The Colca Canyon
Trip Start
Jun 15, 2008
1
24
25
Trip End
Aug 15, 2008
Colca Canyon,
Peru
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The afternoon walk included a little climb (a mere 250m up... pshh). I would like to mention here that there was a pair of competitive french girls in our group who had been missioning it down the hill all morning and clearly thought they were better than us, this was our first chance to prove them wrong. Barbs (despite still feeling a little unwell) and I both beasted it up this little hill leaving them trailing in our dusty wake. Less than 3000m above sea level... too easy.
Not that we are competitive in any way.
We arrived in the afternoon at the Oasis at the bottom of the canyon which has a number of hostel/camp sites for people doing the colca treks and, after a carb loaded dinner slept in a funny little bamboo hut (essentially a non-mosquito proof, non-wind proof tent with beds in it).
The next morning I was woken up at 2.45 by our guide, along with the other walkers (two german girls and Barbs got a īlie inī untill 4 as they were riding up on Mulies, as the german girls called them) to start the 1100m climb back out of the canyon. I really enjoyed the climb, probably purely because it was a climb and gave me a chance to show the french girls what-for, seeing as it was dark and so couldnīt really see much other than the 2m of path in my head torch beam and the occasional pair of eyes in the bushes.
The view from the top at sunrise was amazing though, as was getting back into the warmth for a well earned breakfast in Cabanaconde.
Imo xxx
Argh the french girls! To be honnest, the relationship there didnīt start well after shorter french girl stole one of Brig and Iīs bread rolls at breakfast on the first morning. A serious matter for sure. Bet she regretted that as the excess weight of it in her belly held her back as we zoomed past her on the up hill segment. Mouahahahahaa. I ended up getting a "muley" up the next day, because at the point when our guide was counting muley requests, I was in a bit of a trough (literally as well as metaphorically, we were at the bottom of the canion). The ride was interesting, I donīt really know how muley knew where he was going as it was pitch black and the path was very narrow. I know that mules are traditionally called stuborn but mine was more an "independent thinker", alternately sprinting ahead of the other muleys, then stopping to wait for them to catch up before powering on again. Also, every now and again, he seemed to decide that heīd had enough of this up hill buisness and turn around to start heading back down which sent muley-man, Antonio into a fit of "MULA MULA" and "adelantes" (thats mule speak by the way, im real good at it these days. I think actually, he was maybe a like bit Imo: wanted to make things harder for himself by turning around to climb segments of the path again, and they also have powering ahead and having to wait in common, not to mention my muleyīs ambitious attempts at hops from boulder to boulder.
After a yummy breakfast at the top (where Brig and I kept bread rollīs well guarded from roll-pinching-shorter-french girl) we travelled by bus to a place called "la cruz del condor" where you can watch the enormous 3 meter wing spanned birds swooping around looking for food to snatch. They are really cool: before I had wondered what was so special about them (they are a bit vulture like) but when you see them up close they are really beautiful, and make this amazing wooshing noise when they fly over head. After a respectable amount of oooing and aaaahing the condors, it was back into the bus where Imo and I were kept entertained all the journey back to Arequipa by a DVD of songs and videoīs playing on the bus of woman called "Jaqueline" who can neither dance, sing or change facial expressions. No one else on the bus seemed to find it that entertaining....
Back in Arequipa, courtesy of Brigīs parents, we got to stay in a fancy hotel that we turned up to in full trecking gear where we spent a lovely few hours padding around in hotel dressing gowns and slippers, enjoying amazing hot showers, trying to swim in the freeeeezing swimming pool and generally getting really excited about everything. Lovely.
Thats about it for Arequipa. It was a really nice place to spend some of our last days in Peru and it was starting to feel really familiar just as we were leaving (especially the book exchange shop, which we managed to swap books 3 times in a week, good good!). We had planned on going to Nazca afterwards, but due to some bus issues (to tell a short story in a deservedly short way, we missed the bus because we were sitting around in comfy chairs in the hotel reading) we have ended up coming straight to Lima.
One more blog to go, sure you are all mouring: its like when friends ended (only more streaked with the tragedy of unbearable loss?). love love and bbbb
Penny xxx
