Peru...Part Eight...Final Days...
For our final days in Peru we rode down from Sicuani to Arequipa. Our plan was to stay there for a few days and visit the Canon del Colca as well as trying to get a glimpse of the Dakar rally which had a stage based here. From Arequipa the plan was then to ride up to Lake Titicaca and over the border at Desguadero into Bolivia.
There's various ways you can ride to Arequipa from Sicuani. Some are gravel/dirt roads but the routes shown above are all paved, it's down to your personal preference and also do check out somewhere to stay. Lodgings, if you want them,are a bit sparse down to Arequipa. We took two days to ride to Arequipa staying at the Tortorani Inn at Puno on the first night, a great little hotel/hostel for passing through with safe parking for motorbikes as well. The owner has an American truck, very often parked outside.
And what else happened on the way over to Puno.......my Sportster hit 100,000 miles....it was all quite exciting She hit 50,000 on the way to Andorra in 2016 and here she is again, still going strong, just off the shores of Lake Titicaca hitting the 100,000 😀
After that we rode across to Arequipa, returning to the area of Puno staying at another location and visiting Lake Titicaca at a later date.The ride over to Arequipa didn't disappoint, lakes, llamas,alpacas,pink flamingos, then we got to the edge of the city Of course it was extra busy with a stage of the 2019 Dakar Rally being held there. We'd chosen to stay at an old house,Posada El Castillo ,with some of the rooms in the garden. It was perfect, total safe parking for the bikes and only a 10 minute stroll into the center of Arequipa. We also discovered that a couple of competitors from Dakar were staying one night as well. Imagine my surprise when Chris snapped one of them sat on my Sportster 😀😂.
Arequipa is the second largest City in Peru and whilst we based ourselves here for a few days we visited 'Juanita' , the Incan Ice Mummy who is displayed at 'Casa de la Cultura'. Unfortunately you're not allowed to take pictures or videos but don't let that put you off. Dated at being sacrificed around 1450/80 and only discovered in 1995 on Mount Ampato,this ancient Incan Mummy is well worth seeing.We also met up with fellow travellers; Marco Massari Calderone from 'The Journey of Dreams' and Steve and Janette Douglas from 'Tiger 800 RTW' at a bar/cafe called 'Las Gringas'....good food and great laughs. 😊
We'd also discovered that the Dakar rally 2019 was passing by Arequipa and we were hoping to catch a bit of it. Unfortunately it was not to be and despite Marco showing us his cracking shot of a car speeding across the sand,when we ventured out in search we ended up riding over 100 miles out of Arequipa to find them. The only shots we managed to grab were some of the motorcycles coming off a stage in the desert. In hindsight we would have been better staying in Huacachina to access spectator viewing but our time in Peru had been slowly ticking away and we had to get moving if we wanted to see more areas......dam.... I really wanted to catch the trucks....never mind we'll catch it again another time.
No visit to Arequipa is complete without a trip to the Coca Canyon to see the Andean Condors.Lots of ways to get there by driving up yourself, stopping over in one of the villages or booking a trip from Arequipa and having a rest from driving/riding, leaving the organisation to somebody else.At this point we'd opted for the latter and were driven by a small coach ....he,he.....proper tourists.....which included breakfast and lunch, the Colca Canyon ,visits to the local villages and a dip in some thermal pools, dropping you back at your lodgings in Arequipa.For those of you riding/driving up, it's approx 99 miles outside Arequipa. We used 'Peru Adventure Tours'. The cost including the price to enter the Colca Canyon ($25) was $59 per person. The only small extra fee we paid was for the entrance to the thermal pools which was optional and was $5. Obviously drinks and extra food are down to yourselves.Even if you go up on your own you will have to pay the $25 per person entrance fee into the canyon.(It's approx £16 in English pounds).Have a 'quick flick' through the slideshow below.
That's it for Arequipa. Tomorrow we ride back the way we came on the 34A to Puno. This time we're staying just outside the town in a little B and B overlooking the Lake Titicaca called 'Yacht Lago Titicaca'.......don't let the name make you think it's 'posh'......it's not but it's friendly and Family run, safe parking for the motorcycles.....they insisted we parked undercover in a small building.... and perfectly positioned for the ride into Bolivia.
First we have a boat trip on the lake to visit the 'floating Islands.You can book a trip in Puno, the docks are right there with numerous agents selling. The B and B rang up for us and a car came the next day to collect us,dropped us off at the boat and took us back to our lodgings later. It cost us about £84 for the two of us including pick up and drop off,lunch, the reed islands and a visit to Taquile Island.
The floating Islands of Uros once a thriving community of Aymara/Uru peoples has now dwindled down to just a few islands left. Although they still practice their native traditions of hunting,fishing and craftwork, tourism now plays a major role in their survival.Lifestyle on the islands has had to change over the years and simple things like 'normal' toilets are now in place. The islands are made up of 'Totora' reeds, dried out and tied together to form floating pallets, anchored with poles that reach to the bottom of the lake.The 'Totora' reed is also a source of food, the bottom white part called chullo being edible. You can taste some when you visit.
As you can see above the weather was a bit dismal initially. On re boarding our 'tourist' boat, the sun came out on the way to Taquile Island. It's only small 5 x 1 miles but sits at an altitude of around 13000ft above sea level.With around 500 steps on this island and at least 250 to walk before lunch we'd certainly worked up an appetite.Chris had chicken and veg and I had fish and veg. All caught/reared and grown on the island.After lunch we were treated to demonstrations of local dancing .....ha,ha....Chris was chosen to join in and watched natural shampoo being made from the Saqta plant which grows on the island. The locals joke as they wash dirty wool with it......yes it does come clean......that the plant actually helps with grey hair...and baldness.
One thing Tequile is surprisingly famous for is it's Cottage Knitting Industry. Here on the island it's not the women who are expected to be able to knit.....it's the men. The knitting has been recognised by UNESCO.Despite the women not doing much knitting they still spin and dye it and weave 'chumpis' which is the wide belt worn by the locals.Another thing you've probably noticed in the pictures is the hats that the men are wearing. These are significant in the fact that they depict whether or not a man is single depending on the colour of hat he is wearing.
After lunch and our insight into life on Taquile we walked further into the island to the main square. Here you can buy jumpers created from the knitting and wander around or just sit on a wall and enjoy the view,then it's back down to the boat for the return sailing to Puno.
Meanwhile in the 'real' world, the locals were just getting on with their lives whilst 'us tourists' absorbed the beauty of the island, which I nearly forgot to mention, is also home to the National Flower of Peru.....the Cantuta flower.
I know, I know,,,,,,why is there a picture of a gate? 😂 Look closer.....little bit of ingenuity going on there...it's fastened with a flip flop!!!
Tomorrow we leave Peru and I'm actually quite sad as breaking my ankle here has resulted in us living in this beautiful country for just short of six months and meeting some amazing people.
There's still so much to see here.....we'll be back.
Next Stop.........Bolivia......
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