Condors and Arequipa

Vicuna and Alpaca

On Sunday, Jorge picked us up in the hotel, in a van with a driver, Antonio, and we headed out into the Altiplano. We got up to about 15,000 ft elevation, and saw more alpacas than we believed possible. We also saw some vicuna, which we had not seen before. They made us think about the Pronghorn antelope in Wyoming, especially because the landscape reminded us of Wyoming.

Blanca also pointed out the Vizcacha rabbit, with its curling tail, which lives in the tundra.

Vizcacha, a large rabbit with a long tail.

Our driver had a problem with the van, which he resolved by adding water to the radiator. We stopped after the turnoff to Chivay to drop off Jorge, and pick up Blanca, who will be our guide until we leave Arequipa. We strolled into the main plaza of Chivay, and had a good dinner at the hotel. The Casa Andina hotel has a rustic feel, and includes a planetarium, but unfortunately it was cloudy. Many of the streets are dirt, but the plaza and the main road have recently been refurbished with a government grant. There are many hostels, but the Casa Andina may be the high end place in town. We had a good dinner at the Casa Andina.

On Monday, Blanca and Antonio picked us up at the hotel, and we headed for the Cruz de Condors, the overlook. We stopped first in Yanque, where we watched students folkloric dancing to raise money for school. 

When we arrived at the Cruz de Condors, we saw condors almost immediately. At one point, we could see four condors at one time. There was a crowd of tourists there, but Blanca pointed me to a good seat on a rock. Most of the condors were immature, but one was partly mature, with a white neck.

We headed back to Chivay, and walked through the market. Sandi bought a hat from a lady with an old Necci sewing machine; she freehand sewed designs on hats.

We headed for Arequipa, stopping at the pass at 4900 meters, about 16,000 feet. As we got closer to Arequipa, we were somewhat horrified by the dusty squatter neighborhoods, which looked very unattractive, and seemed to last for an hour or so. We finally arrived at the main plaza and Casa Andina Select hotel, a noticeable step up from the Casa Andina standard hotels that we used in Puno and Chivay. We had a decent pasta dinner at Lokanta, where we met yet another waiter from Venezuela. This had become a thread running through the trip, that many waiters were from Venezuela, fleeing the economic collapse there.

An escribino typing a letter in the square.  A dying occupation of old men.

On Tuesday, Blanca picked us up at the hotel, and we visited the Cathedral and the Monastery of Santa Catalina. When it was first founded, the Monastery (convent) was for daughters of rich families, who paid a dowry to join, and were permitted to have servants and live in a kind of apartment. The Monastery was like a city within the city, with roads, a plaza, a garden, and a mortuary. The Dominican nuns are still there, living in a portion of the monastery; the area we toured had been restored for tourism. We had a good tour from one of the guides of the monastery.

Blanca and Antonio took us to the airport. Our Latam flight to Lima was somewhat late; Sky, the local low-cost airline, had a kind of revolt after their flight was delayed; a loud guy was organizing the passengers to demand a meal as compensation.