The most important tip in Peru is: haggle! When taking a taxi, choosing a package tour, going shopping and eating out. They start with prices for European tourists and then ask how much you want to pay. I did not think the weather would change so suddenly, neither that the sun would be so hot this time of the year (May).
We bought a tour package for Valle Del Colca, 150 km north of Arequipa. We spent 2 days with people from several nationalities. The goal was to visit the famous canyon, but everything else amazed me: the culture is so different from the rest of the country and the view is spectacular.
Arequipa takes this name due to its walls with white volcanic stones. It is surrounded by the volcanos Chachanni, Misti and Pichu Pichu – some of the 80 existent in the area. In the center of the city there is the most beautiful PLAZA DE ARMAS I have ever seen in Peru, a big cathedral and volcanos framed in snow.
Islands in Lake TITICACA (navigable lake with the highest altitude in the world, 3827m), made of totora reeds. Very old communities live there and use totora as food, house, boats and handicrafts. The funny thing is that when families have an argument, they draw an imaginary line on the island and each group stays on one half.
Salkantay Inca Trail – Diary of the trail to Machu Picchu on the mountain tops.
Inca trail is One of the most amazing things I have ever done. I overcame my limits and experienced what had never crossed my mind. I was in excellent shape, a little afraid of getting sick because of the sudden changes of temperature, but everything was fine. I thought I would lose weight but I burned all the calories from the Peruvian food – which I just loved. The cook who took part in the trail with us was a very imaginative chef.
Ruins next to Cusco, in the villages of PISAQ, OLLANTAYTAMBO and CHINCHERO. It is amusing how everything is related and sacred, and how they see triangles in everything.
