JUANITA VERSUS THE VOLCANO
Upon the happy couple´s grand return to Arequipa and downgrade to hostel #2 (after slightly pissing off the owners of hostel #1... long story, but basically all Victoria´s fault), they started the day off strong by sleeping in late. Hey, come on... they climbed 1100 consecutive vertical meters yesterday, and only consumed about 3 times the calories needed to do so. This travelling business is hard work.
Three goals for the day:
(1) Go visit Arequipa´s mummy, aka Juanita,
(2) Visit the Arequipa cathedral.
(3) Reconnect with the new friends they made while hiking in the Colca Canyon.
First up, the mummy. Arequipa is located in a dry, high plain about halfway between the mountains and the coast, but the area is dotted with enormous volcanoes (volcanos? where´s Dan Quayle when you need him...) that erupt from time to time. Evidently these eruptions were of some concern and significance to ¨la cultura eeeeeeeeeeeenka¨ (i.e., the Inkas). To keep the deities happy and to keep the volcanoes more or less in line, young children were taken to the top of the volcanoes from time to time, drugged, and clubbed on the head. That makes total sense. Anyway, several grave sites have been found atop nearby volcanoes, and some incredibly preserved artifacts from the sites are on display in Arequipa. The girl-mummy on display, nicknamed Juanita, was only unearthed a few years ago, and, incredibly enough, only hot ash from a nearby eruption melted the ice in which the mummy was preserved. The mummy was found about 50 meters down the mountain from its initial spot, as it had rolled downhill after the melt. Other than some damage from the fall and the resultant 2 weeks of sun exposure, the body is in otherwise perfect condition. Pretty cool stuff, and somewhat gruesome. Victoria was especially impressed that, for her very first time in Peru, someone at a museum explained what the artifacts were and where they were found.
Second, the cathedral. Failure. After planning to visit it literally every day Victoria and Joseph had been in Arequipa, they of course leave it for the last hour of the last day, only to find that it is closed in observance of La Dia de La Juventud. Hmph. Stupid youths. Always ruin everything.
Third, we´d crossed paths a few times with our new friends John and Monika during our Colca Canyon trek, and actually managed to see them
again in Arequipa. Please note that, had it not been for Joseph´s massive stomach tumult at the oasis and the ensuing delay, we would have never reconnected. And -- Joseph writing here -- the stomach cramps and the projectile vomiting were well worth the friendship. John and Monika, if you´re reading this, thank you for hanging out with us, and we´d very much like to be you. There, we said it. We´re not afraid of expressing our emotions. Monika is Czech, John is Australian-of-Czech-origin, they met on a ski lift in Germany (swear to god...), and they are among the coolest people we know. Did we mention that John is a pilot?Next up: Puno, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, then the rest of South America. Stay tuned. It gets better... and a whole lot cheaper (Bolivian exchange rate!!).
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Day 27 - Sun 9.19.10 - EL CÓNDOR PASARÁ
Day 28 - Mon 9.20.10 - EL CÓNDOR PASÓ?
Day 29 - Tues 9.21.10 - DONDE ESTA EL CÓNDOR?
Day 30 - Wed 9.22.10 - CÓNDOR PUTO... QUE PAIS DE MIERDA.
We started our day at the ungodly hour of 2:45. A. M. Why? Somewhat unclear, but we 
were told it was to arrive at Cruz del Condor by 8am, supposedly when the alleged condors presumably ride the purported hot air currents high above the Colca Canyon. No condors were sighted in the making of this 3 day trek. We don´t believe in condors.
We do believe in the Colca Canyon, however, as we saw it up close and personal. It has a unique way of being very steep and very dusty, even as canyons go, but beautiful nonetheless. We spent the first 5 hours traversing the knee-breaking path down the southern face of the canyon, and the next 2 undoing our precious efforts by climbing up the other side. This senseless exercise was repeated on several occasions over the course of the next few days, as we 
thoughtless followed the ebullient Peruvian leprechaun we called our guide. Lest we sound jaded, the canyon terrain was astonishing and well worth the exertion.The first night was spent at the beautiful Llahuar lodge, featuring ¨thermo-medicinal¨ hot springs, slatted bamboo architecture, and its trademark inclined beds. After all, everybody hates having to choose WHEN you get out of bed, no?
The second afternoon featured the oasis at Sangalle... palm trees, swimming pools, hammocks, the works. It was so bucolic that Victoria wished she had an extra day to fully enjoy it. Joseph, ever dutiful, took the initiative in granting her wish by contracting a
hideous intestinal virus, assuring that their vertical ascent up the canyon face would have to wait another 24 hours. Victoria thanked Joseph, as he vomited lovingly all over an unsuspecting cactus.After a day of compulsory rest, we set out at 5am for the 3.5 hour nonstop climb. Breakfast in Cabanaconde was just that good, we heard, so we had to make it there before the freaking sun was visible over the canyon walls. Again, why? Not sure. Between whimpers
and the crunching of trail mix, we managed to appreciate the incredible views and bid farewell to the Cañon del Colca.
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Day 26 - Sat 9.18.10
FAST TIMES IN AREQUIPA
Today was a difficult, yet rewarding, day. ¨Difficult¨ because we did the customary Yom Kippur fast; ¨rewarding¨ because we got to lounge around on the beautiful rooftop terrace at our hostel, read King Lear and Garcia Marques (Joseph and Victoria, respectively) and then break the fast at Chicha, Peruvian celebrity chef Gaston Acurio´s fancy Arequipa restaurant. Besides the obvious contemplative and spiritual significance of fasting, I must say that it was lovely to spend 24 hours without shovelling oodles of fried food into our faces. Our stomachs (and Victoria´s thighs) considered it a welcome respite.
... Too bad that we managed to make up for our good behavior with a ridiculously decadent meal at Chicha. We were wondering where Peru was hiding all the amazing, seasonal, Latin-fusion cuisine that we have been hearing and reading about for months, and today we finally found it. It was tucked away in a colonial courtyard in downtown Arequipa. We got as spiffed-up as we could manage, considering we each have only one pair of jeans and 3 t-shirts to our name, and waltzed into the establishment. We were conspicuously seated in the plastic-table-and-chair-section (understandable, given our backpacker-chic appearance) but luckily, the menu was the same as in the overrated we-have-tablecloths-and-don´t-smell-like-llama section. A pisco sour, maracya mojito, order of sauteed beef spring rolls, pesto bean salad, spiced rack of lamb, osso bucco ravioli and a trio of classic Peruvian desserts later, we rolled back to our hotel feeling fat and sassy - which was quite a feat, since our hotel was uphill from the restaurant.
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