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Published: June 26th 2009
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Tim Version:
* Saw the Colca Canyon, its surrounding snow capped mountains and river way down below, and relaxed in the tranquil little town of Cabanaconde.
* Experienced altitude sickness but also got to see during the bus ride some of the most incredible altiplano scenerey that you could wish for.
The altitude affected version feeling like an old fat man just trying to walk around the hostel huffing and puffing:
The Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world! Well, actually, the second deepest... the other one is, as the lonely planet informs me so is hopefully right, near about 170 metres or so deeper. Unfortunately it is longer and harder to get to, so Cabanaconde will do me.
We arrived in Arequipa at about 8 in the morning and by 8:30 were on another bus to Chivay. Direct buses to Cabanaconde weren't leaving for another few hours so we figured we may as well see Chivay and then get to Cabanaconde in the afternoon. This was to be my first real taste of altitude so I couldn't wait to see if it would affect me or not. While hoping that it didn't I also
had a slight hope out of interest to see how it felt that it would affect me.
Chivay it turns out is actually higher than Cabanaconde, and yes, it did affect me. I only got it in minor form (altiitude sickness) but it was enough to leave me out of breath just walking small distances and my stomach just didn't feel right. The bus journey to Chivay is spectacular up through the altiplano past herds of Llamas and the various other animals that all kinda look like llamas and I can never remember the names of. You get to see beautiful snow capped mountains not all too much higher than where you are, and small flowing streams lined with ice sometimes completely frozen over. There is one particular part when rounding a bend going up a hill where you pass what is a wall of ice that looks like a small but wide frozen waterfall, with the part reaching the road looking like, if looked at in isolation, the end of a glacier. Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos of it as we sped past it in the bus but it was spectacular.
A few hours in
Chivay and we filled our bellies with some local cuisine, slowly walked around the town huffing and puffing due to the altitude, and found a beautiful mirador (view point) up near a cross on a hill to admire the surrounding landscape. While it was warm enough in the sun the air is extremely dry and in the shade it is freezing. Its an interesting kind of atmosphere totally new to me. Early afternoon we were back on another bus to continue on to Cabanaconde but we found that really perhaps we should have got the direct from Arequipa! People started lining up for the bus a good half hour before it arrived, and when it arrived already full we realised why! A whole lot of pushing and shoving and yellings of "Avance!" (meaning advance, move further down the bus) we managed to squeeze into the well and truly overladen bus with barely enough room to breath (although thankfully being taller we had a much better position than the locals who must have been struggling a whole lot more) and off we went to Cabanaconde. No views because we had to be standing up but we got some seats for 1/3
of the journey all after it was dark which was handy as its a pretty bumpy ride so not too comfortable standing up. In town we checked out the two main hotels/hostels and decided on the hostel for a little more socialising and the fact that it had a fire - this altitude is f*ing FREEZING at night!
Day one I spent lazing around all day. The altitude was killing me a bit and walking more than 100m at a time along flat ground was killer enough. Its a good excuse to be lazy but it does get pretty damn irritating knowing that you should be able to do so much more. Day two was better but my stomach was still a bit queezy and walking up hills was still not gonna happen for me just yet. We met an Irish guy in the hostel and the 3 of us wandered around a bit checking out the small quaint town which was nice and tranquil to relax in while not able to do too much. Had a few beers that night and found the rumours of you getting dunk much quicker than normal seem to be absolutely true!
Day 3 I could finally walk almost completely normal, although my pace was still a bit slower than usual but that just made me the same speed as everyone else is normally (I've found Im a very fast walker) so that wasn't a bad thing at all heh. We checked out the local mirador and through a morning and an afternoon got to see half a dozen Condors drifting past, almost never having to flap their wings due to being able to ride the thermals. It certainly makes them a graceful bird to watch in flight and while most were quite small one was very large and it would have been great to see close up! The area stares right down into the Colca Canyon too, with the Oasis almost directly below the town hidden down below. The views are breathtaking all around with snow capped mountains mixed with greener sided areas, with the sun moving the light around with some areas receiving light only in the mornings and others only in the afternoon. There are various other small towns you can see perched on the sides of various surrounding mountains, some in excellent spots but others precariously sitting on
steep slopes that would appear to slide away with the slightest rain fall. I thought about hiking into the canyon as is the done touristy thing here but decided against it as I was really appreciating the view from up top and perferred my own walks in my own time. It was beautiful enough from up the top, with its massive depths down below us and the towering snowy peaks above.
The days are beautiful and warm provided you stay in the sun but the bitterly cold nights were killing me so after a few days I decided I would move on to Cusco. Cabanaconde is a beautiful town and while I didn't do anything in paticular I really appreciated my time there, with the Condor sightings an extra bonus. For Cusco I had to return to Arequipa and I was happy to take the day bus to appreciate the view once again, and it was still as mindblowing to me as the first time. While it isn't an area with the climate I could live in (if its cold I at least have to be able to snowboard) it was awesome to visit and experience and my hat
goes off to those who do live there as I can't see it being the easiest life.
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