** PERU - IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF VON DANIKEN **
This is the 4 February 2003 Edition of
this page.
CHAPTER THREE
AREQUIPA'S SURPRISES
20 Jun 2001(Wednesday)
I believe that I heard the 'girls' arrive back at 1.45 am chatting, whereas I bedded EARLY last-night! It'll not be
long until BREAKFAST for them!! Cat-napping overnight, I was still awoken by the early-morning phone-call, as
arranged! After getting up at 3.00am, I made sure that ALL packing was complete, and at 3.20am, took my cases
etc for collection after breakfast.
I'd been eating for 15mins when the 'girls' arrived. RODOLFO turned up at 4.00am and led us to the van, and there
I was seated with my back to the engine, the girls 'facing'. We were on the 20 mile trip to Lima Airport - where
Rodolfo's local knowledge gave us VERY GOOD SERVICE. We are OFF to Arequipa!
The GIRLS and I (they are 30-ish(!!??) waited some time at GATE 12 (most things from the Gates 11,11A,12,
12A go to either CUZCO or AREQUIPA!!). It is a very OVERCROWDED room for only a fraction of the
passengers. Eventually, after a couple of false-alarms, we walked out separately across the Tarmac (completely
littered with planes!) to find our own ones. Mine was 1113, and cones marked the route to get there. When I
got to 1113, a large one, some people were entering by a rear staircase and others by a front staircase!
Being allocated seat number 6F, I decided to enter by the front! RODOLFO had taken my 'wheelies', attached to
my case, and 'checked in' for the THREE of us. This required an extra AIRPORT TAX contribution, - mine being
12.5 sols! I did see the girls enter and get seated somewhere on the aircraft, - but didn't see then until we
disembarked at AREQUIPA. It was a long taxying route at LIMA, the 6.00am departure having its powerful
acceleration at 6.30am..Lima has virtually ZERO rainfall - and we didn't have ANY either!!
This aircraft ia a B737-200 and quickly made it OFF the runway ('upwards' thank goodness!) - leaving Runway33
and heading in a northerly direction. Whilst STILL in clouds, it went into a 180 degrees left turn - as we wanted to go
SOUTH.
Well into the flight, a 'hole' appeared in the clouds, and I thought it would be interesting to look through it - to see
whether there is 'land or sea' on the other side. Neither EXACTLY - as it was a MOUNTAIN PEAK (I suppose
that qualifies as land!!) - and it was sticking through the clouds! As time went by, this 'Mountain Peak' developed
into a 'mountain RANGE' (and very WIDE with it!!). Clouds were in each mountain valley. I trust that the pilot 'has
this on radar'!
The very sharp CLARITY of the sunlit side of these valleys, improved one's confidence and made for STUNNING
views. Later, this clarity was replaced by windy and cloudy conditions - which, still later, became ripply. It was like
looking at a very SANDY beach on a GIGANTIC scale. The shapes were what I well remember on a flat CORNISH
beach as a young boy. The terrain was getting closer (naturally!) during our descent. The SAND RIPPLES were
really MASSIVE .... and it looks as if we are going to LAND on them! Mild panic here!
There were more clouds lower down and, eventually, more surface detail (by man-made markings and farms) - so it
looks as if we WILL be landing on these bumpy mudflats!! Touchdown was at quite a high speed - but application
of the 'retros' restored one's faith in the whole process. Having got out of the aircraft - there was still a HELL OF
A WIND blowing, the girls complaining of the 'cold' whilst I was still sweltering!! (I disagreed about the 'cold' but
admitted that was slightly LESS HOT than earlier.) The LIMA to AREQUIPA distance was about 500 miles. We are
now at our acclimatisation altitude!!
A guy with considerable 'character' approached the three of us (making DISNEY sounds with his voice - his
mouth and face were a 'scream'!) - he was their official baggage-reclaim man (complete with our three
surnames [approximately] on his trolley). Our VERY GOOD SERVICE was going to continue!
It DID - and we were lead to the VAN with another guy, the driver, and a woman who will be our guide and
helper. She said a lot about the weather and VOLCANOES and their frequent activity. She said that the afternoon
VAN-TOUR will start at 2pm and it is sttill only about 8.30am! The VAN mileage from the AREQUIPA
airport to the HOTEL (Maison D'Elise) was only about 12 miles.
Once I had settled-in ( and I had promised to bring tomorrow's air-tickets for 'confirmation' at 2pm [when
our drive starts]) I then started my morning's exploration. It was in FOUR stages:
Exploration No1: Acqquired map and surveyed about a mile.
Exploration No2: Travelling light because of the TOWN landscape, with no binoculars or camera, I eventually
found a TOWN Square with a beatiful set of gardens. I then regretted NOT having the camera with me! Also, there
were lots of 'squares', markets, squares within squares - and a genuinely UNIQUE character.
Exploration No3: This one was a 'Photo expedition' of the hotel's own grounds and the
VOLCANIC scenery surrounding the town. One magnificent RANGE plus the isolated conical peak of EL MISTI at
5822 metres. Before going on No 3, I checked the 'Lonely Planet' guide for our current altitude (this would determine
how slow that I would have to proceed!) - and found that we are at 2325 metres (i.e. 7800 feet) which is our
acclimatisation altitude. Tomorrow's PUNO is at 3830 metres (12,800 ft!).
Exploration No4:This was a small one in the opposite direction, mostly UPHILL,
and will count towards my acclimatisation at 7800ft!
An early thought about the City of Arequipa was that it was a washout. The only GOOD thing about it was the closeness
to EL MISTI for photography.
That impression was from the poorer mid-class part of town! By that time we had spent an inordinate
amount of time at the infuriating CONVENT with "all its religious CRAP". It really was a PAIN!!
Then another TWO churches and their cloisters, with NO visits to the TOWN square (a really fabulous place and
atmosphere), not until sunset could we see the shadowed scene. That was very BAD-PLANNING by our guides.
I left the main church-going group to explore on my OWN!! That's my normal way. Sometimes keeping with the group
has its pleasant surprises - but THIS was an exception! I'd planned to re-meet the group at 5.00pm, at a corner of the
MAIN SQUARE, so I waited for them from 4.55 to 5.50pm. NO ONE!! So I walked back to the hotel in disgust!
[The Main attraction, for me, at the sunset viewing of the main square, was the stark difference between the FULL
sunlit beauty of my morning visit, the different collection of characters who "make this town tick" - and notably the
"pigeon lady" who got the youngsters and others interested in her massive collect of pigeons, encouraging the friendly
handling of the birds. She'd made the place 'come alive' during my morning session, but was nowhere to be seen in
the evening. I took several photographic pictures this morning - but it was far TOO dark this evening!]
After I returned to the hotel, I tried to find out where & when tomorrow's breakfast would be. A French-speaking
member of staff (that's handy if I'm in an emergency!) communicated with me in English AND French and let me know.
21 Jun 2001(Thursday)
After a quiet night, with a few precautionary toilet visits, (its the misnomer of ALTITUDE SICKNESS you know!) I arose
at 6 a.m., here in Arequipe, ready for my Flight to Juliaca and subsequent road trip to Puno and Lake Titicaca. 6am was
the breakfast's "start-time" so I wasn't as prompt as usual! I started writings from that time and gradually got into my
preparations for today's travels before my 7.00am visit to the breakfast room (a well-laid-out restaurant by the pool!).
Being at this 'acclimatisation altitude' for the FIRST DAY, I decided to take things easier than my normal ways! Today,
in fact, my altitude changes from 7800ft to 12800ft - but still within the limit of my doctor's advice. I did some slow
walks around AREQUIPA before my transfer to the airport.
I visited, on foot, the main BEAUTIFUL SQUARE from just before "sunrise on the square's gardens"
passing a flooded
road (due to a burst water main - is this due to a pre-shock in the EarthQuake that was to follow later by a couple of
days??) I took many photos in that 'square' whilst in chats with a PERUVIAN old-man
on the same seat as me. There were photos of many items, in this major photo-session, covering such things as flowers,
birds, fountains, buildings (most of which would be DEMOLISHED by the 'QUAKE in a couple of days time!!) both
inside, around and outside of the 'Square'. After my return the my hotel (the beautiful MAISON d'ELISE), I rested and
then went for two further walks to fill in time. One walk was in the direction of the Volcano called MISTY, whilst the
other was up and down slopes to our nearby river. This would contribute, I hoped, to my 'acclimatisation' in the
ANDES!!
Meanwhile, back at the MAISON d'ELISE, wandering round the garden, I saw my first HUMMING BIRD in the
'wild' - flitting from Cactus to cactus to a nearby tree. What incredible birds they are!!
Later, I completely packed and slowly went down with the cases to RECEPTION where we meet our connection
to the airport. It wasn't 'on-time' (well, this IS Peru!!) - and there was more BAD news about the intended flight
number and its time!
Once at the Airport, there was even WORSE news about the plane! Which one would it be?? What number?
What time?? Our OPTIONS included:
Long delay for a BIG aircraft or
Standby passenger for small aircraft (small delay too?)
The three of us favoured the latter option!! Eventually, our guide said that we COULD go EARLY,
so having paid our 12sols each (Airport Tax!) we went! We were lead to a small gate, with a small
number of similarly confused passengers and temporary standby tickets (un-numbered!). I think
that the 'checker' on the 'gate' was also confused - so she resorted to what they do in a well-known
world-wide TV show and "phoned a friend"! Her 'friend' assigned some seat-numbers for the three of
us - so she wrote these numbers on our individual tickets. I got "11C"!! Was this a window seat?
We then trudged off to the aircraft with our paperwork for a flight in a FOKKER F-28 (with apparently
a capacity of '5 times 12' [i.e 60 passengers]) to take us higher into the ANDES. As we taxied out to
the runway for our take-off at 12.35pm - we approached the runway and used its FULL LENGTH in the
very thin air. We flew through, and dived between clouds very close to volcanic peaks.
Being so much smaller than my usual aircraft, it was 'thrown about' quite a lot on its ascent, cruise and
descent phases! We made several cunning power and yaw adjustments - and that gave us a VERY FAST
landing at JULIACA (only 30 minutes from take-off!). Again, there was lots of clapping when we landed
and slowed down to taxying speed! In the terminal, several guys wanted to 'taxi' us even before we had
collected the luggage!!
There is just ONE reclaim area at JULIACA, and my case came through earlier than those of the 'girls', - and the
PERUVIAN ENSEMBLE of musicians (guitars and pipes etc) made a nice 'warm' friendly welcome. The whole
place was colourfully decorated too! I gave 1sol to the musician with his collecting bag! Our FOKKER F-28
had come about 200 miles on this 'leg'.
The driver and our guide picked us up by showing the RECEPTOUR label- and led us out of the airport. The
friendly guide gave us the 'options' for today's and tomorrow's trips - and we ALL chose the standard
previously programmed version!
We are off to PUNO next.
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