We got up at the crack of dawn to fly to Arequipa. It’s a lovely city between Cusco and the coast. The surrounding area is all desert. It’s pretty bleak! Bill finally got to eat guinea pig! I had grilled alpaca with quinoa. Mine was very good. I didn’t try the guinea pig! From Arequipa, we went to Colca Valley and stayed at a lovely lodge with incredible hot springs! That was awesome! We had one full day there which wasn’t enough. I tried to make friends with some unfriendly llamas and alpacas but that didn’t go so well. We met a group of Israelis at the hot springs and had an interesting conversation with them. We also met a nice couple from New Zealand.
Overall, we really like Peru (although Bill has struggled with altitude problems), but Monograms has been a really terrible company. We had a bad experience with them again today, but I’ll save that for a different message. Below, I’m pasting in a message Bill typed up earlier (it’s out of order) and a link with new pictures.
Hope things are going well for all of you!
Bill’s Message
For as many who wear big fluffy winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves here, they must wear them to bed too. We have stayed in nice hotels but the heating has been lacking in a couple of the nicer ones! One had no heat and one had portable only. I don’t mind the cool air but it can get a little brisk first thing in the morning!! They usually have very heavy blankets though. It is probably very efficient of them. They also don’t always have A/C. They seem to have a good power grid here and you see the lines ran all over the mountainsides. A hardy bunch here!! They do occasionally make comments about how cold it gets for us back home.
On our flight to Arequipa there were large farm fields that looked more like what would be seen in the US just before we landed. Nice flat areas in the middle of the peaks. Smaller areas in the valleys were also scattered with farming communities. Some good sized even though the fields did not look as large as the ones closer to our destination.
It is interesting to see the mountains out both sides of the plane for as far as you can see for the whole hour trip. Any of the roads that can be seen look very curvy and dirt. No real interstate. Not a lot on the roads. If there were paved roads they might be fun on a motorcycle. May have seen a highway but no train tracks.
So today (Monday) I finally got to have some guinea pig!! It wasn’t bad, the meat was like dark chicken meat, the fat under the skin had a salmon skin texture and almost flavor to it. The preparation was fried under a weight, the other traditional way is roasted (sometimes on a stick).
We had a slow but nice tour this morning. After lunch we walked back to the hotel. We got very close before getting assistance from a police officer. He walked us the block and a half we were off.
A nap and a massage was a nice way to relax after the 04:30 wake up call! We have a tour Tuesday morning that takes us to our next destination, the Colca Valley! We have been looking forward to this part of the trip!! It should not only be beautiful but relaxing!! The hot springs should be a hit!!
Traveling with Emily! 