Sacred Valley and Sexy Woman

Another great day out to hike around Incan ruins in Pisac, which is a town in the "Sacred Valley" close to Cusco.

Even though I actually did not want to buy anything in the beginning of my trip I could not resist to buy a colorful scarf and a little handbag. I justified my first purchase with the cold temperatures here at night, but could not find any excuses for my second purchase apart from the fact that a woman can never have enough handbags! ;-)

On my last day together with Camilla and Soren we went to a place on a hill close to Cusco that it impossible to pronounce: Saqsaywaman. Therefore everyone says "sexy woman"... It is a walled complex near the old city of Cusco. Even though it is supposed to be very impressive, we decided that we had seen enough ruins and rather enjoyed the amazing view over Cusco and watched the locals flying their kites.

Finally, here is one for my friends in Munich :-) Thanks again for the lovely shirt! It reminds me of my Munich "Heimat" - even as there is a Maracuja Sour and not an Aperol Sour in my hand...  :-)

Sun, Incan Ruins and Guinea Pig

Sorry! Long time no update, but I did not have a chance to spend time in front of a computer. The lovely couple from Denmark (Camilla and Soren) kept me busy with great hikes around Cusco and afterwards I was in the jungle for 8 days and only came back to Cusco today.

Ok, lets go back to 19th August...

Camilla, Soren and I went to a day trip to amazing Incan ruins in Tipon. I was highly impressed by the water system they had in place at that time. But see for yourself...

Some signs were a bit confusing though  ;-)

Nevertheless, the real highlight of the trip was our dinner afterwards: Cuy al horno (roasted guinea pig). Even though this is already the second time I had it (first time in Ecuador some years ago - Patty you might remember :-) I do not think I can ever get hooked on it. Firstly it is weird to have a whole little pig on your plate, secondly the taste is only ok-ish (according to my taste buds at least) and lastly there is not really much meat on it.

Here is a little photo story of a cute little guinea pig called "Freddy" (sorry, no happy end though...).

Yammy...  ;-)

Happy in Cusco!!

I am a very happy Monika today as James told me that he will join me for some time while I am traveling in South America! I am really excited and cant wait to see him! :-)

Moreover, I very much like Cusco. The flight from Arequipa to Cusco already was a real treat with amazing views over the Andes.

Even though Cusco is quite touristy around the main square "Plaza de Armas" it is authentic and fun as soon as you go out of the center. After having a real experience yesterday in Arequipa when I decided to have Ceviche (raw fish marinated with lime) in a local restaurant for less than EUR 1 (that is what all guide books warn you NOT to do), I was again brave enough to eat in the local market. Nevertheless, I did not go for their "special" meals that includes "cabeza".

Some more impressions:

Finally, here is one for Angie and for my friends at Juniper (I think it really is high time we set up an office in Cusco in order to avoid things like this in the future. Let me know if you need a Marketing Manager here... ;-)

Tomorrow I am going to meet up with a lovely Danish couple that I have met on the Colca trip in order to get some nice roasted guinea pig outside of town  :-)

Going to bed soon as I had to get up at 3:30am today and really can do with some proper sleep. I hope the guys in "my" dorm dont snore as much as the ones in Arequipa...

Adios Arequipa!

Last day in Arequipa. Tomorrow I am on my way to Cusco...

One highlight really was the visit at "Museo Santuarious de Altura" where they show "Juanita" - a well-preserved mummy that was sacrificed and it is believed to have died about 500 years ago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy_Juanita).

Some impressions to say goodbye!

Plaza de Armas:

Monestario de Santa Catalina:

San Camilo Market:

Street life:

 

Happy Birthday Arequipa!

Great coincident as this weekend Arequipa celebrated its 470th anniversary - and I was part of it  :-)

Even though I was really tired after the Colca Canyon tour I forced myself to go to town to meet the guys from the tour for a meal and another Pisco Sour. We even managed to stay awake until midnight to see the firework, which actually was not half as exciting as everybody told us. Nevertheless, it was nice to see my fellow co-trekkers once more.

Btw, don't be surprised if you see lots of people walking around with a big bottle of Sprite or Inka Cola. They actually mix it with Pisco and fill it back in the bottle so that it is not so obvious... 

On Sunday the whole city got mad, all streets were packed and the never-ending parade started at 10am and had still not stopped by the time I got tired of it at around 7pm. Puh, South-Americans really know how to party!