Not much done but deciding
Trip Start
Apr 09, 2008
1
27
115
Trip End
Apr 19, 2009
Arequipa,
Peru
Monday, June 23, 2008
Number one was fairly easy I went to the post office and asked in faulty Spanish What do I do to send stuff home? They told me where to buy a box and tape and stuff. I filled the box rather thoroughly and returned to the post office. It cost me about 40 pounds which I feel is a good price to lighten my load and get stuff through customs and home. So that stuff is on its way home now, god know when it will arrive but I don't really mind as long as it does.
Cathedral
Two was slightly tougher and took me most of a morning it involved two stages one was information gathering on the options and two was the decision proper. The four choices were a) Carry on as per the origional plan and head to Lima and take my flight on time. This would be easy and cheap. b) Carry on to Lima but add in a flight back to Brazil to do the bits that I missed and now really want to do. This would be expensive about US$600 but again quite easy and fast. c) travel overland to Lima then on to Iquitos and take a boat down the Amazon to MAnaus and Belem in Northern Brazil. This would be an adventure and a half and I had not yet seen any jungle but also risky because the boat can take between 10 and 30 days. If you include stops this could really delay my whole travel plan. d) The option I have chosen is to go south to Santiago then accross the continent and back up to Brazil. This way I still have a bit of an adventure but I can control the time it takes much more. Of course I still have to pay about US$450 to get from Sao Paulo to Lima so it is actually the most expensive route but right now time comes over money.
So that decided I just had to get the tickets which took one whole day more. My friends were heading the same way so I asked them about thier tickets and they had not yet booked so we went back to the agency to find the places on the plane had all gone. I asked about the bus and it would take about 35 hours involve several changes and cost US$200. The plane had been $170 but now it was gone the only other choice was an inderect plane at US$220 or waiting to take a direct plane the next week. I decided to wait and used the time to head to the bus station to double check the bus prices. Something in me refused to believe that the bus could be more. At the bus station I found a direct service it was 30 hours and cos US$110
The most beautiful bank in the world
. I decided the plane was a better option. I had a few good nights out in Arequipa, one involved karaoke in a room full of locals and another in the all in one Restaurant, Pool Hall, Chill Out Bar, Theme Bar, Night Club, a huge complex with everything you could ever need. Just a little pricey. I met some cool people too. The city is clearly tourist focused and parts of it are quite pretty but it cannot compete with the likes of Sucre or Cusco for sheer good looks. I also spent some time in local restaurants which were all really good and varied from the cheap (but not as cheap as Bolivia) to the ridiculesly expensive but still good food. I tried cerviche which is raw fish in a lemon sauce, quite nice but it does taste like a lemon and also guinea pig, called cuy, via a friend that ordered it, it tastes a lot like pork but it is really fatty and not good at all I have to say.
So I had a few days to waste and it seemed the two things to do were white water rafting or a trip to the Colca Canyon. I had been told that it was the wrong time of year to go on the rivers because it was dry season and the water would be low and slow. To be honest this sounded better to me but it was also the same price for 3 hours as two days in the canyon and as I had time to waste I decided to go for the canyon tour.
The morning of the tour I was up well before time despite still not having an alarm clock. I had breakfast and got to reception for 10 to 8 when the bus was due to arrive to collect me. At about 9 I phoned the agency to ask where is the bus. The lady in the agency said I just spoke to the driver he said he was with you now and sorry for theconfusion normally the tour leaves at 8 and I didn't bother to check
Theme pub
. At that moment the door bell went and the driver was outside.The first day involved a lot of driving we saw some llamas and alpacas (I still can't tell the difference!) And some ice falls (like frozen waterfalls) and then some piles of rocks that are supposed to bring good luck. I built one as hig as I could about 7 rocks in total. That afternoon we arrived in a town, I forget the name, for lunch and in the evening went to see a hot spring. It was quite a nice one compared to others I have seen but I didn't feel like swimming so I went for a walk instead. I didn't realise how late it was and about half an hour into my walk it was so dark I couldn't see my feet.
I tried to go back the way I had come but lost the path and ended up walking along by the river, I knew that following the river would take me back to the baths and eventually town. The beach I was walking on got smaller and smaller until I was forced to cross the river walking on stones. I continued on the other side but the stones I was walking on got bigger and bigger until I was climbing and jumping from one to the next. Bare in mind it was still dark and I couldn't see a thing, it was hard to judge the distances and I slipped a couple of times and bashed various parts of my body resulting in bruses the next day
Ice falls
. I found an easy section of walk and was quite happy until one step that I thought was stone was in fact water and I fell in up to my knees, bashing one leg hard. I was now quite scared, I had been walking back towards camp for about half an hour, I couldn't see anything and now I was wet and cold too. Rather than panic I tried to put my mind off the problem by singing. So singing I climbed from rock to rock for maybe 20 mins more when I heard the sounds of activity from the baths ahead. It took me a further 30 mins to get there including a moment when I was hanging onto a rock with one hand with nothing under my feet. When I eventually got to the baths I found the staff tidying up and a taxi waiting to take them into town. I took the taxi and once in town found the guide at my hotel looking for me. He was cross but the staff at the hotel made me soup and brought me a beer (I had to pay for these things but its the thought that counts!) The next day I had to tell this story several times on the way to the Canyon itself. The Canyon is really spectacular but looks like a valley to me. What is the diference? I understand that the grand canyon although smaller is steeper and more impressive. We saw the condors and it is just like in all the pictures they do fly right over your head. I got a few mediocre pictures, enough to prove I was there.
Back in Arequipa I spent my last night in town again (see above) and the next morning I got to the Airport with plenty of time for my flight to Santiago.
