For the full complement of photos
corresponding to this blog entry, use the following link to the set of photos
in my Flickr pages:
The City
An unmistakable feature of Arequipa
is its volcanic context. From much of the city one can see the peaks of
(volcanoes) Volcánes Chachani and El Misti - the latter having the classic cone
shaped form. Furthermore, many of the buildings, particularly in the historic
centre, are constructed in the volcanic stone, sillar. Sillar has a creamy pale
grey colour with numerous voids – evidence of the explosive nature of its
creation. The sillar stone is responsible for much of the architectural charm
of the city. In case any inhabitants of the city forget that those picturesque
peaks were created by the transient nature of the earth deep below us, it is
rocked by earthquakes at times - sometimes strong enough to do real damage.
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| Arequipa Catherdral in Plaza del Almas |
Unsurprising, the centre point of
the city is the Plaza del Armas (pretty much every Peruvian conurbation I have
visited has a square / plaza by this name). Notable buildings blessed by the
aesthetic charms of sillar are the cathedral, Inglesia de la Compañía, Claustro
de la Compañía and Monasterio Santa Catalina. Many, such as Claustro de la
Compañía, contain courtyards ringed by beautiful columns with artistic features
carved in the sillar. Monasterio Santa Catalina is a walled village within the
city. Its hidden streets were built to give nuns a very quiet and contemplative
life completely isolated from the outside world. The majority of the site is
now open to the public, though walking around it does become rather repetitive
as most of it is comprised of many individual nun´s dwellings which are all
very similar.
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| Reflections in a Cafe Window with
Inglesia de la Compañía Outside
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| Arequipa Catherdral in Plaza del Almas |
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| Claustro de la Compañía |
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| Sillar Columns in Claustro de la Compañía |
Laguna de Salinas
Laguna de Salinas is a salt flat /
lake located at an elevation of 4,250 metres (13,943 feet) - nearly 2,000
metres higher than Arequipa. It is reached via a long winding unpaved mountain
road that interestingly used to be the principal route between the cities of
Arequipa and Puno – fortunately a few days later I could make this journey via
the modern paved alternative!
I was given a tour by a very
friendly local guide, Julio. The laguna is flanked by Volcánes Misti and Pichu Pichu,
which together with the intense blue skies and clear light at such altitudes
provide a spectacular setting. Normally at the end of the dry season, the water
at Laguna de Salinas has evaporated. However, the rains were heavier than usual
during the last wet season, so while I was there the salt was only visible at
the edges. However, the presence of water meant that there were many flamingos
feeding in the shallow lake.
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| The Amazing Colours of the Altiplano at Laguna de Salinas |
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| Volcán Pichu Pichu from Laguna de Salinas |
This was my first taste of the
nature of the altiplano (high plain) that lies on the spine of the Andes from
southern Perú down through Bolivia and into the north of Chile and Argentina.
The environment at Laguna de Salinas provided the slightly other worldly feeling
that I was hoping to experience. The winds and challenging environment at such
altitudes mean that there is no vegetation other than grasses and scrub like
plants; as such it has a desolate air, however, there is much beauty in this
wilderness. The intensity of the blue cast by a sky, which has a greater purity
being that bit closer to the heavens, unifies the tones of the wide colour
palette – from the earthy reds, browns and greys of the volcanoes on the
horizon, to the green-grey water of the laguna and its dusty white borders of
salt.
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| The Salt-Laden Earth at the Edge of Laguna de Salinas |
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| Flamingos Feeding in Laguna de Salinas |
Onwards to La Paz, Bolivia
After over two months in Perú, of
which one month was dedicated to all those mountain ascents in the Cordillera
Blanca, it was about time I headed to my next country, Bolivia. The first leg
of this journey involved the bus climbing up from Arequipa past volcanoes to
the altiplano. The views were splendid with azure skies above earthy yellow
grasslands spreading to views of Volcán Misti in the distance.
After a quick pit-stop in Puno I
changed buses to cross the frontier to Copocabana which is the first Bolivian
town across the border (it is on the shores of Lago Titicaca). The third bus of
my journey then set off to La Paz. Part way through this route it is necessary
to cross a thin section of Lago Titicaca. We were told to get off and make this
crossing separate from the bus in small wooden boats. The reason for our
crossing being on a different vessel to the bus became clear. The bus was
transported on a barge that was so low it looked like the bus was being floated
across on a couple of planks. That all looked rather top-heavy – hence a good
idea for the passengers to be on a vessel with a higher centre of gravity (I
wonder if there are any buses at the bottom of the lake).
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