From the rooftop of our hostel you can see the sprawling city of Arequipa, Peru's second biggest city, but it is the distant snow capped mountains that are the real show-stopper. Arequipa lies in the shadow of a few large volcanoes which provides a backyard playground for locals and tourists alike with hiking, white-water rafting, mountain biking and horse riding. Tonight I am enjoying a large cervesa in the hammock on our rooftop whilst looking out to Mt Misti.
It is a nice quiet night compared to the night before when there were gale force winds which forced us inside with our drinks. With 100k winds and corrugated iron roofs and roof top balconies it was very noisy and there were a couple of times I was worried how secure the roof was. Even with all the noise I managed to get one of the best sleeps I have had in Peru so far, maybe as a result of living through the Wellington winds most of my life.
It is a nice quiet night compared to the night before when there were gale force winds which forced us inside with our drinks. With 100k winds and corrugated iron roofs and roof top balconies it was very noisy and there were a couple of times I was worried how secure the roof was. Even with all the noise I managed to get one of the best sleeps I have had in Peru so far, maybe as a result of living through the Wellington winds most of my life.
Not knowing much about Arequipa we weren't sure if the strong winds at night was normal but after talking to our hostel and tour guides we realized that they were all probably a bit more scared then us. Everyone we talked to was saying it was very rare and were telling stories about how two trees fell down on the other side of town. Now again maybe it's just the Wellingtonian in me but trees falling down doesn't quite represent a big news story. At any rate the hostel had managed to clean up the roof top balcony and tied the hammocks back up so I could enjoy the view tonight.
Ready and waiting in our sexy rafting attire Earlier today we participated in one of the common tourist activities, white water rafting down the Arequipa River. Only a short 20 minute drive away we got suited up with all the gear as the water is a brisk 5 degrees! We headed another 10 minutes upstream of the city to begin. Although it is pretty close to the city we get out just before the outer suburbs of the city so hopefully the water was pretty clean. I hadn't been white water rafting since high school and it was Jakes first time so by the time we had all our gear on and the guides were pumping up the boats we were getting pretty excited.
We shared our raft with two German girls and our guide Sergio. To begin the first few rapids were grade one where Sergio tested us on our listening skills and we practiced our timing. With only four of us I think we got it sorted pretty quickly and was pretty funny watching one of the larger groups whose paddles seemed to keep hitting each other. They also had a swimmer on the very first rapid which the tour groups photographer managed to get some great shots of. Gradually we paddled down till we got to some swift water ready for some grade 3 and grade 4s. Woohoo what a ride! Us girls were all screaming in exhilaration as we paddled down the grade 3's. Bring on grade 4!!
Loving the grade four rapids Before long our guide was testing us on our commands again as we approached the first grade 4 to make sure our reaction times were quick enough. The calm river quickly turned into fast moving water and we could hear the roaring of the rapids growing louder. 'Paddle, paddle, faster!' Sergio shouted. A massive drop loomed and we were in it. White water everywhere, soaking wet and loving it. Out the other end paddles up congratulating each other we were all on a high ready for our next rapids.
Our guide preferred to be at the front of the pack which was good as we would stop at the end of a rapid, turn around to see the other rafts coming down and watch in amusement as a few people bailed. Our guide also got us to paddle faster to get us ahead and hidden from the other boats coming down the river. Paddles at the ready it was ambush time!! The guides are a bit of fun and they have a pretty sweet job but took good care of us with regular safety checks before we would go down the larger grade 4 rapids.
Our guide preferred to be at the front of the pack which was good as we would stop at the end of a rapid, turn around to see the other rafts coming down and watch in amusement as a few people bailed. Our guide also got us to paddle faster to get us ahead and hidden from the other boats coming down the river. Paddles at the ready it was ambush time!! The guides are a bit of fun and they have a pretty sweet job but took good care of us with regular safety checks before we would go down the larger grade 4 rapids.
Halfway down the river we stopped and pulled the boats up the bank. Pointing to a large rock our guides instructed it was time to jump. Even though we were wet already I wasn't too keen on dunking my head under the icy water. Everyone else was rushing up and in Jakes excitement to get up he accidentally pushed an empty kayak down the river. Luckily one of the support guides was still in his kayak and scrambled to get the ghost kayak before it went too far downstream. We all jumped of the rock for a bit of fun and brrrr it was freezing!! Even Jake, who doesn't normally mind the cold water only jumped once before we hopped back into our boats.
At the end of the run we were ready to drive back up and do it again, maybe tomorrow. 70 soles each or around $27AUD, white water rafting in Arequipa is a cheap and fun thrill.
At the end of the run we were ready to drive back up and do it again, maybe tomorrow. 70 soles each or around $27AUD, white water rafting in Arequipa is a cheap and fun thrill.