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Published: December 5th 2006
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El Misti
One of the mountains which looms over Arequipa. Active volcano! On my return trip I would like to climb it. It's been quite some time since I've written a blog. This is wholly the result of my frugality: it costs far too much to download your photos to a CD here. I won't write how much, so that no one who thinks in USD thinks I'm crazy.
So, from Nasca I took an overnight bus to Arequipa. This was my first overnight bus (which are a staple of South American travel, the distances are so vast and trains so non-existent), and all went well. There was one strange incident in which this guy announced that everyone had to get off the bus. When I got up, he said "No, no, not
you." So myself and two other gringos sat alone in the dark, locked in the bus, for about 15 minutes. That was fun.
Arequipa is the second city of Perú. It's known as the White City, due to the predominant use of a local white stone in it's construction. It has the second-best preserved colonial architecture in Perú (after Cusco). There are about 1 million inhabitants.
The city itself has a nice feel to it. The Plaza de Armas is very large and always crowded. There are many, many bootleg
Nuns heart Gardening
From the "Wow, this macro feature on my camera sure is cool" series. bookstores. There were a lot of tourists as well, but it seems someone told all of 'em not to leave the center, because whenever I did I saw almost no other gringos.
There is a huge market area - one whole block is devoted to foodstuffs. I saw two old ladies really seriously arguing over a large octopus. One of them was holding a very large knife, and they almost came to blows - the police had to break it up.
This entire neighborhood is essentially one large market. A strange feature of Peruvian life which has been true of everywhere I've been - the stores are clustered according to type. So, there will be an entire block of children's clothing stores, which may be next to the block of photo developers, which is behind the blocks of print shops. You would think that this would make for a sense of competition, but no. In fact, if one store doesn't have what you're looking for, the owner is likely to run next door to trade for it or borrow it. It seems very laid-back.
In this market neighborhood, I discovered the Block of the Hairdressers. I had to talk the
woman into shaving my head. She kept cutting centimeters off and stopping. "No, no,
all of it!" said I "I promise it will be ok." Which it was, almost. Ever since this haircut, men call me amigo.
Also in Arequipa is the convent of Santa Catarina. This convent is the size of several city blocks, and is actually something of a town in itself. There are still a few nuns who live in one restricted part of it, but the rest is for tourists. I wandered around for hours, just taking photos.
Well, from Arequipa I did what all the tourists do, which is to take a trip to the Colca Canyon. This is the second deepest canyon in the world (the deepest is Cotahuasi canyon, which is another 5-6 hours further from Arequipa).
The canyon is incredibly beautiful. I decided to go on my own, rather than with a tour group, and I think this was sound.
The bus from Arequipa leaves you in the town considered the 'gateway' to the canyon, which is called Chivay. I got a room there (for the same price it costs to burn a cd 😉, and proceeded to walk 7 km to
the next village in the canyon, which is called Yanque. I'm including pictures from the walk. The views were miraculous. At the village, I ate at a little corner stand, where a lovely old fat lady was serving up heaping dishes of something-or-other, and homemade chicha.*see food tangent.
Then I crossed the canyon via footbridge, which was far less terrifying and dangerous than I was hoping, and caught a ride back to Chivay, which made up for the earlier lack of terror. (Young guy driving a station wagon from the 70s, which rattled. He sped over these hugely rutted dirt roads at the edge of the canyon.) That night I went to soak in some 'hot springs'. This was essentially a gigantic hot tub filled with Europeans. Still, it was nice, after the hike and in the rain, and I met Andrés from Lima, with whom I was to have much fun in Cusco.
The next day I was up at 4 am to catch the bus almost all the way to the far end of the canyon, to the Cruz del Condor. The andean condor is the largest flying bird in the world, with an 11 foot wingspan. A
In the Convent
This is pretty much exemplary of the whole place. trip to the Colca Canyon is not complete without a journey to the Cruz to see the "majestic birds rise in the morning thermals." I was the first person here, and for an hour simply enjoyed the view. Then the tour buses arrived. Eventually, there were hundreds of people lined up, simply staring at the mountain opposite. I started to think this was very silly - what exactly were we all thinking was going to happen? I imagined a choreographed flight of dozens of birds, suddenly and amazingly arising from the canyon's depths. Perhaps some Beethoven would begin to play. It would be incredible.
I saw 3 birds, and one of them was assuredly an eagle. Everytime one appeared, we would all go mad, pointing and exclaiming and photographing.
Afterwards I walked - oh, lots of kilometers! - to the last village in the canyon, Cabanaconde. This time I walked with two Norwegians ladies whom I had met at the Cruz del Condor. We were almost there, when we decided to take a 'shortcut'. Some guys working on a road crew said yes of course there's a path. Then they added, ¨don't get lost!¨and all laughed. Thus ensued 2 hours
of climbing across, up, down, around, and through terraced fields, searching for a reasonable path. Finally a local guy found us a directed us to the path (it
did exist. Just a tad hard to find.) He led us to Cabanaconde, pointing out some ancient rock art and explaining a little about the terraced crops on the way.
In Cabanaconde they were having a festival for some saint - well, about 20 people were. Everyone else was either watching or ignoring it.
The Norwegians (Sarah and Elizabeth) and I agreed that the Colca Canyon is an odd place, in a very undefinable way. Elizabeth suggested that everyone was slightly drunk, and this may go part of the way towards explaining the weird, weird vibe. I think it also has to do with how remote it is - I doubt many people from the far-in towns (like Cabanaconde) leave very often.
Well, having done the major sites there and feeling the desire to move on to Cusco, I left the next day. But the Colca Canyon becomes the first entry on the "To Return" list. I would like to come back with serious hiking gear and serious hikers, get a guide,
and spend days in the even-more-remote areas.
Anyone up for it? 😊
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