The world's deepest canyon.

The Andean Condor in the wild.
It was an absolute privilege being there to see the Condor flying nearby I guess it doesn't get bigger than this.
The Andean Condor is the largest flying bird in the world with a wing-span of up to 3.2 meters and weight up
to 15 kg. It's only found in the Andes of South America, It's a scavenger, it nest at elevations of up to 5000m and
females only reproduce once every two years .

For the Incas the Condor was a sacred bird.
They can live up to 100 years in captivity.
They mate for life but that only applies to the males because if the female dies the male will take a high fly and dive to
his death, where as if the male dies the female will find a younger replacement.
Go you girls!

The Colca Canyon.
The deepest canyon in the world. It's located 160 km north/west of Arequipa. At 4160m depth it's more than
twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA and we were about to feel every meter in our legs, knees, calves,
ankles, back, thighs, shoulders, heaps, etc. etc. etc.

Day 1.  1,200 meters down the canyon.

The Colca Canyon is about 100 km long and set among volcanoes.
It's geologically young at 100 million years when it started to cut into a bed of volcanic rocks
along a major fault in the Earth's crust.

Louise's Knee started to give up near the base of the hill.

By the end of the day she had both knees wrapped up and on top of her super hero donkey.
We were proud of her to get as far as she did with two busted knees.

The camp kitchen was the only warm place to be at San Juan de Chuchu.
The lady at the kitchen told me that all their supplies were carried by mules from a nearby
town 4 hours away.

Day 2, along the base of the canyon

Day 2 was the easiest of all.

We found some cochinilla (cactus beetle) that has been widely used by the locals as a natural colorant
for textiles, ceramics and even cosmetics for thousands of years. Absolutely non toxic and no animal testing.

Crossing one of the many small towns along the way.

No matter how small the town is, it will always have a church.

Typical hat from the Cabanas people.

Typical hat from the Collagua people.
The Collaguas and the Cabanas people are decedents from two different ethnic groups,
they lived in opposite sides of the Colca canyon and for hundreds of years they were
forbidden to mix with each other and even had an unconventional war, only until recently 
they had a declared peace treaty. 

The rivers flow a lot more during the rainy season

Day 3.  9 km walking but 1,100m straight up and we were one man down.
Early morning start and no breakfast. We were told it was to avoid altitude sickness.

Madeline was having doubts on whether she was going to make it or not.

Louise caught up to us on the way up on her ambulance mule.

Madeline was looking a lot brighter near the top of the mountain but we still had another hour to go,
she power on in pain but did not complain.

Arriving in the town of Cabanaconde. Notice the two ladies on the left wearing different types of hats
The one on the left is a Collaguan and the other is a Cabanan.

The 3 of us with Norma our trekking guide. She was very knowledgeable. 

Postcard with a vicuna and an eagle.

At the hot springs near the town of Chivay.
The town of Chivay is one of the closest towns to the Mismi Glacier which is  known as the birth place  of
the Amazon river.

We could hardly walk.

Maddy was dog tired.

Llamas near the national reserved of Salinas y Aguada Blanca.

Fallen victim to the Canyon.
Adios Aussie shoes, I guess they not made for Colca canyon conditions.

Recovering.
According to the original plan we were supposed to go to the town of Puno but we changed  our plan at the last
minute and went to Cuzco instead looking for some rest and relaxation and a place for Maddy to catch up with
school.

The Inca Maiden Rises.

What the ....?
I ask for a hen soup and I got an alien soup.
I was so hungry I ate the bastard anyway.
For all of those who wonder what alien taste like.
CHICKEN!!!

The fruit section at the mercado (market) in Arequipa.
Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru. At 2350 meters above sea level it's the perfect place to
tackle the Andes altitude before going on a 3 day  trekking down the Colca Canyon.

The girls sitting at the steps of the city's cathedral in Arequipa.
This city is been rocked by a major earthquake almost every century since the Spanish arrived in 1532.
Almost every colonial building in the town has been made from an off-white volcanic rock, as you can
see in the picture that's the reason the city is often called the White City.

The monastery of Santa Catalina.
Was build in 1579 in the city of Arequipa , since then women  from all backgrounds have entered the convent
to serve as cloistered nuns, never to return to their homes or families again.
The convent was only opened to the public in 1970.

Today there are about 40 nuns who continue to live the cloistered life in a far corner of the convent
while the rest is open to the public.

Gold plated china.
And they were supposed to live a simple life!!!
But for nearly 300 years  in this convent each nun had between one to four servants or slaves , they
also normally invite musicians and party until Pope Pius IX sent Sister Josefa Cadena  in 1871 to straighten
things up so the party stop and the slaves were freed .

Before the washing machine arrived this is how they used to wash their cloths.
To get water into the washing container all you have to do is stop the flow of water by placing
your hand or an object after the pipe as shown by our tour guide . Simple and clever laundry.

Apparently this is a washing machine.
But I can't see any power points around. Can someone find me the instructions?
I am tired of washing everybody's clothes by hand. No joke.

The kitchen.

Stone fountain, almost in the middle of this amazing 20,000 sq metre citadel.
You can easily get lost in here.

This photo is from the net . We were't allowed to take photos at the museum.
Her name is Juanita, she is a real Inca Maiden.
Unlike a mummy, her body was complete with organs and perfectly preserved by the icy temperatures
for more than 500 years near the summit of the snow covered volcano Ampato (6310m) to the northwest
of Arequipa.
According to the archeologist, anthropologist and forensic experts it's more than certain that she was
sacrificed to the gods at the summit . For the Incas, mountains were gods who could kill by volcanic
eruptions or avalanches and in order to ease the gods they would do the ultimate sacrifice in this case
of a noble 12 year old virgin.
For her and for her family been chosen a maiden was an honour thus she would become a goddess
in death.

Back in Lima

Jaime's birthday.
We did actually stay in Lima a few days longer just for this party and it was all worth it.

Girls having a chicks movie night.
funny how little Arantxa made sure that it only lasted for 20 minutes.

1800 furniture made out of cedar wood with a finish of mother of pearl and sea turtle shell. Complete with secret locked compartments.  The keys to these compartments are also hidden somewhere on this piece of furniture.
At the Pedro de Osma Museum in Barranco, Lima. 

Closer look.
These were the only two photos we were able to take of the inside of the museum.

Walking through the museum of Pedro de Osma.
This museum has an exquisite collection of colonial furniture, silverwork and art, some of it dates back to the 1500's.

Partying with the bros

Me and a pretty lady

At my nephew's Samuelitos birthday.

Little Arantxa having her first makeup malfunction.

Whilst staying at Jaime's and Mili's place they often cook amazing meals.
It's like a competition to better the day before.
We liked it!

The following 6 pictures are from the Casa Aliaga, which is located next to the Government Palace on land given to
Jeronimo de Aliaga in 1535. He was one of Pizarro's followers. This house has been occupied by 16 generations of his descendants .  The furniture are a masterpiece on their own, the two mirrors are French from the 17th century with
carved faces of Marie Antoinette, the chandelier originally ran on gas and was changed to electric and still has the
gas valves.

At the centre of the house.

Painting of the original lay out of the buildings around the Palacio de Govierno (Government Palace).
When Pizarro first arrived he build his palace on top of the palace that belong to the local chief Taulichusco.

The dinning room.
Also a portrait of Jeronimo de Aliaga and a French clock from the 17'th century.

The sword that belong to Jeronimo de Aliaga , he was a captain of the group of Spanish soldiers during the capture
of the last Inca Atahualpa.

This is part of the foyer.  The hand carved wooden table was amazing.  Louise kept saying "mum would have like to see this"

This is a Chinese company. Nothing to do with Australia except using our name to sell cloths.                                                                        I kinda feeling a bit ripped off.

Everybody needs a hug sometimes.

Little Arantxa loves a good dance. Believe it or not we are all dancing in this photo. Whenever Arantxa is sad, just crank up the music and start dancing and all is well.

Reconstructed Inca ruins.  This was originally an Inca "Womens retreat"  The beach was just behind me.

"A day out at the ruins" with Joaquin and the family. We had a few days out with Joaquin and his family.  Always guaranteed to be a great day.

Original Inca road.  This was the main road in and out of Pachacamac.

Climbing to the top of another Temple. Check out the view. This temple had the best view but it turned out to be only for the dead.  It was a cemetery.

Madeline has fallen in love with "El Chavo".  A TV legend here in Peru.  Very funny show.  Here she is mimicking one of the characters, Chilindrina.

Big day out in the city with a great bunch of people.  We all went to have a look inside the Government palace.  Which according to Jose was unheard of, when he was younger. Even 15years ago the palace was constantly surrounded by tanks and army personnel day and night, just in case there was an attempt at a take over of government.  It just goes to show how the political system in Peru has settled down.  

El Salon Dorado (The Golden Room)
This is where the president hands out the medals and stuff.

Looking from the inside out.
When I was here  in Peru in 1996 they wouldn't even let me take a picture of the palace from the streets.

The Tupac Amaru Room.
Tupac Amaru II, was the last Inca blood descendant.
He was an Indigenous  leader of a rebellion against the Spanish colonials in 1780.

Conference table.

Apparently we drank a dozen bottles of spirits.  The muso's that were hire for the night had logged off but left the equipment.  It was jam session just waiting to happen.  I reckon we all sounded pretty good.

Even the gringa got on the microphone.
After the party we needed a couple of days to recover we packed the bags again and on Tuesday we took a bus
to the city of Arequipa to take on the Colca canyon and whatever got in the way.