Arequi-peng and airline angst

I have done my blog early this week because I am going to Cusco tomorrow to take on Machu Picchu! And obviously THAT needs its own blog post.

At the weekend, I visited some friends in Arequipa which is in the south of Peru.  It was a really beautiful place and the company of the girls was amazing so it was a winning weekend all round.

But great weekends don't always start out so groovy.

My host mum had become my hero the night before after realising that my laptop charger was now officially a hazard after the wires were showing and little red embers were forming in the space.  So, as Peruvians do, she 'knew a guy' who we got on the phone and after sending photos to the man, we were told that he had exactly what I needed, for 250 soles (the equivalent of about £60) Now my previous posts have indicated that money is tight right now but the fact I actually NEEDED my laptop for the next month and a half made this purchase a priority.  We bartered him down to £50 and I walked away a happy lady.  My host mum then saved me again by calling my airline company to check me in so all was dandy - OR SO I THOUGHT!

My flight was on Thursday evening and after a bit of faff I finally got to the airport. Having already checked in, I felt quite relaxed when I entered the airport.  I wanted to put my rucksack in the hold so I went up to the desk and handed over my passport and prepared my bag for its embarking onto the plane. I was then told I had to go to another desk because apparently my flight was full.  Having gone to another desk, I was told that there were 150 passengers and only 120 spaces and so 30 of them would have to get the flight at 5am in the morning.  Now this could have been alright if
1. My friend wasn't also travelling the same night as me and wasn't now standing next to me arguing my case - in Spanish (because as I have discovered, when I am angry, I instantly just speak in English)
2. It wasn't my friends birthday who was in Arequipa
3. We weren't starting a tour the following morning to the Colca Canyon

So after this exchange and their lacking understanding or care for my dilemma,  I was getting very close to buying another ticket for another plane going that night WHEN SUDDENLY some woman I don't know beckons me over and drags me to another part of the airport where there are a few women standing in a circle.  She tells me she can get me a ticket for tonight - she knew a guy (they all seem to 'know a guy') she then tells me it'll cost me $180 and I am like 'I have a ticket I have just been told I can't get on the flight because there isn't a space for me' - These women then tell me what the hell am I waiting for - I have checked in, I have my check in ticket on my phone. They can't stop me from getting on - RUN GO GO GO.  Next thing I know my friend, the woman who tried to sell me an overpriced dodgy ticket and I are running through the airport towards security.  I get through security without a problem and make it to my gate. I say goodbye to my friend and stand in the queue to get on the plane.  But when I get to the front of the queue, I am asked to stand to the side as they search for my ticket - which they obviously didn't have.  By this point I am coming up with excuses as to why I need to get on this flight alongside what will happen if they find out I have got this far against what the company had said to me - I imagined myself being escorted out of the airport by security.  THEN SOMEHOW I am given a ticket with a new seat number and allowed to get on the bus to the plane - I could have cried! Instead I skipped out of the doors with a massive grin on my face.  When I landed in Arequipa, I met my friend with a massive hug and off we went.

We met our VTP friends at the hostel and went straight out to get a cocktail for Ali's birthday.  We listened to some live (but very loud) music and then strolled home as we were up in the morning to begin our tour.  The main part of the tour was seeing the Colca Canyon which is the second biggest canyon in the world.  But we didn't see this until the second day.  The first day consisted of seeing a few volcanoes and markets, seeing a whole group of llamas and going to a hot springs.  I have to admit the highlight was the LLAMAS! They have now become my favourite animal.  In the evening, we had dinner and watched some typical dancing (including someone dressed up as a condor). My friend even got roped into dancing with them. It was a really fun night.

The following morning we were up early to go to the Colca Canyon. On the way there, we stopped off at a viewpoint to take pictures.  AND THERE WAS A LLAMA.  It is common that if you want a picture with the llama, you need to pay a sol or 2.  So I paid my 2 soles and went to stand next to the cute looking animal.  THIS llama was not thrilled by my presence - at all.  It started moving away from my and making noises at me.  The woman holding onto him said it was fine. Now llamas are infamous for spitting at you if they aren't happy.  And as this llama turned its head to look at me, I could see the chewing going on and the look of hatred in his eyes as he tried to spit at me - to which I sprinted away much to everyones amusement.  I tried again to get a picture with him but he already didn't like me so, as seen below I smile from afar to avoid being soggy from llama spit.

The Colca Canyon was amazing!  We got there but couldn't see any Condors at first.  There was one in the distance at one point but blind me could hardly see him.  Suddenly someone went 'There!' as everyone turned around.  There was a mix of gasping, 'oooohs' and fiddling with cameras to take a picture of the gigantic bird coming right towards us.  It was fantastic to see them as apparently there are only 16 of them and sometimes, none of them can be seen.

We ended by going to another little market where there was 'Colca Sours' (Colca canyons version of Pisco Sours), another Alpaca (this one was super lovely and I could hug him without fear of being spat at - although I did get scolded by my friend for spending money on alpaca pictures - I CAN'T HELP IT THEY SO CUTE) and a church which we looked in that had been affected by a large earthquake in Arequipa in 1991.  Earthquakes have actually become quite a topic of conversation for me recently as they occur in La Molina where I live and in Arequipa, if the earthquake was strong enough, it could set off a volcano - and then we would all die.  Cheery isn't it? I sure thought it was when we were told this just before going to bed on the second night.  We headed back to the hostel and spent the night there

with a boogie and cocktails.  On Sunday, we went for pancakes and for a final walk around the streets of Arequipa.  We also went to the monastery and had a little wander around before me and Seonaid headed back to the airport.

When we got there Seonaid (obviously) checked in without hassle.  And when it came for me to check in with my airline, there (obviously) was a problem.  My flight had been delayed by nearly 2 hours. So I ended up not getting home until 2am.  It wasn't the best moment but I eventually made it back to my home and into my bed.

So I had another great weekend and the travelling has taken a brief one-day pause before I am off again!  Lets hope that my flights this time are less traumatic.

Anyway, until next week, Ciao!