Arequipa and Puerto Inca
Well our next stop was Arequipa.
When we arrived we went out for a group meal and tried the local speciality - Guinea Pig - it was a bit off putting as it arrives at the table with it´s head and claws still on - in fact it looks like it´s just been picked up and popped in the deep fat frier. It actually tasted OK but there was not much meat. After dinner we went out to a bar - the only problem was that it was the Peruvian elections and there was riot police out and about - the bars were not suposed to be serving alcohol but because we were tourists and obviously didn´t care one way or the other we finally got served.
The next day we went to see the Santa Catalina Convent. I must admit that when I first heard I was going to a convent I wasn´t overly exited but I definately changed my mind when I arrived. It is basically a city within a city founded in 1580 and was closed to the public for nearly 400 years. The walls are all brightly coloured and you walk around a maze of cobbled streets.
After the Convent we went to another museum which shows how a number of mummies were discovered on top of the nearby volcanoes. These had been undiscovered for over 500 years but because of an eruption of a nearby volcano the heat had melted the snow and ice and Dr. Johan Reinhard discovered the first mummy which he named Juanita. Because of the artifacts descovered with the body it emerged that the mummy was of a girl who was about 13 o 14 years old and she had been offered by the Incas as a sacrifice. Subsequent expeditions led to the discoveries of more mummies and other items. What makes the mummies unique is how well preserved they are because of the sub zero temperatures. I decided not to include photos here but if you want to see more then go to http://www.ucsm.edu.pe/santury/ and click on Galeria de Fotos.
After Arequipa we headed to Puerto Inca.
Puerto Inca is an isolated beach and it was a nice change from the crowded cities. The beach itself is surrounded by a number of Inca ruins. We pitched our tents on the sand right on the sea shore and basically spent the next day chilling out, listening to the crashing waves and enjoying the sun. There was one bar but not much else. We had a couple of BBQs and had some great camp fires. You could swim but the waves were pretty rough - we saw a Pelican getting smashed by one of the waves so it had to come ashore to dry off.
We then headed of for Nasca.
When we arrived we went out for a group meal and tried the local speciality - Guinea Pig - it was a bit off putting as it arrives at the table with it´s head and claws still on - in fact it looks like it´s just been picked up and popped in the deep fat frier. It actually tasted OK but there was not much meat. After dinner we went out to a bar - the only problem was that it was the Peruvian elections and there was riot police out and about - the bars were not suposed to be serving alcohol but because we were tourists and obviously didn´t care one way or the other we finally got served.
The next day we went to see the Santa Catalina Convent. I must admit that when I first heard I was going to a convent I wasn´t overly exited but I definately changed my mind when I arrived. It is basically a city within a city founded in 1580 and was closed to the public for nearly 400 years. The walls are all brightly coloured and you walk around a maze of cobbled streets.
After the Convent we went to another museum which shows how a number of mummies were discovered on top of the nearby volcanoes. These had been undiscovered for over 500 years but because of an eruption of a nearby volcano the heat had melted the snow and ice and Dr. Johan Reinhard discovered the first mummy which he named Juanita. Because of the artifacts descovered with the body it emerged that the mummy was of a girl who was about 13 o 14 years old and she had been offered by the Incas as a sacrifice. Subsequent expeditions led to the discoveries of more mummies and other items. What makes the mummies unique is how well preserved they are because of the sub zero temperatures. I decided not to include photos here but if you want to see more then go to http://www.ucsm.edu.pe/santury/ and click on Galeria de Fotos.
After Arequipa we headed to Puerto Inca.
Puerto Inca is an isolated beach and it was a nice change from the crowded cities. The beach itself is surrounded by a number of Inca ruins. We pitched our tents on the sand right on the sea shore and basically spent the next day chilling out, listening to the crashing waves and enjoying the sun. There was one bar but not much else. We had a couple of BBQs and had some great camp fires. You could swim but the waves were pretty rough - we saw a Pelican getting smashed by one of the waves so it had to come ashore to dry off.
We then headed of for Nasca.
posted by Phil at 5:17 PM
1 Comments:
Checked out the 'mummy' site - they look creepy. Not surprised that you missed them off the site.
Jen
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