PERU  

It is a tropical rich and pretty country located in South America with sea, coast, mountain and jungle; and with almost all the existing ecosystems in the world.

It offers MACHUPICCHU, the most important Inca city in Cuzco; some of the deepests canyons in the world: COTAHUASI(3500 md) AND COLCA(4100 md) in Arequipa; One of the world misterys: The GIGANTIC LINES OF NAZCA in Ica, between Lima and Arequipa; the highest navigable lake in the world TITICACA in Puno. It is a place of one of the most important discoveries: the LORD OF SIPAN and the most remote origin of the AMAZON RIVER in Arequipa; all well promoted.

HISTORY.-

OLD TIME: Many archaeological remainders exist: 

- People travelled from the mountain's area to the coast shearching food. We found stone instruments, old art and   others there are in the coast valleys for example in Arequipa made between 7000 and 4000 years before J.

- Objects of the noble metals, ceramic and fabrics well decorated and very coloured were found in tombs, close to citadels and temples in the coast  and in the mountain's area; show us the presence of organized civilizations between the 10th century before J until the 10th century after J.: Paracas, Nazca (Ica) Chimu (Lambayeque) and Wari ( central mountain's area ). 

-The important petroglyphes with the whole territory: carved representations of  dancers, animals and geometric standards (between 8th and the 14th century); mummies at the tops of  mountains crowned by snow  for example in Arequipa: the mummy "Juanita", which was sacrificed in a very special way; and  terraces of agriculture in almost all the mountains of the territory like into the valley of Colca (Arequipa) among 8th and the 15th centuries.

-Constructions of very well polished and tight stones in citadels on the mountain's area (Arequipa, Cuzco and on the flat highland), of an advanced architecture and urban organization , on the flat lands and on the top of the high and stiff mountains between 5th and the 15th centuries (Tiahuanaco-Wari and Incas); other modern constructions and almost inaccessible necropolis in the Jungle of North betwwen 10th and the 13th centuries.

All, the chronicles and the scientific studies show the existans of very organized civilizations which lived separated in time and space , togheter only during two times: Wari-tiahuanaco - 5th and the 10th centuries; and the INCA time - 13th and the 15th centuries;

COLONIAL TIME: 

In 1532 Spanish conquerors came and extracted noble metals worked and in brute from Peru to Spain. They made known important products in the world like the potatoe, corn or peppers.  At the same time they taught the Spanish language, the Christianity and other technologies of these times.

In the second half of XVIth century, there was a viceroy in South America : Toledo, one of the more famous to help to organization and development.  He did reductions which meant the creation of the current villages and the current cities in form of the checkerwork, by assembling small different villages which had existed in the INCA time.  Like that, the number of the villages was reducted.

 Between XVIth and the XVIIIth centuries there was a mixture of arts which we can see them in the architecture of colonial churches with their baroques and manierists paintings and so forth. At the same time a mixture of the traditions as the 5000 dances which exist in Peru of which only some of them are promoted.

There were the creation of mansions and finally a large mixture of culture between Spain and South America.

 CONTEMPORARY TIME:

From the decade of the 20s in the XIXth century it began an independent life in Peru with big technological and cultural advances in communication with Europe.

From this epoch, Peru passed by some moments of prosperity and world prestige.  It's important to mention the traditional style from the colonial time was still practiced  as the dances, festivities in all the country and as the work social systems on the mountains' area towns.  In that years, many brillant poets, ideologists and writters appeared.  The art and the arquitecture continued their develope .  It was in the XIXth century.

There were important social and political changes at the beginning of the XXème century, until the decade of the 60s.

 Since the 60s the changes were very fast in the country according to the global movement and after the the 2000 Peru began a new time and takeoff.

AREQUIPA  REGION  

It's a rich region located in South Peru with coast  (the longest in Peru) & the extended mountains' region. 

It has many large, green and hot valleys in the middle of  the desert coast with important archelogic places   like Majes and Ocoña valleys, with good production of rice, fruits, grapes, wine, "pisco".

It has at  the same time very deep valleys in its mountains' area like the canyons of Colca and Cotahuasi. The valley of Cotahuasi was declared National  Reserve of  Landscape because it preserves a large variety of ecosystems between 1000 and 6100 m a s l and there is really a large varieté of resources.

From the arrival of the spanish conquerors, the region's capital: Arequipa city, was always one of the most important cities in South America because it was always an strategic place of communication between the cost and mountains and for REPRESENTING THE HISTORY OF PERU IN ITS COLONIAL EPOCH up to the current days.  The city of eternal blue sky and eternal sunshine almost all the year, warm and dry climate, Arequipa is really an oasis in the middle of one of the driest deserts around the world, between the coast and the chain of mountains; becoming a great, confortable and rich city that being a great irrigation had taken the desert out.

Arequipa city has more than 30 typical dishes ( to describe them would be a large subject ). Some of them:

one soup each day of the week prepared with vegetables, potato, meat, the "chuño"(it's the result of  putting potatoes into water more than two weeks and afterwards in a cold and dry envirement : the result is a dry potato more consistent with white or gray color)

the fried guinea pig (... with a stone over it:"chactado")

"locro"(mush of potato with orange color because it's prepared with not hot red pepper and chest of cow) that is presented  with rice);

the dishes as sort of salads with vegetables, chesse or meat, potato and egg;

the "white soup", that is Sunday's soup, with meat, potatoes, "chuño", yucca, rice, chick-pea, without vegetables.  On holyweek, on sunday, it's prepared with 7 kinds of meat.

In Arequipa it's typical the dishes with beef steak,sheep & pig with rice or potatoe.  Many dishes are presented with salads.

There is a drink, recognized worldwide, the fermented corn drink named "chicha". 

Finally, It has many industries: Gloria milk, Arequipeña beer, Arequipa's steal, Yura cement, south american camelids wool industry. Besides, famous industries of flour, leather, "pisco", anis ("Najar": liquor of 45 per-cent of alcohol), cholcolates(La Ibérica) and softdrinks (like "Kola Escocesa", "Energina" or "Nectarín").

Arequipa is known the Lion of the South, it's known its strong personality , because people since ever have got a  nice and rich city in the middle of the desert.  Arequipa was the place where important artists, scientists, diplomats, poets, writters who were known in the world and peruvian leaders were born.

 CHACHANI VOLCANO(19926 feet-6075msnm) AND TYPICAL LANDSCAPE OF THE CITY (Arequipa:2330msnm)  

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In the south-eastern part of the city there´s a sort of vacation place , one the most quiet, clean and natural, with a good agriculture and good cattle raising since the colonial time; where there are numerous springs of fresh and pure water.  In the colonial time it was just a way, by that, it's a unique street flanked by comfortable houses and there are comfortable houses in the hills that are in the east part.

This photo shows us a Sabandía's view towards the west. The hills would be right, they do not appear.

SABANDIA is full of green fields surrounded by cultivated agriculture steps in the hills from the VIIIth and the XIVth centuries. The local dish is the "pepián": guinea pig with wheat's sweet.

 In Arequipa city there's a special tradition that is not the same in Spain: fights of bulls; born in Arequipa in the XVIII century in which two bulls fight one against each other, people bet for the bull that makes the other one runs...

  The colonial Mill , it's really a small place that was built in 1621 and rebuilt in 1973 that was rented by many people in the colonial time for making the flour for making breads, cakes, and desserts.