Beautiful colonial buildings

All of the central part of Arequipa is heritage listed. There are so many stunning old mansions with exceptional stonework. The rock used to build these buildings is a white soft volcanic rock formed out of ash from the nearby volcanoes. 

Ancient water purifier still working today

We saw several examples of these ancient water purifiers in the convent. Water is placed in large volcanic rock cylinders. Because it is porous material. The water passes through quite slowly and is purified in the process. 

The laundry

This archaic laundry was used until 1969. 

The confessionals

 

The kitchens

The kitchens were as they were  from several hundred years ago. 

Monastery of Santa Catalina

We had a guided tour of the largest monastery/convent in South America. It was established in 1580, covers over 5 hectares and is a city within a city. Since its inception, women from diverse social backgrounds have entered the convent to serve as cloistered nuns. A major part of the convent is now open to the public and we visited the cloister and attached rooms used for novices until 1969, the individual houses for nuns used until 1871, the kitchens, laundry and the dormitories which came into being after the reforms in the late 1890s. It was a fascinating place. Nuns still live in the convent but in a secluded section. 

Plaza de Armas

This is the central square of Arequipa, bordered by beautiful arched buildings and dominated by a magnificent cathedral. As it was Sunday, the square was packed with families and hundreds of pigeons. It seems the thing to do is to feed the pigeons and have your photograph taken either by a friend or by one of the many professional photographers.    

Tuktuks

Tuktuks have become very popular in Peru and are quite colourful. We saw this one in Chivay. 

Arequipa

We are now in this beautiful city towards the south of Peru. It was established by the Spanish and the old centre where we are staying certainly reflects Spanish architecture. The dormant volcano in the background. Apparently, earth tremors are quite frequent and Arequipa has experienced some severe earthquakes. Here is the dormant volcano called Misti.  

Maca

We stopped at this small village. It's central square has the most magnificent display of red hot poker plants. 

Hole in the road

 

More baby alpacas

At most places, there are usually women in traditional dress with an alpaca asking if you want to take their photo for one soles. Guess who couldn't resist having a nurse. They are so cute. 

Hats

There is a whole culture around ladies hats and different communities have different traditions and wear different styles. Here in the Colca Canyon, the ladies wear a broad brimmed colourful hat. 

The mighty condors

We waited for over an hour at the first location with no sighting. At the second, we saw several in the distance but at the third we were saw a group of about 7 fly up in front of us and then fly around overhead. It was awesome. They are such magnificent birds. It was a bit challenging to get a good shot of them. 

At the viewing locations

There were the usual tourist stalls at each of the three viewing areas plus some garden beds. Loved these bright coloured flowers.   

Breathtaking scenery

  

Terraces in the valley.

These Terraces were constructed in pee Inca times and are still in use today.  

Hummingbirds

There were quite a few hummingbirds flying around the garden. This one was such a beautiful azure colour. 

Our resort

Our resort was some 20 Minutes away from the closest town. It has a great view of the Colca RIver, beautiful gardens and our bungalow was spacious and so quiet. 

4,190 metres

This is the highest point of our trip we didn't have any trouble with the altitude as we had been in the Andes for about 2 weeks. 

Volcanoes

There is a band of 6 volcanoes in this area, 1 is dormant and the other is currently active. My Sabancaya, at 5,976 metres is currently quite active as can be seen from this shot. It is very hard to get photos of the volcanic peaks due to the low cloud. 

View of Colca Valley

 

Amazing topography

We did over 6 hours in a van today from Puno to Chivay in the Colca Gorge. Just amazing topography. Awesome to see a volcano with smoke billowing out. I am hoping to get a photo of it tomorrow, too much cloud today.   

Alpacas, llamas and vecunas.

Saw heaps of these on our trip today.   

Vécuna

There are 4 types of camelids in Peru - the alpaca and the illama which are domesticated, the vecuna which is wild and protected. We saw this little one on a stop on our trip from Puno to Chivay, Colca Gorge. She had been rejected by her mother and was only 17 days old.  

Cococabana,Bolivia

We had a quick visit to this town after our trip on the catamaran and heading back to Peru. The market place.  The church.

Such a quaint village

  

Wild flowers

Because it is the wet season, the fields abound in wild flowers. It really is very beautiful. 

History in the backyard

We saw many examples of Inca evidence in people's backyards just taken for granted. Here is a monolith used for astronomical purposes in the middle of a potato field. 

Gates

This gate has been used for almost 2,000 year. Amazing to think, it is till the same with hundreds of people passing each day. 

Typical diet

We stopped by one of the homes where an elderly lady showed us the typical foods eaten in the home. Lots of potatoes. There are many thousands of varieties grown in South America. The hills here are covered with potato crops as well as beans and quinoa.

Inca sites

The Sun Island abounds with Inca sites and also those of civilisations pre Inca. These are just a few examples. Each of the indentations held a mummy, usually embalmed in a foetal position in a woven basket. This was the centre of a major temple to the Sun god and was used for human sacrifices.  

Hair

The women have long hair and decorate the ends of their plaits with alpaca wool. This lady was only too happy to let me take a photo of her hair.