the Spanish government. We went inside the church, but most of the altars and shrines were covered because of the extensive restoration project.

After that stop we headed straight for Arequipa, where we arrived about 1pm. After lunch by the hotel pool, we used our Fodor’s guide to do a walking tour of the historic center of the city. We made it to the other side of the swift-flowing Chili River to see some of those neighborhoods. We walked through some of the large colonial-era buildings with their extensive network of courtyards. Most of these homes now house businesses, schools and cultural centers. In the late afternoon we had a drink (agua con gas, my standard Peruvian drink) at a rooftop terrace bar overlooking the Plaza de Armas and the cathedral.

Our last dinner in Peru was at an Italian/Peruvian restaurant called Zingaro (gypsy in Italian). Both of us had this terrific chicken and rice soup with lemon and fresh herbs. I ate so much soup in Peru! I think it was because the altitude had curbed my appetite and it was one light wholesome food that I could handle. One of our tour guides – I think it was Wagner at Machu Picchu – said that you digest your food at a slower rate at high altitudes.