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Published: October 27th 2011
Arequipa
Main Plaza. Note the volcano in the backgroundThis leg of our journey starts in Arequipa, a town built at the base of a volcano, El Misti, and another one close by. The buildings here are all built of a pretty white stone called sillar. We did what all the tourists do and went to visit Juanita - a 500 year old mummy who was sacrificed at the tender age of 15 by the Inca civilisation to appease the mountain gods (ie volcanoes).
We decided to venture off on our 4th hike of this trip, this time into the very dry and dusty Colca Canyon. Although tourists are encouraged to take a guide, we decided to do it alone, armed with a very rudimentary map (which, we soon found out, had many errors). We set off with tent and food in hand, excited about venturing into the wilderness together! A quick 5 hour bus trip and we were there. We caught good condor sitings en route which all the tourists at the official viewing site missed! After a late breakfast of maca and oats on top of the Canyon, we began our descent. Three hours later, we reached the bottom of the canyon and the first town. We continued
Colca Canyon
Before our first descent into the canyon on, and found another surprise gorge between us and our overnight stop. When we reached the small town of Malata, we thought everyone had been evacuated or was attending a meeting of some sort as there was not a peep to be heard. Later we found out that most of the houses are deserted - people have moved to the city in search for work. We camped on a deserted lawn and used the ablutions of a restaurant for a whopping R11! The camp spot was great, beautiful and peaceful with a beautiful night sky.
The next day we set off on what the locals described as a relatively flat climb to the town of Fure. What is actually was, was a torturous up and down the neverending canyon, with the sun beating down and limited water supply. We went in search of a waterfall, which we couldn´t wait to jump into. Unfortunately, we never got there as we took a turn off too soon (as we feared another unnecessary descent and ascent out of the canyon). We did have our swim though, a little further along the river. That evening, after a further very long hike filled with
Colca Canyon
The semi deserted town of Malata. The main plaza looks like a ghost town. only ups and downs, we arrived at the hot springs of Llahuar, where we jumped in just as the sun was setting. It was nice to enjoy the hot springs by ourselves. After 2 hardboiled eggs and a few crackers, we set off the next morning towards the Oasis. It was another tough day, but over by lunch time, where we jumped into a beautiful blue swimming pool of Eden Campsite, complete with fountains and shady trees. Wow! While trying to catch an afternoon snooze, our bliss was interrupted with a man and a woman arguing. The owner of the campsite and his wife were having a big row, which ended in her wailing and claiming she had been beaten by her husband. It was all rather awkward as we were stuck in the middle to some extent. We decided to listen but not get too involved. She ended up heading up the canyon to the closest police station.
Our final day was quite awful. It started off well, with sightings of more condors. Then started a tough 3 hour hike out of the Canyon. En route, a donkey descending from the mountain managed to kick a rock over the
Colca Canyon
Night sky on our first camping spot edge that hit Phillipa on the shoulder. On top, Marco left his bag with the park ranger, asking him to look after it while he went to help Phillipa with her bag. 10 minutes later, we were both at the top. Marco noticed that his bag had been opened and saw that all the money had been taken out of our wallet. We confronted the ranger, who blamed a man who had ridden past earlier on a donkey. We knew it was the ranger (he had guilty written all over his face). He was prepared to pay half the money back (on behalf of his donkey friend of course), but later paid us all the money (out of the goodness of his heart, I´m sure). You can really trust no one. After all these things, we treated ourselves to a yummy ice cream (Marco reckons it was his best ice cream ever) and caught the bus back to Arequipa.
Today we spent relaxing and recuperating. We treated ourselves to a grease fix last night, eating burgers and chips, topped off with a slice of cheesecake. Tomorrow, we are on the road again, as we head off to Lake Titicaca
Colca Canyon
Local vegetation near the Bolivian border.
Highlight:
The swimming pool at the Oasis!
Lowlight:
The exhaustion of the hike and seeing uphill after uphill!
What we miss most:
Being able to drink water straight from the tap - no chlorine pills!
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