Colca Canyon is one of the largest canyons in the world. It differs from the Grand Canyon in that there are villages and people that live in the bottom. It is also a lot wider, with a valley... And Im sure has several other awesome features i've forgotten.
Most impressive is that there are villages only accessible by foot or donkey. When hiking we passed through 3 of these hard to access villages and I must admit, every bottle of water, Colca and cracker box looked like a 50 pound pack.
The canyon also showcases some of the most impressive Inca terracing I've seen. There are water channels, some old and out of use, some still functioning. Regardless, the impact on the landscape is still evident and incredible. Why? The fact it is still apparent where these terraces were after over 500 years have passed is epic. Although, I can't help but wonder- what will my generation leave behind? Hopefully something more than a landfill of iPods:)
Back to the Journey:
Arequipa is about 6 hours from Colca Canyon through the " antiplano". I'm not really sure what geographically that meant. Wiki rendered the answer and it is basically a colder, high altitude desert.
To access the canyon you can take colletcivos ( city bus-ish vans) in, or out. Tours offer guided hikes in and " village tours," but tours don't appeal to me or the girls. Because they're both expensive and similar to having a bilingual babysitter.
So we came up with an alternate route! Take the 3 am transport in ( with a tour group, but we only pay a 25 sole transportation cost not 350 soles) then hike to a village and stay there a night, hike down to the bottom basin , maybe stay another night, then hike out at sunrise on day 3.
However, a plan is really just a guideline. Here is what actually occurred:
Day 1:
230 am we are up and packed ready to go! I popped popcorn the night before, we had left over sticky buns for breakfast, hard boiled eggs, lentils, chickpeas, avacado, puts bread and TONS of enthusiasm.
Waiting for our bus at 300 am
... 3:20, got on a transport that wasn't ours. After awkwardly waving goodye to the lucky passengers whose bus showed up we returned to out cement perches on the sidewalk. Meanwhile, numerous people continued stumbling home by us. This is because it was the Sunday after good Friday, which is pretty much just "start drinking at 1 pm and don't stop day."
3:30 angry, tired, frustrated.
3:40 Skype call the place and in exasperated Spanish ask where they are!! Joanna literally said " estamos aqui, donde esta el carro!!?" we're here, where is the car?? Our answer was 5 minutes, which is Peruvian for 15.
3:50 finally get picked up. Not pleased, but least we got picked up??
5am Trying to sleep but it's rocky and I'm a bit car sick.
9 am arrive at Cruz del Condor. Here I saw about 5 GIANT condors fly by every 2 seconds. It was very glorious and my poorly zoomed in photos don't capture the awesomeness of the moment.
10:30 am we start hiking and I start falling. But actually. The trail is basically just gravel downhill that had been trampled by 25 donkeys a day, everyday.
I paid a 70 sole entrance fee and I wo set where does that money go!?! I know it's not into trail maintenance. Moreover despite having a map, NOTHING is marked. Note to Americans: appreciate the NPS.
5:30 and over 1,000 meters up and down, and up again, over 3 cable bridges and encountering some less then helpful locals we arrived at the "Oasis!"
From above it looks like 4 flat pools easily accessible. However it is actually up a mountain with treacherous trails in between.
We found a lovey place with a giant pool and an adobe cabin with mud floor no cell service or electricity. We stayed a day and then hiked out at sunrise the next day.
We caught a bus to Chivay, (one that stops for every cow, alpacas and small village along the way) 4 hrs later ( covering a distance of less than 50 miles) to had lunch in a picturesque mountain town. What's a mountain town without a bull fighting arena? Not Chivay. In addition to serving up Alpaca steaks, coca leaf candy and tons of cultural variety, it also has a stadium dedicated to the " sport" of stabbing an angry bull repeatedly for entertainment. No para mi, gracias.
The rest of the day was spent in a bus, nursing sore muscles. Rather uneventful, until nature had to come calling. About a " media hora" away from Arequipa, I had to pee and bad.
Almost 2 hrs later, thanks to traffic and numerous village stops. I had moved to the front of the bus poised at the ready to jump off. However, there is something about wanting to exit buses that is especially intriguing for Perivians( and Ecuadorians for that matter) even though you may be 5 mins from a destination, and the back of the bus, plane or line- there are 3 things that's must be done:
1. Shuffle all your stuff impatiently
2. Stand up
3. Start pushing, even though there is still 5 minutes left, the bus is still moving and there are 40 people in front of you.
At the front of a mass of antsy people I held my ground trampling over at least 3 elderly people trying to get of front of me. Rather than pee right in the street ( as Pam, Joanna and I see EVERYDAY here.. Yes, gentlemen if you have to go the middle of the sidewalk in front of 20 people enjoying historic downtown is the place to go) I ran.. Okay, limped to relief.
Lesson learned: stop drinking all forms of fluid, dehydration is more comfortable.
Back is Arequipa, a bit sunburned, exhausted, smelly and alive: I'm proud to say it was worth it.
Check the pics out and hopefully you'll agree. More on the Camera that I can't put on the blog, will in a month..I'm sure you'll be on your seat till then ( not really its a chiste.. Joke in Spanish, my new vocab of the week)
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