Chivay

… not unexpectedly, some street photography from Chivay. It’s a lovely little town and so far being forced to stick around hasn’t been a chore, rather the opposite.. although I am having periods of low morale as the days tick by and I still feel weak and chesty…  But as always when I spend a bit of time in a place the place seems to make time for me. There are some friendly folk around, this morning while out wandering I happened to fall into a conversation with a chap outside his house. He invited me in.. and sitting there was a girl, Sara, I knew as staff from the hostal in Arequipa. The chap I’d been talking to was her dad. She was visiting for the weekend :-) They have some rooms for guests so if I need to stick around past Sunday (the day I’m paid up until) I can go and stay with them. I do hope I can get going again on Sunday however… Still the downtime has been an opportunity to catch up with some work, and of course take a few pictures… but before I post those here’s a recommendation if you’re passing this way. I’ve been eating at a lovely little parilla pretty much every day, tried a few other places but honestly the Qorilazo Grill just a block from the plaza (avenida Siglo XX #215) can’t be beat IMO. I’ve been lucky too, there’s a super Argentine chap, Matias (think that’s the spelling), working there for a bit to fund his continued travels around South America. We’ve had lots to talk about which of course, as a solo traveller, is brilliant.

Chivay. The mural on the right depicts “Juanita, la niña de los hielos”.. the mummified Inca girl found at the summit of the nearby Ampato volcano (6288m). She now resides in a museum in Arequipa. Well worth a visit if in the area, otherwise for a start there’s wikipedia I guess. It is an interesting story. National Geographic made a 20min documentary which is quite moving if you can find it online somewhere. The other mural is, of course, a condor. The Colca Canyon is a well known habitat for this majestic bird.
I love the use of colour in Latin America. It would be nice if town councils, architects, builders, homeowners etc back home could get past their love of the drab.. especially given the short, dreary days of winter. The non-stone exterior parts of my house are painted the brightest, happiest blue I could find :-)
Chivay – colourful
There is a busy little market
Chivay is really just a small village. A lovely plaza surrounded by a small grid of quiet, dusty streets.
Chivay
There is a major paving reconstruction job going on around the plaza, all natural stone, so signs in place for heavy machinery
Chivay.
overhead work…
Chivay
Chivay
Chivay…. I have no idea.
Chivay
Chivay
Chivay
Chivay

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