Return from Colca Canyon, Arequipa

Hey everyone

So we are sitting in this cute little hostal called posada del cacique in Arequipa, it has a sun terrace and really friendly owners. Plus we have a private bathroom - bit of a luxury but really nice. We are having a recovery, relaxation and planning day.

http://www.laposadadelcacique.com/

Thanks for all your comments, but please can you put your names in the text as they are all signed anonymous. Obviously mostly we can work it out, if you don´t, and of course we really appreciate them. As you can tell, we can´t upload photos on this computer so we will try at the next place we stay!

So we caught the overnight bus from Cusco to Arequipa and it was an experience but pretty good. We had semi-reclining seats with a company called cruz del sur and they served airport type food (Nina didn´t touch!). We got enough sleep but were still a little out of it when we arrived last monday. We didn´t get up to much,but were finalising the dates of our trip to the colca canyon and did a bit of shopping. Arequipa is much less tourist than cusco and it is nice to cross a street without a child or woman wondering if you want to pose for a photo with a goat or llama, if you want to buy some finger puppets or have a massage (seriously). It is surrounded by volcanic mountains and is a really pretty little town.

So on Tuesday we got picked up by 3.30 am (!!!!) by the tour bus and they took us to Chivay (4 hours away, all spent sleeping) which is a stop for seeing condors. We had ten minutes for brekky which was a stale roll and some tea - not the best start...

Anyway, we went to the top and saw two condors pretty much straight away, which was pretty cool seeing as it is nesting season and we were only there for ten minutes.

Our guide then took us on a bus to cabanaconde for 2 hours and then we had lunch at a little place. They gave us soup and then rice with avocado for Nina and beef and lentils for glenn. We were walking with only one other guy (Miguel) and the guide, so it was a big difference to MP. We basically spent the afternoon walking down the canyon - it took about 3 hours and was pretty hard work. We were carrying our personal items (incl clothes etc) for the three days and it was really hot. The path is steep, dusty and there are mules going up and down, with people in traditional peruvian dress on them. The environment is a bit like the wild west or uma thurman in Kill Bill walking across the desert - dry, dusty, trails and cacti! Our guide kept stopping to explain stuff about the local fauna, flora and people that lived there so we took it pretty easy going. And we got to use Glenns A-level geography when it came to understanding the different rock formations.

Worryingly we knew we had to walk up the canyon again, given our perspective on how deep it was and how long it took to get down.

We stayed at a little place called House of Roy at the bottom of the canyon- which was really nice. Great food, comfy, warm, amenities (so much better than MP) and we basically stayed in our own little huts. There was even a shower, plus dogs and chickens around. Downside - beer cost 10 soles (about triple what it should, but still only 2.50 ish GBP) but it was nice having one under the stars. The guy travelling with us was a peruvian doctor called miguel and was really friendly.

Next day - up at 7-ish (what a luxury) and we spent the morning walking through the canyon. We walked up several ridges and a long a pass to see several settlements and then down the other side to see an óasis´called Sangalle. It is basically a little resort with pools and lush greenery in the middle of the canyon. It really stands out from the top of the canyon as we could see it as we descended. We stayed in a little hut again, but spent most of the day beside the pool after three hours walking, we really needed it. The pool was filled up with the water from the local springs and was lovely (if a bit cold)... Nina spent a good 2 hours swimming as it was so nice).

So a good two days and then the last one...

We had two options - get up at 2.00 (possibly see more condors) or 4.00am (not see condors) - we took the second option (what is it on treks and getting up in the middle of the night?). And then we spend the next 3.5 hours walking up a dry, dusty trail which we couldn´t see for the first hour, on no breakfast. Wow that was fun. It was dark when we started and the moon, stars were really clear - but we didn´t get a chance to appreciate them. We took the slow and steady approach again (well Nina had to, to be fair) and appreciated the difference between the MP trek and this one. The big group and the organised rest stops, plus a positive aim really made a difference on MP; but this was different - it is no fun being at the back of a group of 4 people.... When the sun came up, we could see the trail a lot better and it made a difference when Nina decided to stop and have some breakfast (energy bar) and some coca sweets. With the sun coming up, the shadow was chasing us up the valley and finally caught as near the top at about 7.30 which made it ten times harder. We kept seeing (sensible) tourists coming up on mules which went up quickly- they are the local 4 wheel drives and are really expensive in the area.

Anyway, we got to the top, feeling slightly ill but happy to have made it. Quick walk to cabanaconde for breakfast (glenn had nina´s cos she felt ill) and then trip to chivay again. We then had a quick trip to the natural hot springs - which were really really hot and sulphurous but worth it. They are like the ones in iceland, but without the cold air around it which causes the steam (and are in another continent...). Then rushed back to Chivay to wait for our bus (no real time for lunch) and waited and waited and waited - it was late. Then 4 hour bus ride from hell on minibus with lots of tourists who wanted to take photos of everything (llamas, dogs, chickens, shanty towns....) and we were wedged in to tiny seats - not good for glenn with his long legs or nina with a tummy ache. PLUS the road is awful most of the way, not paved and the minibus just jolts from side to side.

Oh and Nina broke her sunglasses and lost her lame (but useful) hat.

Finally made it back and went straight to bed. Really tired.

Today feeling a lot happier (having had some sleep), glad we did the tour and appreciate that the bus journey is all part of the experience - can´t imagine that will be the worst road we ever go on in south america! Also, learnt to book tours in the place they leave from - we booked this one in cusco and think we paid over the odds. It was still not expensive - but we could have paid less.

Next stop Puno - still in Peru but near lake titicaca on the border with bolivia. So a 5 hour trip on the bus tomorrow (paved road!) and then Puno to see what is there! No real plans just see what Lake Titicaca is like and how we get to bolivia from there (bus again we think).

Here is the wiki for Lake titicaca.. rumoured to be birthplace of the inca empire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Titicaca

We will blog again soon - love to everyone, plus pretty cool that the parents and grandparents are reading the blog too! Impressive!


Nina and Glenn xx