Day 6: Chivay

So, BA finally got their s*** together and located my bag. But in keeping with their crappy performance so far, they would not send my bag to my accommodation, so I had to go collect my bag from the airport in Arequipa. In a comedy of errors the flight delivering my bag was late and the taxi broke down, and subsequently the tour was delayed. Regardless, I got my bag back! Whoop! And we were off...

Bus bound for Chivay, a small town nestled in a valley in the Andes, we'd be climbing to heights of 5,000m to get there. Our local guide, Lucy, introduced us to some home remedies to combat altitude sickness. Firstly, cocoa leaves. 9 or 10 leaves wrapped around a small piece of quinoa ash (for sweetness) popped into the side of the mouth and chewed for 15 minutes would do the trick. It wasn't awful. Makes your mouth really numb though, which is a strange sensation. And it's supposed to give you a kick of caffeine too. Next, she produced a small bottle of yellow liquid. A few drops in the palm of your hands, rub together, cup over your nose and inhale. Condor piss, she said! But the bottle says Agua de Florida, so I think she was joking... (she was - it's just herbs. LOL.) Now, I was feeling fine, but as we climbed, I started to feel pretty breathless and this stuff was the business.

As we passed through the countryside Lucy educated us about Vicuña, Llama and Alpaca. Vicuña, which feature on the Peruvian flag are wild, while Llamas and Alpacas are domesticated. Vicuña were near extinction but have since become protected. It's a criminal offence to kill vicuña, and if you're unlucky enough to hit one on the main road through their habitat, you could wind up in jail for four years! On our journey, we saw a herd of them near the road side, so naturally stopped for a photo op (this is a regular occurrence - did the same thing when we saw a herd of Llama).

We passed through yet more breathtaking landscape, winding around mountain roads when the white peaks of far away mountains came into view. The active, smoking volcano of Sabancaya added to this rich backdrop of green, brown and white.

After a 6 hour road trip (including various stops to flog us llama/alpaca paraphernalia - I think everyone bought a jumper... my weak-willed self included!) we arrived at Chivay. This town of 4,000 inhabitants is approximately 3,600m above sea level. It's a modest town with a traditional market in the centre, surrounded by simple buildings, many with tin roofs, and dirt roads. The locals all wear traditional dress, which is multiple layers of skirts, shawls and hats, all brightly coloured woven fabrics with embroidered detail. The smell of street stalls cooking soups and grilling alpaca meat fill the air. It's a place little touched by modernity.

For lunch, we were taken for a buffet meal, but as we've been eating so much I tried to reign it in my ordering a set menu of traditional food instead. To start, a quinoa (an important local product) salad and for main, fried alpaca meat with rice and potatoes. I was a bit apprehensive, but as has been my general experience with the food here, it was absolutely gorgeous.

After, we'd some free time to check in and relax (I got reacquainted with my bag) before meeting to take a walk around the town and up the hill, to try acclimatise to the altitude. We mooched around the markets a while longer before feeding time, when I got the best soup ever. Seriously! With the food, the Peruvians can do no wrong!

To finish the day there was talk of a few drinks. Finally! Where? The only place... the Irish pub. This TINY town has an Irish pub - but of course!

Accommodation: Casa de Lucila
Weather: hot in the sun; bloody cold in the shade! As day turned to night, it went from toasty to Baltic in an instant! Needless to say, very glad to have my bag and all my stuff back...