Peru ~ Still in the Andes

                                                

What fun! We met up with our friend Robin in Arequipa Peru to embark on another road trip...this time to wind our way through the Peruvian Andes towards Machu Picchu. After a couple of days in the city we became a dynamic trio and were ready to hit the road. Going the back roads and off the beaten path has its challenges and surprises…..



like finding ourselves driving into a snowstorm at 4500 meters (aka 15,000 feet) where only a lonely vicuna waved to us!... and its surprises like arriving in a small rural pueblito where a harvest fiesta was in full force!  

           

We were pulled into the parade and danced in the streets with everyone else.

                    

Later in the afternoon we watched our first and probably only friendly bull fight.  No swords or blood and most of the Matadors were not in the proper bull fighting attire but all had brightly colored capes and great plastic swords, a sure sign of South American machismo. As each bull was released one man after another took their opportunity to challenge the bull only to quickly retreat and hide behind bulls eye barricades as the confused bull looked on in wonder. Finally a Matador in full regalia saved the Latin pride by bravely dancing with the bull and not running to the nearest barricade. 

The crowd loved it as the Chica flowed (local Andean home brew) and the band played (badly) on.

As is typical in all of South America a good party goes on for several days and nights. 

It was hard to pull ourselves away from the festivities but we did manage to get in a few good hikes to see the countryside as we heard the party still going strong in the distance. 

            

Always seeking the road less traveled we often made new friends and met with interesting obstacles. 

Never daunted, Janet even got to practice a 24 point turn here when the road just stopped on the edge of a sheer cliff. Good Job Janet!

More hikes (that were just as challenging as the roads) lay ahead of us in Cotahuasi Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world.

Another wonder of the high Andes is that we got to share the airspace with the beautiful Andean Condors, such incredible creatures!

Not to forget our wonderful Llama and Alpaca friends which have been immortalized in Incan petroglyphs and Robin's heart.

 and the ultimate rasta-dog!

As we ventured farther across the Andes we couldn't help but realize 'how far out' we were and what a strange dichotomy it was between being in our first world bubble (aka- our 4x4 vehicle with snacks, comfort and heat) and seeing  people who live up in the Andes with no heat, no electricity, no running water, virtually no neighbors...and the list goes on. 

It was so cold we had a hard time even getting out of the car to take pictures! We saw whole villages working together, a mother milking the cow as this baby stared at us in wonder, and these two women outside weaving in 1 degree Celsius weather.

We passed through pueblitos filled with stone houses and asked directions from school teachers as the children enjoyed a school lunch. 

Our confidence was high for the next leg of the road trip across the Andes. We had long given up on road maps and Google maps being accurate and we felt much more comfortable consulting the locals. We departed with a hand-drawn map and high spirits. After hour 10 of what our well meaning consultants had said would be a 7 hour journey it became obvious that our map makers had never taken this trip. 

Well, we were in it now so we just had to keep going and hope we wouldn't become frozen mummies forever lost in the Andes!   

Were we nuts?! YES! Did we have fun? Yes! Would we do it again? Not on your life, we made it by the skin of our chattering teeth! After 15 hours of hard driving, Success!!!! and a hot shower never felt so good!