Blogs from Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Peru, South America - page 13

Que tal chicos! So while I’m sure that all of you were watching the Badger game this past Saturday, I was enduring quite a rivalry myself…..between me…..and the deepest canyon in the world, the Colca Canyon. It was quite a tough adventure (and I have lots of blisters and sore muscles to prove it), pero se vale la pena (but it was worth it). Desiree, who is another exchange student from La Catolica, and I left Thursday afternoon from Lima on a 16 hour bus ride to Arequipa. It sounds worse than it was. These are high tech buses with GPS tracking for safety, tv’s, nice reclining chairs, bus attendants, and served meals. My only complaints were the numerous Disney cartoons and movies (Underdog, Cheetah Girls, Goofy), repeating soundtrack of horrible music, and getting told about ... read more

This is probably one of the most memorable and tough experiences Ive had here so far! We descended into the deepest canyon in the world on day one, taking us 4 hours. We reached a tiny village nestled in this canyon called San Juan Chuccho and stayed the night there. It was insane to be sleeping in such a tiny village with a secondary school that has a mere 3 students in what looked like a barn. Rustic was an understatement! It a world away from what Ive been used to my entire life, its strange to think that people actually live here, having to trek for 3 hours at least with mules just to get basic supplies from a slightly bigger village called Cabanaconde. It was a beautiful walk down though and I was eager ... read more

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At the bottom of the world´s second deepest canyon (the first being the neighboring Cotahuasi Canyon) breakfast is nothing more than stale bread and Nescafe. The fact that I´m being served breakfast at all is a bit of an improbability. A few hearty families, spending the better part of a decade, chased the tourist dollar nearly a mile below the canyon´s rim and the agricultural outpost of Cabañaconde. Beyond the stale bread and instant coffee is a range of bamboo shelters, somewhat natural swimming pools, and warm beer. The hike down was nothing short of ridiculous-- one steep switchback after another-- until knees offer their protest. Taking a Spanish class for a week in Arequipa, one would have to be blind to remain unaware of the trekking possibilities in the Colca Canyon. Everywhere you turn vendors ... read more

We spent 1 day in Arequipa and 2 days on a Colca Canyon tour. Arequipa was pretty nice - it helped that the hostal we stayed in was helpful and cozy. The only bad thing was that the shower pressure was low and water was only lukewarm. We took it easy in Arequipa and only visited the Cathedral and Santa Catalina convent. The convent was really pretty ... we took our time walking around the compound taking lots of photos. It was Myra's birthday on the 11th (the day we got into Arequipa) and we celebrated by having a nicer dinner than usual (spending more than US$15). We went to a restaurant over looking the main plaza that served stone cooked alpaca and home made chicha (drink made from corn). The alpaca meat was kind of ... read more