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Published: July 28th 2014
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We arrived in Arequipa from Puno and had a couple of days for catching up with friends and for Gary to watch the football world cup.
One afternoon while Gary was watching football I went to a chocolate making course with Kayla, a friend we met in Sucre. We learnt about the process of making chocolate from 'bean to bar' as they described it, we tried different chocolate from the cheap mass produced type to the high quality dark chocolate and we made our own bars with different filings.
We delayed our Colca Canyon trip by a day so Gary could watch a football match. When we eventually went we were picked up from our hostel at 3am and were driven 3 hours to the Colca Canyon. Luckily enough both Gary and I managed to get some sleep on the bus. The reason for such an early wake up was the Condors, we headed to the Mirador Cruz del Condor to watch these amazing birds take flight. They are only active during the early mornings and late evenings. It was worth the early morning wake up as they were just amazing to watch, I could have sat and watched
them for hours as they flew so close to the lookout point and are so graceful.
After the Condors we drove a short distance to meet our trekking guide and group for the next three days. We only had six of us in our group plus the guide which was great.
We started with a walk down into the canyon to San Juan de Chuccho where we had lunch and spent the afternoon and our first night. The walk down was steep in places and had a rather large drop on one side which people from other groups were not too comfortable with as they were holding onto the walls, leaning away from the drop and had legs that were shaking uncontrollably. Lucky for us we had no problems and in places were able to pass the others.
Our second day began slightly earlier than expected as the group (boys) decided they wanted to arrive at Sangalle el Oasis in time to watch the football. This was fine by me as it gave me more time to enjoy sitting in the sun by the pool reading my book.
The walk included one short steep uphill, lots
of flat and then a final downhill into the oasis. We stopped several times for the guide to explain the uses of different plants in the Canyon including natural dyes and the poisonus plants to avoid.
We had a 4am start on our last day so we could hike up out of the Canyon before the sun came up and it got too hot. The hike was about 6.3km long with the vertical gain being 1km. Gary was the first to the top for day and I managed second, we even passed people that started half an hour before us. We waited at the top as the sun came up and the rest of our group arrived.
We had breakfast in Cabanadonde before being picked up for the drive back to Arequipa. We stopped multiple times for lookout points, lunch and hot pools.
The next day we joined the walking tour in Arequipa however due to a football game (theme developing?) Gary only stayed for part of it. The walking tour included some of the history of Arequipa and some of the sites as well as discussions around some of the souvenirs available and local food to
try including queso helado (cheese ice cream).
One of the highlights of Arequipa was our visit to the Santa Catalina de Siena Convent which was founded in 1579. We had a private guide for an hour and it was great to learn about life in the convent and how it has changed over time. The convent is the size of a city block and is like a citadel the way it is enclosed within the high walls. Girls from diverse backgrounds entered the convent, sometimes having several older sisters was the reason as it was cheaper to put them there than marrying them off. They generally spent the rest of their lives inside serving god, the community and never returning to their homes and families. The private cells within the convent were constructed by the nuns, where they could lead isolated lives, protected from the city by the high walls.
Gary had many world cup football games to watch while we were in Arequipa so on another occasion I went off to do a Peruvian cooking class. The first part of the cooking class was a visit to a local market which included a tasting session of local
fruits such as chirimoya, lucuma, and granadilla which were delicious. We also visited the meat section where all parts of the animals are for sale including the pig fat, trotters and tongue. During the cooking class we made as a starter Soltero Andino, a local salad of quinoa, veggies and cheese, followed by Rocotos Rellenos a traditional dish from the Arequipa area made with a spicy pepper that is stuffed with a tasty mince, topped with cheese before being baked in the oven and served whole with Pastel de Papa which is a type of layered pototo pie. I really enjoyed the class and the food was fantastic, unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to source all the ingredients in NZ so will have to find some suitable substititutes.
Next stop Cusco.
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taracloud
Tara Cloud
Fab blogs!
I love your adventures--a great combination of wild adventure and culture! So many of your hikes--Colca Canyon, Isla del Sol, the Cross mirador in Copacabana--you mention as if they were a stroll in the park, while other bloggers, myself included, exclaim about having accomplished them. I love that you two are so young and buff. I've been living in Arequipa for several months--too bad I didn't discover you until you'd left. Enjoy my beloved Cusco, and happy travels!