Arequipa & Cañón del Colca

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After our seemingly short overnight bus (always a good thing) from San Pedro de Atacama, we arrived in Arica (Chile), which is located only about 30km from the Peruvian border. Our bus pulled into the station way too early in the mañana, but by the time we arrived at Hostal Sunny Days, our Kiwi host, Ross, already had a yummy breakfast of fruit, oatmeal and yogurt ready for us. Arica, an urban beach “resort”, is a drab city set in a very dull landscape of endless sand, dust and dirt (and of course, litter). While there are surprisingly some tourist attractions in Arica, we decided to spend our day catching up on some sleep, cooking at our cute hostal and running along the beach. All in all, Arica was an enjoyable stop since we were able to escape the tourist scene and simply chill for a day.

Feeling somewhat rested from our mellow day in Arica, we were excited and ready to begin our Peruvian adventures the next day. The best way to cross the border to Peru from Arica is by a “colectivo” (a shared cab). Now, after having been in a bad situation in the past when crossing the Malay-Thai border by cab, I was naturally a bit hesitant. However, after talking to the hostal owner, consulting our LP “bible” and hearing good reports from other fellow backpackers, we felt that it indeed was the best way to cross the border (and Mom, Dad and Brian, don’t worry, it was). Arica (Chile) to Tacna (Peru) was a horribly ugly drive, and things didn’t get much better on the next leg. From Tacna we took a 7-hour day bus to Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city. Picture an endless dusty and desolate landscape, without a single tree in sight, scattered with an incredible amount of trash… the most southern parts of Peru were certainly less than impressive and very impoverished. However, upon arrival into Arequipa, the scenery began to drastically change. Arequipa, a city of 905,000, is set amidst active volcanoes, majestic mountains and high-altitude deserts – some of the wildest terrain in southern Peru. The grand colonial buildings made from sillar (light-colored volcanic rock) made Arequipa a quaint, picturesque and fun city to explore for a few days.

Once in Peru, everything became much more affordable compared to Argentina and especially Chile. Thus far, I’m proud to say that I’ve kept our South American ventures pretty far under our planned budget, so with that in mind, we decided to do Peru a little bit “nicer” if you will. In Arequipa, we spoiled ourselves by staying at La Casa de Melgar, a gorgeous 18th century colonial mansion that was once the home of a wealthy bishop. With its high-arched and brick bedroom ceilings, floral and antiquated courtyards and colonial decorative touches, staying at La Casa de Melgar was like a romantic step back in time.

We arrived in Arequipa in the early evening with just enough time for dinner and a night of relaxation after a long day of travel. After driving through many small and very poor towns that day where Peruvians would swarm our bus at each stop trying to sell anything and everything from chicharrón (fried pork ribs) to cuy chactado (roasted guinea pig) to the fizzy bubble gum flavored Inca Kola, we were both initially suspicious of Peruvian cuisine. We had also heard many unfortunate reports from fellow travellers who got sick from the food in Peru, whether it be from tap-washed fruits/veggies or mystery comida, so upon arrival, we were more on guard than we had been in Chile and Argentina. For dinner, we chose what appeared to be a relatively “safe” option, the Capriccio Cyber Café on a popular pedestrian street. We were both pleasantly surprised to find a lot of fruit and veggie options (most of which either had outer skins or had been peeled, which means they were safe to eat regardless of how they had been washed), fresh fruit juice and overall, really good food. Breakfast the next day at La Casa de Melgar did not disappoint either – deliciously creamy scrambled eggs, good bread (not the stale white kind found in Chile and Argentina), freshly squeezed fruit juices, wholesomely native cereal with yogurt and honey, a wide array of teas and much more. We quickly began to realize that our perception of Peruvian cuisine was way off, and as I’m writing this in New Zealand, I will go ahead and say that the food in Peru was, hands down, the best of South America.

We spent our only full day in Arequipa exploring the historic cobblestone streets lined with grand colonial mansions made from sillar around El Centro. The main plaza, with a backdrop of El Misti (the 19,000+ foot volcano watching over Arequipa), was an entertaining place to both “people watch” and “pigeon watch” while also being hassled to buy “homemade” Jell-O cups (something South Americans oddly seem to love) and other souvenirs of sorts. That day there were also two strikes marching around the city, specifically the main plaza – something about worker’s rights and compensation – which was a good example of how Peru is a very politically charged country. From the moment we crossed into Peru, we saw endless graffiti-strewn walls and rocks boasting a political candidate or movement and were witness to several other strikes, something we rarely saw in either Argentina or Chile. After having a nice lunch of crepes (trout for me, chicken avocado for Eli and a mango to share), wandering around the city and running a few errands, we went back to the lovely La Casa de Melgar to nap and read. For dinner, we decided to splurge a bit at Zig Zag, one of the best restaurants in southern Peru and famous for its stone-grilled meats. Besides the amazingly fresh and delicious food and the great bottle of wine, the best part about the meal was the hilarious paper bib that the waitress put on Eli when he was served his stone-grilled ostrich (if only I had had the camera). If you ever happen to be in Arequipa, Peru, make sure to treat yourself and dine at Zig Zag, it truly was a fantastic restaurant with a great atmosphere. Yum!

The next day we set out to explore Cañón del Colca, one of the world’s deepest canyons at almost 2 miles deep, and second only to its neighboring canyon, Cañón del Cotahuasi, which is about 530 feet deeper. Now, if you’ve ever been to the Grand Canyon, you are probably thinking that a deeper and more “grand” canyon is just not possible… Cañón del Colca is a very different type of canyon, without the iconic and striking “Grand Canyon” feel to it, but it is still stunning and beautiful in its own way. We left Arequipa on what we thought to be a mostly direct 6-hour bus to Cabanaconde, a small town that is a good base to explore Cañón del Colca. We were told that the bus would stop briefly in Chivay along the way, another small town at the head of the canyon, but were not told that the bus would not continue on to Cabanaconde as our ticket said in a seemingly straight-forward manner. On a side note, I must mention that we found travel to be somewhat difficult in Peru as there is a complete lack of customer service (unless you go with Cruz del Sur, LAN or another reputable company) and it is next to impossible to get a clear explanation of why things are operating in the odd and inefficient manner that they are. So, we arrived in Chivay early in the afternoon, and after not being told to collect our backpacks (which almost rode back to Arequipa without us) or what was going on, we found out that our bus indeed did not continue on to Cabanconde, but that another one should come in about 45 minutes. Three hours later, we were still standing outside of the bus station in the cold drizzle, along with a few other tourists, but mainly with a lot of locals wearing festive and traditional clothing. We found it quite odd that the locals were forming a line outside in the rain and mud when they could have simply been waiting patiently under the overhang where we were standing, but then, when a bus finally did arrive, we found out why that was. Stampede! As the bus pulled into the station, everyone in line starting pushing towards the front, anyone not in line darted madly into the mass of people, old women were being shoved so hard they were falling into mud puddles… it truly was a stampede! People could barely exit the bus before there was a mad stampede onto the bus. It was quite the ludicrous spectacle to witness. Now, you are probably wondering where Eli and I were during all of this insanity. Since the bus that pulled into the station was not the company we had already purchased the tickets from, we were still standing under the overhang and simply taking it all in. Someone had said that there would be another bus, but then we had also heard rumor that the “stampede bus” was the last one of the day. Not knowing what to do and being the only people left at the station once the stampede had moved onto the now incredibly over-packed bus, we walked towards the bus to see what our options were, only to find out that we would be lucky to share half of a step, along with our backpacks. Lucky for us, just as we were about to take that half step, our bus pulled into the station and we were at the front of the next and much smaller stampede as people ran off the first bus and onto the next. Our bus was also over-crowded, but we had the seats we had purchased and we eventually made it to Cabanaconde, unfortunately in the dark, but made it nonetheless. Upon arrival at Pachamama Hostel, we found out that there had been a religious festival in Chivay that day, which is why there was such a mad rush to get on the evening buses (if people did not make the bus, they would be walking for hours in the dark and cold). Pachamama (which means “Mother Earth”) was a warm, welcoming and fun hostel to arrive to after such an exhausting day of travel. After the best pisco sour of our trip, a delicious wood-fired pizza and avocado and tomato salad, we called it a night. Whew, what an unexpected and crazy journey!

With only one full day in the magnificent Cañón del Colca, we decided the best way to see the canyon itself would be to hike to the bottom of it. From Cabanaconde, we started our 3,500 foot decent to Sangalle, which is deemed the canyon’s paradise, complete with cute cabañas and refreshing pools. The hike started out amidst rows of maize and quinoa growing on ancient Inca terraces and with a backdrop of the massive and snow-capped Andean peaks… pristinely gorgeous! Once through the history-laden terraces, the path led to the edge of the canyon wall (not quite as dramatic as the Grand Canyon) where we could literally see our destination, 3,500 feet below us! The trail itself was only about 2 miles long, but obviously very, very steep. The views were stunning and the tiny towns dotting the canyon hillside made the hike especially interesting. There were about 3 or 4 towns on the other side of the canyon, which meant that they were accessible only by the very path we were hiking down, and then by another very steep path leading up to the villages on the other side. It truly was amazing to see how some Peruvians still live in a very traditional and isolated manner. After our steep descent and with our bad knees needing a break, we enjoyed a refreshing swim and some local flavor with an authentic Peruvian lunch, complete with a beer to share. The hike back to Cabanaconde seemed quite daunting, especially after a nice lunch, a beer and a relaxing swim, but we surprised ourselves with a time of only 2 hours on the uphill jaunt (it normally takes people anywhere between 3.5 to 5 hours to make the uphill journey from Sangalle). Feeling pretty good about our fantastic hike that day, we enjoyed another delicious pisco sour and wood-fired pizza at our adorable little hostel, Pachamama.

The next day we caught the morning bus back to Arequipa, this time with a little less drama than before, but still some drama nonetheless. Upon leaving Cabanaconde, our bus driver stopped in the middle of the street and was handed a liter of beer for the drive (although, we did see him only drink one small glass at least) – very reassuring as you can imagine – and then there were of course all kinds of people falling into our seats as the bus made the winding journey back to Chivay. The drive itself was incredible as the road followed the edge of the canyon and wound through small and traditional towns along the way. We were very happy and quite relieved when we safely arrived back to Arequipa and could return to our little oasis at La Casa de Melgar for the night. We treated ourselves to another fantastic dinner at Zig Zag and called it a night since we had an early bus to catch to Puno, a town located on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Eli will pick up with that blog, hopefully sooner rather than later. Thanks for your patience, we know it’s been a little while since our last blog post, but it turns out that New Zealand is about 10-15 years behind the States when it comes to Internet – it’s never free (and quite expensive at that) and the connection is horribly slow. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s, and until next time, we’ll miss you ‘heaps’ as the Kiwis would say.

‘Sweet As’ (‘It’s all good’ as an American would say)...
e squared everywhere (written by Erin)

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Photos

La Casa de Melgar
Our lovely and romantic hotel in Arequipa.

Gardens
The interior courtyard gardens at La Casa de Melgar.

Plaza
The main plaza in Arequipa.

People & Pigeons
People-watching and pigeon-watching was a great source of entertainment in Arequipa's Plaza.

Pigeon-Mania
The lady feeding these pigeons proceeded to pick up and hold one of them.

Arequipa Street Art
I love street art! We bought a great painting from this vendor in Arequipa.

Cabanaconde Mules
Mules are still used in Peru, these are walking around the main plaza in Cabandaconde on the edge of the Canon del Colca.

Ancient Terraces
These ancient Inca terraces are still used to grow quinoa and maize.

Eli & Quinoa/Maize
Walking through the quinoa/maize crops on our way to the bottom of the canyon.

Terraces & Canon del Colca
The ancient and still utilized terraces with the Canon del Colca mountains in the background.

Canon del Colca
Not quite the Grand Canyon, but still stunning and cool!

Erin & Colca
Behind me and on the other side of the canyon are tiny, isolated and traditional towns that still exist today.

Sangalle
The "paradise" we found at the bottom of the canyon. Cool, but touristy and not exactly the authentic experience we were hoping for.

Sangalle Pools
Relaxing a little before the massive 3,500 foot ascent out of the canyon.

Comments

[Helen Dombalis]

quinoa
i've been eating tons of quinoa lately...it's so neat seeing how it grows!