Arequipa
and the Colca Canyon
The
cab driver knew the bank we were looking
for. It was a laundry, not a Laundromat but a place
where people take their clothing to be cleaned. They
didnt understand enough English and I didnt
understand enough Spanish to ask all the stupid questions
that were going through my mind right now. It gave
the term money laundering a whole new
meaning.
We
stopped at the bustling café in the pass at
16,000 feet for a coca tea. This was one of the few
places to stop between Arequipa and Colca Canyon so
it was fairly busy. As we sat enjoying our coca tea
once again I was brought to the realization that things
are very different here...I looked across the table
and there with its head in Karens lap was a
small, fluffy, incredibly cute alpaca. He had wandered
in from outside and was now standing beside Karen
hoping that something nice might come his way.
We
finally were allowed to board and things just seemed
to get weirder by the minute. Aerocondor seemed to
be a little more lenient of morons than LAN. First
of all there was a camera crew onboard filming a television
commercial for the airline. These people were very
rude and pushy, butting in front of everyone and generally
being a pain in the ass. Secondly, a couple of women
tried to get off the plane to go and look for someone.
Then an old woman who came onboard in a wheelchair
stood up and walked up the aisle for Christ knows
what. Finally the dozen musicians ran across the tarmac
and boarded the plane. I felt like I was on a rush
hour bus. Its nice to be accommodating but security
was non-existent