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Published: June 24th 2008
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AREQUIPA I arrived in the city of Arequipa, Peru (2nd largest city in Peru) on Saturday June 21, 2008. The City of Arequipa is located at 2800 meters of elevation so walking around the first few hours gave me some slight light headedness but I quickly got use to the altitude. This is my first place in South America in which to be in the Andes Mountains. I explored the city on foot walking around the different streets and shops avoiding being hit by the massive amounts of traffic in the city. I arrived at the Plaza de Armas which contained a beautiful Cathedral and beautiful square. The city of Arequipa has some moderness to it but it feels very old world and European especially in its architecture. The people in the city are friendly and there is this great charm to the city. For lunch I head to a small local restaurant where I got Chicharrones de Pollo (Fried Chicken) with rice and potatoes for only 5 soles (2 U.S. dollars). At night there is a vibrant atmosphere to the city with people wandering around shopping and going to restaurants. The Plaza de Armas was lit up beautifully and
it was nice to wander around in the cold night air. I went to sleep and prepared to head out to Colca Canyon.
Colca Canyon On Sunday morning June 22, 2008 I headed out by private tour company to the Colca Canyon. We left Arequipa by mini-bus but before we left the city we stopped at a store to pick up Coca leaf candy to help with Altitude Sickness. We drove around the mountains and climbed in elevation with each mile we traveled. We passed some fabulous mountain scenery and saw more of El Misti Volcano. The highway we took rose in elevation to an impressive height of 4900 meter (over 14,000 feet). Along the way we stopped to view the Vicunas which are a South American Camel and were endangered but they are now protected by Peru. We stopped at a store to drink coca leaf tea mixed with the plant Anis to help with altitude ajustment. At first I thought I was doing just fine with the high altitude with just being a little short of breath and a small headache. We headed further on via the highway which turned into a gravel road to get
to the town of Chivay which is located in the Colca Valley. We had lunch which included alpaca meat but I was not too hungry. We then headed by winding and dangerous mountain roads to our hotel for the night which was located at about 3700 meters. We put our bags up and got ready for hike that would take us over 4000 meters. I started the hike with a headache and a little weak but I thought I could make it. I was dead wrong!!!!! The hike had some beautiful views of the Colca Valley. Half way through the hike I felt horrible and had to turn around. I had a massive headache, I felt feverish, I was weak, I was neausous and then I realized I had gotten the dreaded altitude sickness. I layed down for a few hours but it did not work. We were going to a natural springs to swim around and I managed to drag myself there. The natural hot springs where located outside but the water was hot and felt good but it did not help my altitude sickness. For several hours I felt like I wanted to just die. We went to
dinner but I couldnĀ“t eat a thing. I just devoured copious amounts of Coca leaf tea which seemed to help a tiny bit. We went back to the hotel in the freezing weather and I went straight to bed. I woke up in the morning feeling much better. We headed out to view the Colca Canyon. By the time we arrived at the Colca Canyon I was feeling much better as my body had acclimated to the high altitude. We stopped and got out of the mini-bus to hike along the spectatular Colca Canyon. The size and grandeur of the Canyon was amazing. We hiked until we got to the Condor viewing point. After a short wait the massive condors rose up from the canyon floor and swooped and glided around us. One of the condors got close to the crowd of people and flew over our heads. After this I was back to my 100% self and was over my altitude sickness. We left the Colca Canyon and drove around the valley with the mountains and farming terraces as this was a spectacular place. We finished up in the afternoon and headed back to Arequipa to spend tonight. Tomorrow
June 24, 2008 I fly to Cusco, Peru which is at 3600 meters elevations but this time my body will be ready for the altitude.
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Courtney
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Awesome!
Herb! the pictures you've taken are absolutely beautiful. I have only gotten altitude sickness once, and it sucked! However, I don't think it was quite as bad as you have described. Hope you are having a great time!!!!