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Published: October 12th 2005
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Condor sailing on thermals
This little condor turned up just as we were about to leave We were picked up by our guide from our hostel at 6am on Sunday morning and then caught the public bus to Cabanaconde which was the start point for our ´trek´. The six hour bus journey passed through the suburbs of Arequipa and then through into open plains with grazing Aplacas and Llamas and surrounded by snow capped peaks.
After been introduced to our group consisting of 2 Beligum girls a French couple and a Canadian we were taken to small restaurant at our starting point, we had lunch of Alpaca steak and fresh trout and then started off on the walk down the canyon to our first destination of Tepay.
The walk was a taken at quite a steady pace and took about 3 1/2 hours, our guide pepe was quite knowledgeable about the plants of the area and what the local Shamans used them for. On one occasion the guide when pointing out a plant and telling us it's uses, accidently flicked some liquid from the plant into his eye which was very acidic and can blind so I quickly got my saline from my bag and passed it to him to clean out his eye on
Arequipa Cathederal
Arequipa cathederal with Misty the volcano in the background repacking my bag I stood up and head butted a cactus and now have hundreds of very fine but sharp needles stuck in my forehead, oh and the guide didn't go blind.
The villages in the Canyon are like stepping back in time. There is no electricity and cooking is done on wood fires and there is no vehicular access. Everything required by the village has to be brought down into the Canyon either on foot or by mule. One side of the canyon is dry almost desert and the other which recieves lots of water from the snow capped mountain is quite rich in Farm land and vegetation so the lush side of the canyon seems to have a trade taking fire wood which creates a long trail of mules loaded up being walked up the other side by locals.
Electricity is just being installed to the villages and even the massive wooden poles they are using for installing electricity are having to be carried by the workers up and down each side of the cayon (approx 2000m vertically). It will be an improvement for the residents but it is a real shame as the way of
Arequipa Plaza de Armas
Arequipa Plaza de Armas at night life will be totally changed and the charm of the place will be lost as being served dinner cooked on a electric oven under a florecent light strip won't quite have the same step back in time feeling as one that has been cooked on a wood fire and stone oven served under candle light.
On the second day we went through a couple more villages filled with locals in traditional dress and terraces built into the side of the mountain to reach Sangelle, which is an Oasis on the dry side of the Canyon produced by a warm spring leaving the volcano. Where a few basic huts (made of cane and grass) along with a few swimming pools fed by the spring have been built to house us tourist.
The guide pointed out a plant that grew in the oasis, a large white flower that the shamens used for haluconegenic purposes when processed in a particular way, alteratively you can put it under you pillow and it'll provide you with a really good night sleep filled with lots of weird dreams. So wanting to experience the local way of life a couple of us put this
to the test and we all reported a succesfull night sleep with bizarre dreams.
We were awoke at 2am to walk back up the canyon which took about 3 hours in which we gained an escort to the top (the scabby dog in the photo). All the other girls in the group were extremely impressed with Sue's hiking capabliltities and were asking her if she did a lot of sport back home (those of you that know sue well will know how funny that is) as they were all complaining about aching legs and how difficult it was where Sue was at the front and had very little trouble.
After a quick breakfast it was on to a public bus to go to Cruz Del Condor the observation point to see Condors, these are very impressive birds with a wing span of up to 3 meters, we saw a few from a distance and just before we were called on to the bus one flew just over our heads glideing on the thermals taking a good look at us.
The next stop took us to a small town called Chivay where there are thermal sulphur springs with
Collecting Fuel
A mother and son out collecting wood and dung for fuel very hot water temperatures which they have to cool down with cold water to make it possible to swim in, neither myself or Sue were too bothered by this stop until we got there and could have probably done with a lot longer in there, after lunch it was back on the bus to Arequipa where we had just enough time to buy a few souvenirs collect our bags then it was on to the bus for another 10 hour bus ride to Cusco where we are planning to have a couple of relaxing days before we look at visiting Machu Pichu and treking Choquequirao along with other Inca related tours.
On the bad news front once we got back into Arequipa and a quick check on the internet banking it appears that I've had my card cloned in Venezuela and someones been living the high life at our expense. So I'm in the process of trying to sort out a crime in Venezuela back in the UK while in Peru, but banks being the very helpful organisation they are will surely do there best to make life as easy possible. Won't they?
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Rich
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Looks good!
Looks like a great trip. How do i sign up!! Thanks again for the pictures. I am still trying to track down my luggage although I am told it is now in Lima. All the best in Cusco. Happy trails!