The Deepest Canyon to the Highest Lake

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Well this computer is not the quickest, so all I coud get was one photo uploaded. I will add some more at the next computer I find.

In the meantime, after our adventures in Cusco, we hopped a night bus to Arequipa, which is slighty south east of Cusco. We got there pretty early, had a great breakfast overlooking the Plaza and then found our hostel by about 8:00 a.m. I laid down for a few minutes while Amy organized her stuff and then we woke up and it was 1:00 p.m. Needless to say the night bus was not as good as the one we had going to Cusco. So we peeled ourselves out of bed and headed to a vegetarian restaurant for a buffet, which Amy was thrilled about, I had a good meal but could not manage to drink the beet juice. We then booked a trek down into the Colca Canyon for three days then decided since it was Saturday night we should go out, so we found a great reataurant on top of one of the buildings in the plaza and had some good food and a few drinks.

Meanwhile there was some huge police demonstration going on with almost every police car, van, riot truck and motorcycle parked all around the plaza and all the officers gathered in front of the cathedral. Suddenly every siren on every car went off and they all ran like crazy to their respective vehicles then scattered across the City. We tried asking what it was all about but still have no idea. As soon as they left, a dance and music group that had been parading around the City arrived in the square for some amazing dancing. It was a pretty great night.

The next day we went to an active nunnery that was recently opened to the public to view their religious artifacts, it was a little dry but we saw some beautiful architecture. We then went to a museum devoted to an archeological find on one of the nearby volcanos. They found a young girl who was sacrificed to the volcano to appease the gods back in the Inca times and since it was about 5,000m above sea level she was frozen almost immediately after death. They ended up finding a lot of other bodies on various other volcanoes in the area as well as all the sacrifical bowls, clothing and food. All in all it was actually pretty interesting and informative.

We then found this amazing crepe restaurant that had 100 different varieties of crepes and all sorts of great teas. So we managed to stretch out 4 crepes and lots of tea over a few hours and just sat on the couches and hung out, it was soooo nice.

We were up at the crack of dawn the next day to start our trip into the Colca Canyon. It is the deepest canyon in the world, yes deeper than the Grand Canyon. It was only discovered to be the deepest in about 1980 or so. Apparently the second deepest canyon is right beside it, but we did not get into that one. So our trek took us down 1,200m into the canyon then we stayed in a very, very small village overnight with a great family, then hiked through two other villages the next day and ended at an oasis beside the river in the canyon. It had all these incredible pools fed from a warm spring in the side of the canyon. It was blissfully nice after a hot day of hiking. The next morning we had to climb back out of the canyon, 1,200m up, which was actually higher than the higher ascent we did on the Inca Trail. I being the weakling that I was and still suffering some sore muscles from our first ascent on the Inca Trail elected to ride a mule. Surprisingly that tough little guy got me all the way up with only a few quick breaks. What a trooper.

After stopping at various viewpoints and small villages we ended up in a town called Chivay where we had a quick lunch then jumped on what we thought was a bus to Puno, but ended up being this luxury BMW van with tons of leg room, regular tea stops, bathroom stops and a very informative guide. Also a driver who swore he was taller than me and we even did a back to back at one stop, but I still do not think he was taller. We rode with a couple from Spain who were really amazing and had done so much travelling. We told them their list was not complete if they had not been to Canada, which they had not.

We arrived at our hostel in Puno and pretty much just crashed since it had been a long day and were up early the next morning to head out onto Lake Titicaca which is the highest navigable lake in the world. We took a boat out to Taquile island where we had lunch at this cute little families house and then hiked around the island a bit. It was so beautiful. I think if there was anywhere I would want to try and buy a farm and live like a Peruvian it would be there. Amongst my hiking along the trails to the boat to the next island, I ran into this little kid who was supposed to be watching his sheep but was really just chowing down on this huge package of crackers. I busted him feeding a few to the sheep and he was all smiles. Then he showed me this adorable little black lamb that he let me hold while he tried to take my picture. He was very impressed with my sunglasses so I let him try them on. I gave him a pack of my favourite cookies afterwards, which he was thrilled about, and tore into as soon as I was on my way again. Charming lad.

After Taquile we went to Amantani island where we stayed with a family who fed us and took us to the local hall to dance that night, which was pretty fun since they dressed us up in their local clothing. These thick wool shirts, skirts and a shawl. I was out of breath pretty quick with the layers of wool cloth, the energetic peruvian men and the fact that we were something like 4,000m above sea level so the altitude was getting to me.

The next day we headed out on a boat again for a ride across the lake, the weather was beautiful and so we got some nice views and great photos before we arrived at the famous Uros floating islands. They make these islands out of the roots and stems of the reeds that grow in the lake. They also use them to make houses, boats everything. It was pretty neat. Once back to Puno we grabbed some great food and even better tea at a place called Colors, which was very chill and let us stay there for almost 3 hours slowly eating while we plotted our next few days getting across the border into Bolivia and exploring the Bolivia side of Lake Titicaca.

So it is with sadness and some excitement that we say goodbye to Peru and Hola to Bolivia!

We grabbed an early bus over the border to Copacabana and then did the usual laundry, food, nap, combo. Amy hiked up the nearest hill while I tried to finish my book so I could trade before we head out to the Isla del Sol. The next morning we grabbed a ferry out to the Island and it was incredibly beautiful. Something like a cross between Australia and Greece. I have been to neither, but that is what the general consensus was. In my next blog I am going to add tons of photos and go into more depth about the birthplace of the sun, but until then we are jumping on a bus to La Paz shortly where the internet speed is significantly better (hopefully!).

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Comments

[Dad and Mom]

Keep on keepin' on!
We're glad you girls are doing well and having a fabulous time. Nice to see you're mixing with the people (and their animals!) of the regions you're visiting; that way you don't insulate yourselves from the way the people really live. Keep in touch! Love, Dad and Mom