After a short stop in La Paz we crossed the boarder again to Peru. We stayed in the probably cleanest city of Peru, Arequipa. As we arrived very late, we were not able to book a tour for the next morning as hoped. So we had a good dinner and went to bed.
Next day we explored the beautiful town and went to the bus terminal, where we tried to book a bus to get to Cabanaconde and the "Colca Canyon". No, this has nothing to do with the birthplace of the world famous secret of Coca Cola. The Colca Canyon is the deepest canyon of the world and a place where you can see condors flying through the air. Somehow all the busses where booked out for the next day with all the different companies available. As we where on a schedule, we decided to go back to town and book a tour which would bring us to the canyon and then have a guide to lead us. After comparing some agencies we went with "Inca Tours". We got a little discount and thought that was a deal. Next morning I set my alarm for 3am so we would be ready at 3.30am for pick up. When we where sitting in front of the door and waiting I thought it would be good to check our itinerary again. Whilst doing so, I realized that pick up was supposed to be between 3am and 3.30am. I started to freak out! We missed our group?! I knew that there was another couple of girls from another hostel on the same tour. I ran the 4 blocks down to the other place. It took me some time to communicate my situation to the overnight security guide at the door. Finally he understood my question, if the girls where here. At that time I also realized, that my alarm was on a different time as I forgot to change it back to Peru time and that it just was 3am. So I left the place again and returned to Chrisy. Now we were relaxed again and waited for the bus. It was 3.30am and no bus. At 4am no bus. Our lady at the hostel started to look puzzled at us. She asked us with which company we booked and said that "Inca Tour" was not reliable with pick ups. Great!! She started to do a couple of calls and eventually reached somebody. It was now over 1 1/2 hrs over the time and we were close to go back to bed and skip the canyon, when the doorbell of the hostel rang. A lady stood outside and told us that there was a mistake and that she would drive us to the bus, which was waiting outside of town. The taxi driver got everything out of the small car. I still don't know what kind of car this is, but the 90% of the cars and most of them are taxis are this type. It was a good 30min ride and luckily there wasn't too much traffic. The mobile of the lady rang a couple of times to ask for our location. She then gave even more pressure to the driver. He had to stop and ask her for money so he was able to fill some gas into the tank.
We finally arrived at the waiting bus, the charge of the taxi must have been a good amount. We where happy to have managed to be still a part of the tour. For the next few hours we slept on the bus. Our first stop was at the "cross of the condor". At this place of the canyon the condors love to show off their big wings and circle around for the tourists. I'm sure they get some extra pay by the Peruvian tourist board.
We only saw one far away and as we didn't have too much time because of the fact that they forgot us this morning, we had to leave after 20min and go to our start of the trail into the canyon. We had a great group of people around us and our guide was fantastic. He took a lot of time to explain a lot of fact from the area and the culture.
The green patch was where we were heading to for the night. It's called "oasis" and we would find out later why. The trail was steep and very dry. The sun was burning down on us and the temperatures were very hot. We had 7hrs of hiking ahead of us. Unfortunately half way down the trail, EJ one girl of the group twisted her knee. She managed to walk into the valley, but our guide hat to organize a mule for her to transport her to the oasis. We had a lunch break in a small village with 26 people. On the menu was lama meat, rice and potatoes.
This church is only used once a year. It is the place for a big fiesta and 200-300 people are coming for this event. Everybody will wear the traditional cloths and the colorful hats.
We proceeded after lunch towards the oasis. Our group got split into two, because of some injuries with another person. The little fitter ones went ahead so that we could enjoy a little sunlight and have the possibility to jump into the pool. On the way we came to a beautiful bridge over the river.
When we finally arrived the "oasis" we were more then happy to take our smelly shoes off, take a quick cold show and jump into this amazing pool. It was build into the nature adjoining to a huge rock. The water was very cold and refreshing and the view like it can't get any better...
We had a good dinner (Spaghetti) and slept in this very basic equipped huts. There was no electricity, but who needs electricity in paradise?
As we had to get up early to be able to be on top of the canyon after a steep 3 hrs hike, we went to bed soon. Next morning, after we were into the trail for already 15min, I realized that I forgot my documents which I hide under the mattress. So I ran down the mountain to retrieve my belongings. The way up was not so easy. I managed to run for a 1/5 of the way. From there onwards my heart was racing with 231 beats per minute, my head was red like a Dutch tomato and my breath was like a dog after a 19km run in 46 degree sunshine. I managed to catch up with the rest of the group soon and was happy that their average speed gave me time to catch my breath again. I'm so happy that it wasn't further up the hill that I remembered my mistake.
We all were very relieved when we arrived on the top. From the 7 people who started the tour by foot, only 3 actually arrived by foot on top again. The other 4 took the mule for the climb from the oasis to our final destination. And I did a couple of extra meters on top of that. I'm sure we gonna have the one or other sore muscle tomorrow! Thanks Nick for joining us on our trip up the hill.
Here is our fantastic guide who kept us going!
In the next town we had a good breakfast and waited for our bus back to Arequipa.
In Peru you can make advertisement for brick stones just the same way like you would do it for car tires or beer. I actually like to see it and don't mind.
On the way back we stopped at the "cross of the Condor" again and this time we already got company shortly before our arrival. 1 adult and 1 younger condor glided majestically through the air and passed by the spectators. I got some beautiful shots with the video camera.
After this experience we went on to our next stop in a small town. There we had the chance to try another version of the famous Pisco Sour: the Colca Sour. It was prepared with Pisco, lime, sugar and cactus fruit and ice. A lot of strong alcohol... There was also a little market where locals offered their handicraft and showcased the local animals.
After visiting a beautiful thermal spring with different temperated pools and a very clean and neat set up, we had an amazing lunch buffet. The quality and variation of the food was incredible. A lot of great salads and different meats were offered. I think we went a couple of times back to the dessert buffet section to ensure we tried everything.
We arrived back in Arequipa late that evening. We had a beer with EJ, Nick and our guide. Thanks for the drinks again! They had some challenges with their tour agency and I hope they managed to sort it out. We also passed by our agency and told them that they were useless and that we were pissed off about the fact that they forgot us. I asked them for a Pisco Sour as reimbursement. They didn't think this was necessary as they didn't do a mistake. My advise now: DON'T BOOK WITH "WASI TOURS" when you are in Arequipa!
But go to Arequipa, it's beautiful!
For more pictures of Arequipa and the Colca Canyon click the link.
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