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We arrived in Arequipa after a very strange bus journey! The very empty bus stopped half way and picked up about 10,000 people, so the bus then became really crowded, especially as all the street sellers piled onto the bus! We decided to get off for a few minutes to escape the cattle market on the bus and bought roasted meat and potatoes from a lady at the side of the road, selling food out of a big potato sack! Half way through eating it we realised, we had no idea what we were eating! Thank God we later found out it was Alpaca, because at one point we turned green at the thought that it could have been dog!
Once we checked into our hotel, another little gem, we went for a walk into the town. We booked a bus for our next destination and decided to book a trip to the Colca Canyon, even though it meant us getting up at midnight to get on a public bus for 4 hours, but we thought it would be worth it, as it is supposed to be the world's deepest canyon and you can see Condors flying there (the largest flying bird in the world).
The next day we headed to do some sightseeing. First we visited Museo Santuarios Andinos, famous for it's exhibit of the ice princess, Juanita. Juanita was found in 1995 by an explorer called Dr Johan Reinhard on Ampato Volcano. The volcano was erupting ash and therefore made the ice melt. As a result the mummy of Juanita slid over 100m from the summit, where she was found in excellent condition; still with her hair, skin, clothes etc. Juanita was a Inca girl aged around 12-14 years. She was offered to Apu Ampato (Mountain God) by the Inca priests over 500 years ago, it was thought that this would apease the volcanic mountains. It was found that she had been given an intoxicating drink, perhaps Chicha (Peruvian alcoholic drink). When she fell to sleep, she was given a fatal blow to the head and buried in the fetal position, with other offerings like bowls, bags of coca leaves, gold, silver and copper figurines.
During the exploration another 3 sacrificed bodies (2 girls and one boy) were also found on the mountain with many other offerings. There have been other sites discovered around South America. Our guide explained all the pieces that were found with the children and we also got to see Juanita herself, who is now kept 'on ice' at the museum for 8 months of the year. The other 4 months of the year she is kept in the dark, so as to minimise the damage to her skin by the lights.
We then went to the Monasterio de Santa Catalina, built in 1580 as a convent. The nuns were only accepted from wealthy families and were allowed to live in the way they had become accustomed, having servants and parties! The Pope complained that the convent was like an exclusive club, not a convent, and sent a strict Dominican Nun to straighten things out! The convent housed around 450 people, who never ventured outside the walls. The Monasterio is like it's own village, with small streets and many buildings and courtyards. What was behind the walls was a mystery for 400 years, until it opened it's doors to the public in 1970. It was a really peaceful place to walk around and get lost in! It had a feel of being in an old Mediterrean village, with cobbled streets and brightly painted walls.
That evening we went for dinner at a restaurant that cooks traditional Peruvian food; cooked in the Inca way, over hot volcanic stones. We were whisked into the kitchen to see how the food was cooked and then onto the roof to see the views! Holly tried the Alpaca stew and Laura was persuaded to try roasted cuy (Guinea Pig)! When it came out it actually still looked like a guinea pig, with claws and teeth intact! But it actually tasted really nice, a bit like roast chicken!!
When we arrived back at the hotel for an early night we had a message to say that our trip had been cancelled the next morning! So we changed our plans and decided to bring our bus to Nazca forward a day! b*****!
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