South America Peru Week 2

This is the Cusco La Compania one of many very splendid buildings near the Plaza De Armas in central Cusco. Cusco in the early 1400 to 1560,s was the Inca Capital . Around the mid 1500's the Spaniards invaded and took over Peru and many Inca buildings were destroyed and replaced with very grand Spanish buildings especially churches.

This is Cusco Cathedral which is probably the most spectacular church we have ever been in . The inside is a splendour of art, gold and silver and wood carvings. The building is very large with many complex columns which were built using stone from a nearby Inca temple.

The area has been hit by many earthquakes the most notable being in the 1600's and more recently 1950 when large parts of the structure had to be rebuilt.

Cusco is a very nice city with some narrow streets and splendid buildings. Many of the narrow streets are bustling with traffic , street sellers and tourists. There are many local people in traditional dress posing for photographs.

This is the Convent De Santo Domingo in Cusco. It was built after the Spanish Invasion
in the 1500's on the site of the centre of the Inca empire of South America Qorikancha. The wall in the foreground was the outer wall of the Inca city that was here from the 1400's. The terraces are also typical of Inca buildings and landscape. Within the convent building there are remains of several Inca houses that the Spaniards built onto. Around Cusco there are many Inca buildings, shrines, temples known as Wakas to the North ,South, East and West. These Wakas are on direct lines known as Seqes. Each Seqe may have from 3 to 40 Wakas on it. They all centre on Qorikancha as the centre of the Inca empire.

Puno city lies on the shores of Lake Titikaka which is the worlds highest commercially navigable lake at 3860m above sea level.
The lake forms the border between Peru and Bolivia and has many small islands.

Near Puno there is a ship called the MN Yavari.

This ship was ordered by the government of Peru in 1861 from James Watt of England. The ship was transported to Arica on the coast of Peru in 2766 individual pieces. From there it had to be transported by men and mules over a period of 6 years across the Andes reaching over 4800m
on the mountain passes before assembly at Lake Titikaka. The ship was originally a warship and although a steam ship there was no coal so it was fuelled by Llama poo. The ship is now being restored to sail the lake again.

During our visit to Titikaka Lake we had a homestay with a family on Amantani Island. The houses are very basic with no electricity,heating and often have 2 or 3 generations of the family living there. The toilet is often 10 or 20m away from the house in the garden area. We had a room on the top floor which was lit by a candle and had a tin door. The lady we stopped with had 2 children Jordon aged 8 and Benjamin aged 2
her husband had to work away from the island in order to support the family. The island leaders organise different families to host travellers on a rotation system.

Our host Janet and Jordan cooking our lunch in the kitchen. Cooking is on a small fire in the corner and there is also a small gas stove. There is only natural light or a candle to cook by. We ate vegetable soup and fried cheese with potatoes , tomato and cucumber. Dinner was similar with vegetables and in particular potatoes very much part of their daily diet. We sat on a couple of trunks of wood and drank the local herbal tea which helped with altitude sickness and stomach complaints. The cup on the table contains the local plant which you shred into hot water.
We helped with a few of the daily chores.

In the evening we went with our fellow travellers to the local dance. We all had to dress in the local costumes which consisted of a pancho and a hat for the men. Mr Lockwood has taken his off as dancing at 3860m is very hard work!!! The ladies skirt is hand sewn often by the men and has a bandana , a blouse and shawl. Mrs Lockwood looked very nice bottom left. This was all after playing volleyball with the local children and walking a couple of km up a very steep hill 4100m to a sacred area which the locals visit just once per year.

These are the homes of the Uros people who live on Lake Titikaka a few miles out from Puno. We visited them on our way to Amantani Island.

The houses are reed houses that float on the lake.











The islands are constructed from blocks of the root material that the reeds grow in , which is sawn out in blocks much the same as peat is in Scotland. The blocks are strung together and the reeds themselves are then laid on top of the blocks in at least two layers each layer perpendicular to the other. On top of the second layer they then build their houses from wood and reeds. They also build boats and lookout towers. The island is anchored in the position they want it to be.A large stone is placed on the floor on which a stove is placed in order to allow cooking without setting fire to the reeds.


The reed boats are finely crafted and sail between the different island communities. Each island may have several houses, each house containing up to 6 people. One island even has a shop and restaurant. Traditional woven goods are sold on each of the islands. The families livestock including pigs and hens also live on the island and sometimes their own little island close by. Duck eggs are also harvested.






Travel in the town of Puno can be by bus, taxi , scooter taxi or by bicycle taxi. Mr and Mrs Lockwood and their co travellers loaded up and ready to be pedalled down to the port.











Alpacas on the Peruvian Altiplano above Ariquipa . Although they roam wild they are tended by families that live in small houses that appear at various points near to the road. They also often have Llamas. They shear the Alpacas every 1 -2 years and the wool is used by the locals to make textile goods which they sell at the roadside.

The town of Chivay is the largest town near the Colca Canyon
It lies at the foot of a pass that reaches 4900m from Ariquipa. It has very busy streets and a market. Many of the streets are dirt roads and when it rains they turn to mud. On Saturday morning the local childreen were having their hair cut in the town square. Motorised scooters are used to transport people and goods around the town.

Travelling from Chivay along roads that soon turn to gravel roads you start to see the Colca Canyon. At its deepest it is over 4000m deep. At this point it is 1200m deep. South American Condors can sometimes be seen using the thermals along the cliff edges.








Along the Colca Canyon there are small villages that carry out farming. These farms grow broad beans and potatoes plus a few other crops. They are totally dependent on their income from farming and now tourism. You can see terraces on the hill side which were originally cut out during the Inca period many years ago. Small local stalls selling goods appear at many of the view points and the ladies and children are often in Peruvian dress.

The South American Condor has a wing span of over 3 metres. This male bird was soaring above our heads at the Cruz Del Condor viewpoint in the Colca Canyon. Many tourists gather there on the chance they may be seen . We were very lucky as we saw over 10 condors flying including some juvenile birds which are brown in colour.

Because of the size of their wingspan and the fact they use thermals on the canyon edge they rarely have to flap their wings.




Back in Chivay we visited a local restaurant where they played Indian Pan Pipe Music and performed local dances. The dances had meaning. The meaning often related to events around farming and courtship. The traditional costumes were very beautiful. Several people from our travelling group were encouraged to get up and have a go!! The food was very good. Mrs Lockwood had Alpaca steak for dinner after beetroot soup.





Whilst at Chivay we also visited the local hot springs and bath house. The water was very warm and relaxing. The hot water comes from the ground in this highly volcanic area. Earthquakes in the 1990's severly damaged roads and terraces near a small local town and the area is subsiding today which may require the small village to move location.






A Peruvian child at the roadside selling goods and posing for photographs with her pet Alpaca. A small payment is required for taking a photograph as this is a source of income from tourism into an area which is extremely poor. The ladies and girls are always dressed in traditional costume and meet all the buses.







At the top of the mountain pass between Ariquipa and Chivay at 4900m the local people make stone monuments as an offering to the gods that their wishes come true.Each stone represented a wish.

Llamas at a rest stop between Ariquipa and
Chivay.












Mrs Lockwood drinking coco tea at the rest stop. Coco tea or chewing dry coco leaves is meant to help with altitude sickness. Altitude sickness causes bad headaches and you cannot breath properly and making steps becomes a very hard effort. You acclimatise after 3 or 4 days at high altitude.

Vicunas are similar to Llamas and Alpacas and live on the Peruvian Altiplato. They have very soft fleeces which is considered to be the finest quality. They can be shaun every 2 years. They are wild but they are herded by communities on the Altiplato as their wool is very fine and fetches a very high price on the market.







Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru and lies close to 3 volcanoes
The Misti Volcano is dormant having last erupted in 1985. The main square in the city has the cathedral on one side and commercial premises in the other old buildings that surround the square.








The Monasterio D Santa Catalina is a very important historical building in Ariquipa. It was home to numerous nuns from the 1500's. The monasterie is like a small town within the main town. It has 6 streets and a series of squares called cloisters. The individual houses provided homes for each of the nuns.

Ariqueipa Market has many fish, fruit and vegetable stalls. These are the potato stalls at the market as the potato is a very important vegetable in Peru. There are over 3000 types of potato grown in Peru.