day 09 - Arequipa

My hotel Casa de TinTin was just beside a bridge design by Eifel ... this bridge is 500m long and still stands after a few earthquackes.

Checked out of the hotel this morning and left to the busstation.

Got a ticket for Puno, but after a few kilometers when we drove up to the road to Puno the police stopped us and said we could not pass due to the road-block. It seems to be something occuring regulary that locals block the road and even keep busses and cars in hostage ...
So I am back in Arequipa ... the problem they do not know when it will end !
Went to a local travel-agency for checking out the possibility to take an airplane to Puno (today 270 dollars tomorrow 170 dollars) to Cusco the same price ...
I do not know what to do ... it is a lot of money to take the plane ... but the blocking could take some days ...
Have found another nice hotel in Arequipa ...
Just had my children on msn ... a delight to see them ...
Un gros bisoux à vous deux ...

day 08 - Arequipa

Problems ... problems ...
I went to the terrapuerta (busterminal) to find out that the road to Puno is blocked and cannot be used for the moment. There are strikes in Cusco ... so no bus to there ... flights are fully-booked to those cities ... so I am blocked in Arequipa ... we shall see tomorrow ...
Today I visited the Museo Sanctuarios Andines where the finds are displayed of the sacred inca sacrifies on the high mointains ... They found a girl Juanita on the frozen hilltops near the big volcanos and another 2 graves lower on the same mountain. Superb display with all the findings of those three ceremonial graves and yes also the body of Juanita (no mummification was done on here) in a double layered box frozen to minus 20degrees for conservation. Afterwards went to the Monasterio Santa Catalina where nuns had enourmous cells with citchen in an real spanish-feeling architecture ...here are some of the pictures ...

for nuns they had at some times a realy luxuous life ...

and loved cooking ...

Went afterwards in the streets around ...

and another cloisture

Going to the hotel now for shower and dinner afterwards ...

By the way my hotel is called Casa de Tintin and I sleep in the room of Cpt. Haddock

day 07 - visit madrigale and back to Arequipa

Went for a trip this morning to the ruins on top of a hill near the village Madrigale.

It was a quite difficult climb of 2:30 ... I was with a guide who was willing to stop from while to while ... poco a poco ... and this is what we found at the top ...

A seat for the chief ...

then a view of the ruins ...

and of course what a view ...

The way down was done in 1 hour with a stop half way down where some more tombs where situated. Even textile and rope to wrap the mummy ...

Then back to the hotel to fetch the lugage and hop to Chivay to fetch the bus to Arequipa ... all went well until at we heard a noice and ...

the car went broke ... in the middle of nowhere at 3800 altitude sun going down and getting colder and colder ... we just passed the highest point where it was snowing ...

so after an hour wait there was nothing else to do then to get the next bus (already full-seated)

and stand up in the middle ...

luckely after an hour bumpy ride we were transfered to a more comfartable bus where - not all of us but I did- whe could sit ... after a few hours drive and a realy good shower I went to Arequipa centre and had a real good meal...

pisco-sour, tuna-carpacio with a glass of white wine, a trio of andian meat with a glass of red whine ... total 110 sol = 25 €

day 06 - Tombs & Ruins of Coporaque - ruins of Uyo Uyo

Went for a long walk in the morning to the village of Coporaque nearby ...  first passed by the chuch of Yanque

One of the dog of the hotel followed me for a long time to the village Coporaque (1 hour 30 walk)...

we went over the Colca-river

To the next mirador where I saw Inca-terracces still used by the people today ... they where masters in irregation

View from Coporaque to Yanque

and view up the hill where the tombs are ...

After an intensive climb ... to have the same amount of 1 breathtake in Belgium you need to breath 3 times over here ...

even a big tomb with a whole skeleton in its original position ... I did make some offers of real coca-leaves ... you never know !

Below the tombs are the ruins of an old village ...

On the way down ...

Have to climb over some stone walls before I got to the road though...

Back to the hotel to fetch some sleep and at 3pm a car with 35 loudly peruvians came to the hotel. As in the price of the room a little visit was included I got with all those people in their bus (with some other tourists) and went to the pre-inca ruins of Uyo Uyo... some pics... the main sacral house was rebuild ...

The little house of the current guardian ...

some irrigation-structures

On the way back we stopped at a natural spring for bathing 35degrees  ...it would have been very nice ...without 35 loudly peruvians. I have a pic, but as it was night the quality is not so good ...