Jake and I had switched hostels the second night in Arequipa as when we first got to our hostel they made us wait till 2 in the arvo to check in even though check in was at 11am. The photos on HostelWorld and the reviews were all good but on arrival we had to ring the buzzer a few times before the guy came down looking like we had just woke him up even though it was supposed to be a 24 hour reception hostel. So while we were waiting we explored the streets of Arequipa and checked out a few hostels. We found a nice place down the road which was cheaper and cleaner and had a more social atmosphere. In the end our first hostel redeemed itself as they upgraded our room to a private double with bathroom and served amazing banana crepes for breakfast. Such a welcome change from the stale bread-rolls and jam served at most other places.
In hindsight we probably should had stayed with the first place as it was a Friday night (running on holiday time we thought it was Wednesday) and there was a big soccer game on. The hostel we stayed at had a small bar and a big-screen
showing sport on it. Peru and Ecuador were facing off and it was Peru's last chance to get entry to next years world cup in Brazil. Now we were all for joining in on the celebrations but we were getting picked up at 3 in the morning to drive to the Colca Canyon to begin our trek. By all the commotions from
downstairs we figured Peru won and we managed to get sporadic sleep throughout the night in between the cheering, and music and general drunkenness. Next time we plan on getting up early I think we will make sure we are not at a hostel with a bar.
Waking up shivering at 5am halfway through our drive to the
Colca canyon I realized why they handed us blankets when we first hopped in. Passing over the mountains there was snow everywhere except for the narrow stretch of road. The driver was being very cautious with his driving as we could only see a few meters in front of us.
showing sport on it. Peru and Ecuador were facing off and it was Peru's last chance to get entry to next years world cup in Brazil. Now we were all for joining in on the celebrations but we were getting picked up at 3 in the morning to drive to the Colca Canyon to begin our trek. By all the commotions from
downstairs we figured Peru won and we managed to get sporadic sleep throughout the night in between the cheering, and music and general drunkenness. Next time we plan on getting up early I think we will make sure we are not at a hostel with a bar.
Waking up shivering at 5am halfway through our drive to the
Colca canyon I realized why they handed us blankets when we first hopped in. Passing over the mountains there was snow everywhere except for the narrow stretch of road. The driver was being very cautious with his driving as we could only see a few meters in front of us.
By about 10am we arrived at the condor viewing point. It didn't take long to spot several of these majestic birds soaring down in the valley below us. They are quite beautiful to watch as they swoop inside the valley then find a spot to just
hover without moving anywhere. Our tour guide informed us that there are only around 22 Andean Condors in the canyon and the tourist tax we paid in entering the valley (70 soles each) is used to help with the conservation of them. Apparently condors don't kill their food as they don't have sharp enough teeth or claws so they wait for something to die and then feed on this. Our guide then went onto tell us that maybe they do kill and eat small animals such as rabbits etc so not too sure what the story really is. Condors are pretty large and in this areath grow to 1.3 meters, have a wingspan of 3 meters and can live to be 70 years old.
hover without moving anywhere. Our tour guide informed us that there are only around 22 Andean Condors in the canyon and the tourist tax we paid in entering the valley (70 soles each) is used to help with the conservation of them. Apparently condors don't kill their food as they don't have sharp enough teeth or claws so they wait for something to die and then feed on this. Our guide then went onto tell us that maybe they do kill and eat small animals such as rabbits etc so not too sure what the story really is. Condors are pretty large and in this areath grow to 1.3 meters, have a wingspan of 3 meters and can live to be 70 years old.
There were six of us in our tour group with our guide Jonathon who had been working the Colca Canyon for the last 10 months with Andean Peru. By chance we ended up with this tour company and am glad we did as Jonathon was brilliant, funny and knowledgeable. He started off telling us more about the condors in the region and how to tell the males and
females apart and then gave us a short safety talk re altitude sickness prior to descending down into the canyon. Having already experienced first hand what altitude sickness can feel like we were only to happy to listen in on his tips.
The walk down was breath-taking as you could see the distinctly different areas from the snowy peaks to the agricultural terraces, the small villages to the dry, steep canyon side to the lush and inviting oasis down by the river. Colca Canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world and is more then twice as deep as the Grand Canyon at its deepest point apparently. It's a pretty long way down. It took three hours to walk from the top to bottom and our knees were all feeling it. There was one short up hill detour as earlier on in the week the locals had tried to clear or widen the path but the dynamite actually blew up part of the path making it unnavigable.
females apart and then gave us a short safety talk re altitude sickness prior to descending down into the canyon. Having already experienced first hand what altitude sickness can feel like we were only to happy to listen in on his tips.
The walk down was breath-taking as you could see the distinctly different areas from the snowy peaks to the agricultural terraces, the small villages to the dry, steep canyon side to the lush and inviting oasis down by the river. Colca Canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world and is more then twice as deep as the Grand Canyon at its deepest point apparently. It's a pretty long way down. It took three hours to walk from the top to bottom and our knees were all feeling it. There was one short up hill detour as earlier on in the week the locals had tried to clear or widen the path but the dynamite actually blew up part of the path making it unnavigable.
After reaching the bottom of the canyon it was only another 20 mins climbing back up and we arrived at our home stay for the night. Our rooms were nothing special with dirt floors but it was a warm bed and after our sleepless night before and journey down I quickly conked out for a siesta. There is not much else to do down the bottom except relax, play some cards and watch the locals fruit pick which is just what Jake and I did. There was an older man who very nimbly scampered up a tree which was hanging dangerously over the side of the cliff with a long drop to the river. He spoke fast Spanish to us which we couldn't understand until he tossed us down a few fruit, broke one open himself and began to eat it. I can not remember the name of it but it was a large, green, bean shaped fruit. Inside smelt like bananas and had a soft, yellow, furry texture with massive seeds that you suck on before spitting out. It was very sweet but after one each Jake and I were not huge fans of it. However the old guy had risked his life further by climbing even higher and was now using a bamboo stick to get the fruit before throwing down some more. We felt a bit rude so quickly said thanks and headed back to the homestay before he gave us any more that we couldn't eat.
The second day started with another great banana and caramel pancake breakfast to fuel us for our walk. As we had opted for the three-day rather then the two day walk it meant we got a nice long sleep in and that the days walk was only a short
10km. There was a small test walk of what we would face the next day where we would walk from 2000 meters above
sea level to 3000 meters. Still feeling a bit shaky in the legs from coming down the hill the day before I wasn't looking forward to hills straight up. In the end it wasn't as bad as we were imagining. The test walk uphill was a short 20 minutes via a zigzag track which I prefer to the monster stairs up Machu Picchu. To top it off once up the track we were greeted by a lovely store owner and some more local fruits to try- tuna and a super sour fruit that looked like kiwi fruit, sancayo. Il stick to the tuna which was sweet and sort of like papaya. The locals use the sancayo to make a very sour drink - the
Colca sour, a slight variation on the pisco sour.
10km. There was a small test walk of what we would face the next day where we would walk from 2000 meters above
sea level to 3000 meters. Still feeling a bit shaky in the legs from coming down the hill the day before I wasn't looking forward to hills straight up. In the end it wasn't as bad as we were imagining. The test walk uphill was a short 20 minutes via a zigzag track which I prefer to the monster stairs up Machu Picchu. To top it off once up the track we were greeted by a lovely store owner and some more local fruits to try- tuna and a super sour fruit that looked like kiwi fruit, sancayo. Il stick to the tuna which was sweet and sort of like papaya. The locals use the sancayo to make a very sour drink - the
Colca sour, a slight variation on the pisco sour.
After our refreshments we continued on at a very relaxed pace with Jonathon pointing out lots of different local fruits, vegetables and plants used in the villages to ward of illness. The leaves of the fig tree is used for prostate cancer and the leaves of the Molle tree are used to make a special tea which is supposed to be a natural abortion medicine. 90% of the community farm for a living and being quite remote all the plants are used for a variety of purposes not just as food although they do grow a wide range of food from avocados and peppers to olives, chilies and oranges. The real earner is this small parasite that grows on a special plant which when squashed spurts a dye. It is used to colour alpaca and llama wool and used to fetch for 300 soles per kilo! A nice income supplement for the farmers. Land is privately owned in the villages by family's not communities so trading with neighbours is common place. It is really interesting looking at the techniques used for there agricultural developments with hundreds of terraces built into the steep canyon sides. Snow melt is then channelled through a series of canals to irrigate their crops. We passed one large set of terraces that had dried up and been abandoned due to the mountain above it no longer receiving any snow..
After a couple of hours of walking through the villages we were finally welcomed by views of lush green bushes, bright flowers and crystal clear pools of the Sangalle Oasis. The timing was perfect with the sun shining for an hour which we spent pool side with a beer and in the hammock reading before the afternoon clouds rolled in. Sangalle does not have power and we needed to get up early to avoid climbing in the heat of the sun so after another amazing dinner we called it quits for an early night. In fact all of our meals ( minus the first breakfast of stale rolls, jam and this weird hot, sweet corn drink) were amazing with the typical 2-3 courses and always starting with beautiful soups. Back home We were never really soup people, but Peru has definitely converted us. We both also loved the delicious lomo saltado (meat, pepper, onion and chips in soy sauce) they cooked for us using Alpaca meat. In Cusco we had tried this but found the meat really chewy but on this trip it was divine.
Up at 5 am and ready to kill ourselves with another day of walking straight up for 5kms, climbing around 1000 meters. The night before Jonathon had given us the option of taking a donkey up for 60 soles each if we thought it would be too hard for us. Even if I had been feeling sick I don't think I would have trusted those donkeys up the steep and narrow path though. It was scary enough having them pass us. The second day we had been looking up and had a moment of oh man what have we got ourselves into. Was glad we started so early as its pitch black apart from the stars and the spots of torch lights swaying up the hill so you can't really see how far you have to go until half way when the sun comes up.
In the end it took us 2.5 hours to walk up and at the top we both thought it was actually easier then Machu Picchu maybe
as we could go slow and steady and weren't in a rush to get up to see the sun rise. All up it was 22km of walking over three days so not far but enough to enjoy our walk and feel like we definitely worked out. On the drive back to Arequipa we stopped in a small town for lunch and hot springs to help soothe the limbs after the climb. We opted out of the springs and enjoyed the sunshine instead but if it had been a cold day I am sure it would have been a lovely way to relax at the end of the walk.
In the end it took us 2.5 hours to walk up and at the top we both thought it was actually easier then Machu Picchu maybe
as we could go slow and steady and weren't in a rush to get up to see the sun rise. All up it was 22km of walking over three days so not far but enough to enjoy our walk and feel like we definitely worked out. On the drive back to Arequipa we stopped in a small town for lunch and hot springs to help soothe the limbs after the climb. We opted out of the springs and enjoyed the sunshine instead but if it had been a cold day I am sure it would have been a lovely way to relax at the end of the walk.
The drive back to Arequipa was pretty long and our driver was not the cautious guy we had on our way there, his driving was bit erratic to say the least. This probably didn't help the people in our van who were feeling quite sick from the altitude having climbed 1000 meters in a few hours and then driving even higher. Passing through the mountains the highest point is 4910 meter and we got out to take some photos. It is crazy how in a space of a few hours we went from being nice and hot to freezing cold. The clouds parted just enough to grab a quick few snaps of the mountains before we all crammed back inside out of the snow. Some of our fellow travellers were really feeling the altitude (and maybe a bit car sick) and looked a lot worse for wear then then Jake ever did, taking a few moments to lose their lunch. Jake and I felt surprisingly good. Hopefully this means when we go to Bolivia, where a lot of places we plan on visiting are at higher altitudes, we will be used to the lack of oxygen and not feel so bad.
Next stop: Bolivian border crossing and Copacabana