Mon. 16th Aug. Back to Cusco & the Sacred Valley

The train back to Cusco and it's Spanish colonial architecture.The following morning, a tour of the Sacred Valley and various sites including the massive Inca fortress of Sacsahuaman.

Place del Armes. Cusco.
Then, next morning, the 36 hour journey back to Brisbane.

Sun 15th Aug. A climb up Huaynu Picchu

A 4.30 am start to get to the gate for the climb up the very pointy Huaynu Picchu.

Against all my better principles I'd given in and bought myself a Peruvian style cap.
The track and stairways were very narrow. This gives no idea of the hundreds of feet of drop to one side.
There were even Inca tunnels to negotiate.
At the summit we were unable to see the ruins below because of the cloud.
A very satisfying climb so time for coffee then lunchime pizza and a jug of sangria.

Fri. 13th Aug. Flight to Cusco. 3,310 m.

To the central Peruvian city of Cusco - centre of the Inca Empire.

At over 10,000 ft people feel the altitude. The chemist shops sell spray cans of oxygen!!!! Clearly no understanding of respiratory physiology.

Thur. 12th Aug. Arequipa.

Last full day of conference. One of the keynote speakers was Dr. John B. West, doyen of respiratory physiology texts. Still going strong at 82!

In the afternoon, a walk around the old convent of Santa Catalina - venue for the conference banquet in the evening.

Great fun at the dinner. I sat with Neeraj and David Hillebrandt. John brought along a fine bottle of 20 year old scotch to celebrate the end of proceedings. Spot of trouble finding my way back to the hotel!

Wed. 11th Aug. To Colca Canyon to see the Condors.

John & myself up at 2.00 am. for the 120 km. bus ride over a 4,900 m. pass to Colca Canyon.
A stop on the way to take the tourist photographs.
At a spot called 'Cruz del Condor' we spent almost an hour watching these birds with their 2 metre wing-span.

Tue. 10th Aug.

The conference was going well. Met up with Neeraj Shah, a medical student from Kings in London who had a poster presentation.

Dropped into a museum in the centre of town to visit Juanita the Ice Maiden. She is a 500 year old Inca mummy whose body was discovered at 5,000 m. on Ampato a nearby volcano in 1995.

Lunch in a French restaurant had been arranged with John McCall my Glaswegian/Canadian/Orthopod friend from the Annapurna trip. We settled in for the afternoon.

By the evening John was accompanying Bryan, the American guitar player, on the harmonica.

Mon. 9th Aug. 1st day of Coference.

Behind Arequipa is a chain of volcanoes, this one is 'El Misti'. Apparently earthquakes are quite common too.

The meeting I attended was the 8th World Congress for High Altitude Medicine & Physiology. A very good scientific programme looking at everything from working at high altitude to cellular function at the molecular level and new research on genetics. Fun if you're into that kind of stuff.

Arequipa was a nice old town with Spanish colonial architecture.

Arequipa. Peru.Sun. 8th Aug.

Arrived in Arequipa after a 30 hour journey.

Very nice hotel called 'Sonesta Posadas del Inca' on the main square in the city, the Plaza de Armas.