Taquile Island of Lake Titicaca part 2

The first, third, and fourth pictures show the agricultural terraces. The last picture is the main town on the island. An interesting fact about this culture: After marriage, the new wife cuts off her hair and weaves it into a belt for her new husband.

Taquile Island of Lake Titicaca

The people of Taquile Island focus on agriculture as a main source of food. Views of the terraces will be more evident in later pictures. The second picuture shows the native people in the vibrant clothing.

Los Uros Islands of Lake Titicaca part 2

Live on the islands has a few luxuries, such as solar-powered T.V. and radio. The last two pictures are from inside one of the homes. Also, they aren´t restricted to the use of boats made from the totora reeds. The boats in the first picture make fishing a lot easier.

Los Uros Islands of Lake Titicaca

I got the chance to visit a couple of distinct cultures on Lake Titicaca. One of those, Los Uros, is an Aymara-speaking community of about 40 islands near the city of Puno. They use floating islands that are made from the roots of the totora plant that are staked to the floor of the lake. Then, the roots are covered with many layers of totora plant. This plant is used for their boats, homes, islands, and fuel.

Peruvian Mountains

I never climbed any of the mountians surrounding Arequipa because the altitude difference between the city level and the tops of the mountains and volcanos is too much but I did find some good views. The piles of rocks near the road are blessings to the mountain gods that the local people have offered.

Agricultural Terraces

Here are a few more pictures of the agricultural terraces I described in an earlier blog. The first two pictures are of a location on the way to the canyon. Be sure to click on the second picture to get a larger view and a better idea of how widespread this agricultural method is used. The third picture, and nominee for the best picture of the whole trip, is of agricultural terraces that go right up to the edge of the canyon face with views of the mountains that shoot up the other side.

Colca Canyon part 2

I was able to sleep in the canyon for two nights, which gave me the opportunity to see both the sunset and sunrise from different points in the canyon. The first picture is how I looked after climbing out of the canyon on the last day. The third and fourth pictures are of one of the villages and the last picture is the view right outside my hostel on the first night.

Colca Canyon

Here is the first batch of my pictures from Colca Canyon (the second deepest canyon in the world). It has a depth of over 3000 meters. To put this in perspective, that is twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. Another interesting fact is that there are a bunch of Quechua speaking villages that live in the canyon. In the second picture it is possible to see the pre-inca agricultural terraces, which were constructed to create the level ground needed to grow food.

Cruz del Condor

On the way to the start of the trail that lead me to the bottom of Colca Canyon, we stopped at a point where condors regularly congregate in the morning. They can reach one meter in height and have a three meter wingspan.

Santa Catalina Monastery part 2

Here are some more pictures from the Santa Catalina Monastery.

Santa Catalina Monastery

One of the most fascinating structures in Arequipa, Peru is the Santa Catalina Monastery. It was founded in 1579 and opened to the public in 1970. Like most of the buildings in Arequipa, it is built from white volcanic stone (abundant in the region). I spent a few hours walking through the huge monastery and learning about the life of a nun 400 years ago.