When last we left off, Val and I were leaving Nasca for Arequipa. We had booked an overnight bus on Cruz del Sur, the top touristy bus, with semi-cama (half-bed) seats. The trip takes 10 and a half hours. We had tickets for the 10:30pm bus.
We arrived at the bus station a bit early and the seats were already full. There are four night buses that go to Arequipa, 10, 10:15, 10:30 and 10:45, plus a couple to LIma and Cusco.
As I mentioned in my last post, it had been raining in Nasca. First the 10pm bus didn't arrive, then the 10:15. People were getting antsy. The only person available to talk to was the baggage check guy. All he knew was that all of the buses, theirs and everyone else's, were delayed because of the rain. Midnight, 1am... nothing. The people waiting were a mix of tourists and locals. Everyone was pretty calm. We started to see buses from other companies leaving. All of the stations are in the same area.
Finally, a bus arrived. Nope, it's for Lima. then another, also for Lima. Then one for Cusco. The room started to empty. People had started milling and moving around as the not-Arequipa buses arrived and left.
2:15am, a cheer arose from the side of the room that could see the buses arrive. Arequipa! But Val and I could see the list of bus numbers and the times they were supposed to leave. It was the 10pm bus so we just waited. Everyone rushed to line up. But again, Val and I knew this wasn't our bus so we sat and waited. After every person in that room was in line, we hear that we are all taking that one bus to Arequipa. So we line up. We get to the ticket taker and are informed that we will not be in the semi-cama seats. And we were at the END of the line so we probably won't be sitting together. Next bus to Arequipa is at 6am.
We consult. We do not want to take a 10.5 hour bus trip sitting up. We decide to wait for the 6am. More consulting. It is now 2:30am. Do we go back to our hotel? We decide to ride out the 3+ hours in the bus station. The bus leaves and I settle in for a sleep on a four person metal bench with my pack as my pillow.
I had barely closed my eyes, when not 10 minutes later, someone calls out 'Arequipa'! Our bus had arrived. We were the only two left in the place. So, we got on and had our pick of semi-cama seats. And off we went, only four and a half hours late.
I slept a bit and woke up with the sun around 6am. It was a fairly uneventful bus ride, long. We went from coast to mountains, rocky dusty mountains.
We arrived in Arequipa around 2pm. Our hostel was only 350 meters from the bus station so we figured we could walk it. So, we left the station and immediately couldn't figure out what street we were on. We asked a few people, they didn't know. We had even been handed a map by the tourist kiosk people as we walked by. We decided to take a cab after about 15 minutes of wandering around with our packs.
The cab drove quite far. The drive at least was way longer than 350 meters but this town is all one way streets. After driving around the same round-about three times, he finally called our hostel and figured out where it was. I'm sure he regretted saying it would cost s/6.
Our hostel, Pasada Del Misti, is basic, rustic even. We were so tired. We chose our room. It has a double bed and bunk beds. It took our addled brains forever to figure out who would sleep where and where to put our stuff. In the end, Val got the double bed and I got the bottom bunk but I got the table to put my stuff on.
I think we might have had a short nap. Not sure. But we did walk up the street to the bank and to look for dinner. We eventually walked to the Plaza de Armas (main square) and had dinner. We were on a balcony and could see all of the other people from the Nasca bus station below, looking as dazed as we were.
The plaza is beautiful with a huge cathedral dominating the whole area. But it was cold, and windy. We hadn't brought jackets, we were just in t-shirts. We didn't last long one the restaurant balcony. But the view was lovely while it lasted
We went back to the hostel and my back was hurting a bit. Our room was freezing and so damp. We went to bed early. When I woke up, I could barely move! My back was OUT! That didn't stop my from doing stuff, but my back has been killing me ever since. Every time I sit down, Val has to hear 'ooff, my back' and every time I stand up 'oooh, my back'. Fun.
Anyway, the show must go on. So that first full day, we got up a bit late and headed into centro. Our hostel is about 15 minute walk to the Plaza. We had to find the Scotia Bank so I could fight to take out my own money. This time, the bank manager was a problem solver! He said I could take out up to $2000 US. Wow, thanks, I do not need that much but nice to know that it is possible. I took out s/2000 so hopefully that will last until Cusco.
We met up with a free walking tour at the courtyard of the San Francisco Church a few blocks away from the Plaza. Another guide named Gabriel. There were only four of us on the tour. I will have to check the pictures to see what we saw. I do remember a story about cloistered nuns and babies buried in the convent wall, only discovered centuries later during an earthquake.
We also visited Alpaca World which I think is a shop with some Alpacas and a museum. There were baby alpacas so of course, I took pictures
After the walking tour, we ate (an empanada) and then found a tourist place to book a tour to the Colca Canyon. I know, I vowed after our last 'tour' no more tours! But we looked at how to get to the Colca Canyon on our own and it was difficult and we wouldn't get to stop and look at stuff. The do it yourself Colca Canyon tour is for trekkers.
Anyway, we went into the tour place. There are two options for those not planning on a trek. One day tour which leaves Arequipa at 3am and returns at 5pm. That costs s/50. Or a two day tour, with a night in Chivay for s/90. That's about $37 Can! For two days! We'll take it. (this foreshadowing isn't nearly as bad as the Paracas debacle)
So, our one task done, we poked around some shops and looked at s/500 Alpaca sweaters (yea, that's like $200 Can). Unfortunately, no.
I haven't mentioned shopping for a while. I think I was crowing about how I didn't buy anything in Lima. In fact, it was Val who bought the first ridiculous purchase. A wood box for first aid supplies. No way that is going to not cause packing problems. She left it at our Lima hostel that we are going to stay at on our way home.
I have bought a few odds and sods. Some SMALL little gifties for the girls at Christmas. So far so good. But of course, we are in Alpaca country now so things are going a bit awry. Val is still keeping things small, mostly jewelry. More on my shopping later.
Back to our day. After we paid for our tour, we went to see Juanita, the Ice Maiden. She was a sacrifice to the gods 500 years ago and has remained frozen on her volcano since then. An archaeologist found her, rolled down the hill, in 1995, almost perfectly preserved except for her face which had been exposed to the sun and wind. She was still surrounded by all of her funeral finery. There is a whole museum dedicated just to her. No photos allowed. Unfortunately. I couldn't smuggle in my camera and sneak some pictures. I'll steal some from the internet when I have half-decent wifi.
Next stop, the cathedral. Gabriel had mentioned that there is a statue of Lucifer displayed. Val wanted to see it. And who doesn't love a giant cathedral. Photo photo. It took some doing to find Lucifer because he is RIGHT in the middle of the pews. I wasn't expecting him to be quite so front and centre. I'm sure there is a story there.
We must have eaten more than an empanada but neither of us remember. We headed home, stop for water, and early to bed. Our room was not nearly so cold and damp that second night. We had to be up early for our Colca Canon tour pick up at 8am.
I am going to leave this post here because Colca Canyon will be long and full of photos. Not sure when I will be able to post though. Have I mentioned the wifi here. It is the worst! Writing is fine but uploading pictures is torture.
We leave Arequipa tomorrow morning for Puno. I do not know how I am going carry my full pack and take a 6 hour bus ride with my back. But I will. I may be crippled but I will be in Puno tomorrow. We are there for 6 days so I hope that is enough time to heal somewhat. I have to be able to walk for Machu Picchu!
It is two days later and I finally have some wifi to upload pictures. We are in Puno, so many days ahead of the blog!
We arrived at the bus station a bit early and the seats were already full. There are four night buses that go to Arequipa, 10, 10:15, 10:30 and 10:45, plus a couple to LIma and Cusco.
As I mentioned in my last post, it had been raining in Nasca. First the 10pm bus didn't arrive, then the 10:15. People were getting antsy. The only person available to talk to was the baggage check guy. All he knew was that all of the buses, theirs and everyone else's, were delayed because of the rain. Midnight, 1am... nothing. The people waiting were a mix of tourists and locals. Everyone was pretty calm. We started to see buses from other companies leaving. All of the stations are in the same area.
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| Finally a bus. To Lima |
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| Val's perch |
2:15am, a cheer arose from the side of the room that could see the buses arrive. Arequipa! But Val and I could see the list of bus numbers and the times they were supposed to leave. It was the 10pm bus so we just waited. Everyone rushed to line up. But again, Val and I knew this wasn't our bus so we sat and waited. After every person in that room was in line, we hear that we are all taking that one bus to Arequipa. So we line up. We get to the ticket taker and are informed that we will not be in the semi-cama seats. And we were at the END of the line so we probably won't be sitting together. Next bus to Arequipa is at 6am.
We consult. We do not want to take a 10.5 hour bus trip sitting up. We decide to wait for the 6am. More consulting. It is now 2:30am. Do we go back to our hotel? We decide to ride out the 3+ hours in the bus station. The bus leaves and I settle in for a sleep on a four person metal bench with my pack as my pillow.
I had barely closed my eyes, when not 10 minutes later, someone calls out 'Arequipa'! Our bus had arrived. We were the only two left in the place. So, we got on and had our pick of semi-cama seats. And off we went, only four and a half hours late.
I slept a bit and woke up with the sun around 6am. It was a fairly uneventful bus ride, long. We went from coast to mountains, rocky dusty mountains.
We arrived in Arequipa around 2pm. Our hostel was only 350 meters from the bus station so we figured we could walk it. So, we left the station and immediately couldn't figure out what street we were on. We asked a few people, they didn't know. We had even been handed a map by the tourist kiosk people as we walked by. We decided to take a cab after about 15 minutes of wandering around with our packs.
The cab drove quite far. The drive at least was way longer than 350 meters but this town is all one way streets. After driving around the same round-about three times, he finally called our hostel and figured out where it was. I'm sure he regretted saying it would cost s/6.
Our hostel, Pasada Del Misti, is basic, rustic even. We were so tired. We chose our room. It has a double bed and bunk beds. It took our addled brains forever to figure out who would sleep where and where to put our stuff. In the end, Val got the double bed and I got the bottom bunk but I got the table to put my stuff on.
I think we might have had a short nap. Not sure. But we did walk up the street to the bank and to look for dinner. We eventually walked to the Plaza de Armas (main square) and had dinner. We were on a balcony and could see all of the other people from the Nasca bus station below, looking as dazed as we were.
The plaza is beautiful with a huge cathedral dominating the whole area. But it was cold, and windy. We hadn't brought jackets, we were just in t-shirts. We didn't last long one the restaurant balcony. But the view was lovely while it lasted
We went back to the hostel and my back was hurting a bit. Our room was freezing and so damp. We went to bed early. When I woke up, I could barely move! My back was OUT! That didn't stop my from doing stuff, but my back has been killing me ever since. Every time I sit down, Val has to hear 'ooff, my back' and every time I stand up 'oooh, my back'. Fun.
Anyway, the show must go on. So that first full day, we got up a bit late and headed into centro. Our hostel is about 15 minute walk to the Plaza. We had to find the Scotia Bank so I could fight to take out my own money. This time, the bank manager was a problem solver! He said I could take out up to $2000 US. Wow, thanks, I do not need that much but nice to know that it is possible. I took out s/2000 so hopefully that will last until Cusco.
We met up with a free walking tour at the courtyard of the San Francisco Church a few blocks away from the Plaza. Another guide named Gabriel. There were only four of us on the tour. I will have to check the pictures to see what we saw. I do remember a story about cloistered nuns and babies buried in the convent wall, only discovered centuries later during an earthquake.
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| This one is for Chris |
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| this was a private school and then a jail and now a mall |
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| Another church, why do I keep taking pictures of churches? |
After the walking tour, we ate (an empanada) and then found a tourist place to book a tour to the Colca Canyon. I know, I vowed after our last 'tour' no more tours! But we looked at how to get to the Colca Canyon on our own and it was difficult and we wouldn't get to stop and look at stuff. The do it yourself Colca Canyon tour is for trekkers.
Anyway, we went into the tour place. There are two options for those not planning on a trek. One day tour which leaves Arequipa at 3am and returns at 5pm. That costs s/50. Or a two day tour, with a night in Chivay for s/90. That's about $37 Can! For two days! We'll take it. (this foreshadowing isn't nearly as bad as the Paracas debacle)
So, our one task done, we poked around some shops and looked at s/500 Alpaca sweaters (yea, that's like $200 Can). Unfortunately, no.
I haven't mentioned shopping for a while. I think I was crowing about how I didn't buy anything in Lima. In fact, it was Val who bought the first ridiculous purchase. A wood box for first aid supplies. No way that is going to not cause packing problems. She left it at our Lima hostel that we are going to stay at on our way home.
I have bought a few odds and sods. Some SMALL little gifties for the girls at Christmas. So far so good. But of course, we are in Alpaca country now so things are going a bit awry. Val is still keeping things small, mostly jewelry. More on my shopping later.
Back to our day. After we paid for our tour, we went to see Juanita, the Ice Maiden. She was a sacrifice to the gods 500 years ago and has remained frozen on her volcano since then. An archaeologist found her, rolled down the hill, in 1995, almost perfectly preserved except for her face which had been exposed to the sun and wind. She was still surrounded by all of her funeral finery. There is a whole museum dedicated just to her. No photos allowed. Unfortunately. I couldn't smuggle in my camera and sneak some pictures. I'll steal some from the internet when I have half-decent wifi.
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| Behind those doors lies Juanita |
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| Stolen from the internet |
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| Not a very good picture but you get the idea |
I am going to leave this post here because Colca Canyon will be long and full of photos. Not sure when I will be able to post though. Have I mentioned the wifi here. It is the worst! Writing is fine but uploading pictures is torture.
We leave Arequipa tomorrow morning for Puno. I do not know how I am going carry my full pack and take a 6 hour bus ride with my back. But I will. I may be crippled but I will be in Puno tomorrow. We are there for 6 days so I hope that is enough time to heal somewhat. I have to be able to walk for Machu Picchu!
It is two days later and I finally have some wifi to upload pictures. We are in Puno, so many days ahead of the blog!
