Arequipa and the Colca Canyon

We arrived into Arequipa in full sunshine, a welcome break from the cold wet weather we have been having of late. We could not check in so we headed out to a traditional Peruvian restaurant and were in food heaven. The plates were so large it was recommended that we share, we had an entre of cheese and corn followed by boiled beef – there were a lot of food babies at
the end of this meal. The city is stunning and they have done a good job ofmaintaining a balance between tourism and local services and shops. It makes for a beautiful and pleasant place to stroll around in. We did one very interesting tourist activity while here in Arequipa and that was to go to the museum where the documentation of Incan sacrifices is complete with displays of the children who were mummified at the top of the mountains in the sacrificial process. It is incredible they still have skin, hair and internal organs. The most noteworthy of the children was
Junita who was thought to be a Inca princess due to what she was buried with, she is the most intact of the bodies and they could trace her DNA to Panama and Korea – is it mindblowing this museum and if you are every in Arequipa is a must!!!
The Colca Canyon is famous for its embroidery, deep canyons and condors. We were fortunate enough to witness all of the above. The canyons is over 4000m deep and the 2nd deepest in the world. It was majestic as we stood on the lookout over the canyon and watched the condors swooping around us. The trip to the colca Canyon wa topped off with a well deserved swim
in the local thermal baths – and yes it was raining again. In the evening we were treated to an interesting dancing show that involved each partner of the dance eating a poison orange then being revived by whipping – truly interesting in the middle of the restaurant. The last dance involved me being selected from the audience and getting dressed up as a man in what can only be described as a conga line.
The two day one night trip to the canyon was a long one with lots of driving but it was well worth it. The drive back was a little treacherous as we crossed our highest point in Peru at 4910m as it started to snow. A large bus, snow and sheer cliffs made me a little uncomfortable. We organised drinks of the hotel terrace for when we got back to watch the sunset.