For the third night on the trot, Kevin did not sleep well, mostlikely due to the altitude.
After negotiating our way out of the hotel's garage, we headed out of town to Sillustrani, where there are Inca burial towers overlooking a couple of lakes. Still not quite acclimatised we huffed and puffed our way round, took some photos and headed allegedly down hill to Arequipa.
We found our way through Juliaca and then headed down hill. Two hours later we were more that 700m higher than Puno!
On the way back we saw two accidents. The first invloved three lorries and a few hundred crates of beer on the carriageway.
We then crossed altiplano and found ourselves driving through lying snow...unheard of around here.
Eventually we did descend and the pressure off the lungs was almost immediately apparent. Passing the turn off up to Colca the road sweeps down in a series of bends (curvas peligrosas) to the Arequipa plain. Then all of a sudden K noticed a guy apparently asleep by his motorbike. Then K saw his mangled bike. We pulled over and crossed the road. The guy was lying down, but moving. His bike was in a mess having taken out three curve bollards. We asked if he could walk and he said yes. J picked up his luggage strewn along the roadside. He was more concerned that the police did not come along. We offered him a lift to to Arequipa but a minute or so later a pick-up passed that seemed to know the chap and stopped. We explained to them we weren't spanish speakers and they took over. Relieved the chap was all right, we headed on our way.
Back at Arequipa we parked the car but almost immediately noticed fluid dripping from underneath. It did not smell of anything, but we were worried.
A kid from the hire car company came and we told him (in spanish) that this had only just occured. He put his hand underneath and found a pile of snow!
For dinner we went back to El Italiano, which seems to be the best place around and then headed back to our hotel for an early flight to Lima tomorrow.
After negotiating our way out of the hotel's garage, we headed out of town to Sillustrani, where there are Inca burial towers overlooking a couple of lakes. Still not quite acclimatised we huffed and puffed our way round, took some photos and headed allegedly down hill to Arequipa.
We found our way through Juliaca and then headed down hill. Two hours later we were more that 700m higher than Puno!
On the way back we saw two accidents. The first invloved three lorries and a few hundred crates of beer on the carriageway.
We then crossed altiplano and found ourselves driving through lying snow...unheard of around here.
Eventually we did descend and the pressure off the lungs was almost immediately apparent. Passing the turn off up to Colca the road sweeps down in a series of bends (curvas peligrosas) to the Arequipa plain. Then all of a sudden K noticed a guy apparently asleep by his motorbike. Then K saw his mangled bike. We pulled over and crossed the road. The guy was lying down, but moving. His bike was in a mess having taken out three curve bollards. We asked if he could walk and he said yes. J picked up his luggage strewn along the roadside. He was more concerned that the police did not come along. We offered him a lift to to Arequipa but a minute or so later a pick-up passed that seemed to know the chap and stopped. We explained to them we weren't spanish speakers and they took over. Relieved the chap was all right, we headed on our way.
Back at Arequipa we parked the car but almost immediately noticed fluid dripping from underneath. It did not smell of anything, but we were worried.
A kid from the hire car company came and we told him (in spanish) that this had only just occured. He put his hand underneath and found a pile of snow!
For dinner we went back to El Italiano, which seems to be the best place around and then headed back to our hotel for an early flight to Lima tomorrow.
Have a good journey back
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