COLCA CANYON...now with pictures!

I tried to go to Colca Canyon alone on a “tour,” to hike for a couple days in nature in semi-solitude. I had visited a few travel agencies during the weeks prior so I k new the average cost and the many similar details between all the companies. So, in my mind, I had done my homework. The day before I wanted to leave, I entered an agency and signed up to get a ride the next morning, leaving at 0330, which is standard. Even though I was staying at a house, not a hotel, they said they’d pick me up between 0300 and 0330. I paid, got my receipt and information, and left. An hour or so later, the lady called me to say she’d spoken to the driver and my house was too far out, and I needed to be at the office at 0330. I argued a bit, but she held her ground and I figured…whatever (NOTE: now that I have been robbed, I will never agree to this sort of thing again, so I learned something…yeah :). I didn’t want to lose my money and it’s so much harder to understand Spanish on the phone than in person, so…I agreed.

0322: I exit my taxi and sit on the step in front of the office. Dark, cold, streets deserted except for a drunken crowd on the corner. Some bars are lit in the distance and I realize, “I’m an idiot.”

0330 comes and goes, as does 0345 and 0400: I am livid. I have the girl’s number who called me, but no credit on my phone to call her, only to receive calls. I can call people in my network for free, though, so I try both Jared and Rachael, who also have no credit. I’m out of luck.

0410: I catch a cab home. I have lost HOURS of sleep, paid for 2 taxis in the middle of the night (which always costs more) and I have sat in a dangerous spot alone for nearly an hour in the middle of the night. GRRRR!!!

The next day I return to the office to be told the driver was there at 0330 and waited 30 minutes for me. HA! I argued and wanted my money back. Instead they agreed to give me a longer trip the next weekend for no additional fees, but a refund was impossible. FINE. What else could I do?

Well, the administrator at the language school was livid when Jared told her about it. After many angry phone calls to the agency, she sent Roy (my teacher) and I to the “tourist police.” A crew of 3 police women, Roy and I marched into the agency. There sat the smug woman who called me a liar. I strained to catch all the arguing for awhile, but eventually just let Roy translate for me (angry people tend to speak faster, and even more so when you’re defensive like that chick). The police threatened an investigation, checking licenses and auditing the agency…and there was the cash in my hand…HA!

So the next weekend Jared, Rachael, and I used a company the school was familiar with (aka: LEGIT) and we had our own guide, Juan Carlos (JC). Leaving in the afternoon we took a local bus to the canyon, 6-7 hours. Here are some views during the drive:



By the time we reached Cabanaconde the bus held 3 times the people as there were seats and it was dark. In this photo you will see a line of people outside the bus, ALL of which boarded the bus. At the point this picture was taken, there were no more seats available and people were already standing. Can we say CROWDED?!?


I was practically on Rachael’s lap but didn’t mind one bit because the views were incredible! Once again, the pictures seem so lame compared to what my eyes beheld. On a ridge above the canyon I watched the sun set to the soundtrack of Snow Patrol, the colors and shadows reflecting off and around the river and mountains. Breathtaking. Here are some pictures from the drive...

The sheep here was just like a dog...wanting to chase the bus with it's master calling to him to come back. The sheep would zig zag between the bus and his owner trying to decide which was the best option. He eventually ran up to the man who bent and pet his head just like he were a dog. It was so cute!

Each town we passed through had an arch like this one leading to it

Another common sight - locals walking down paths carrying bundles and guiding their animals

Terraced land leading down to the canyon edges, painted red and orange with the sunset

This little boy stole my heart from a distance while our bus was stopped loading and unloading passengers

We dropped our things at the hostel and joined 5 other travelers for dinner of Alpaca and soup. Knowing we all had long days of hiking ahead of us we didn’t stay out too late, but did wander the streets of the village a bit before calling it a night. With no hot water at the high altitude and freezing weather, we skipped showers and began the next day bundled to stay warm and hide our smell :) (although we may have fit in better that way…)

Rachael and I at dinner

Our new friends

The local bus, crammed once again, dropped us at Condor Point. Apparently high on a rock overlooking the vast canyon a donkey’s carcass is laid to attract the local condors, a Peruvian Pride. Although we arrived early for the best chances to view the giant birds, we saw none. It was a beautiful lookout point, though, and a way to wake up a bit prior to beginning our hike.

It's a condor, baby! Ok, it's just on top of a fountain in the plaza...

So, busing back to the starting point, the three of us disembarked with our guide and began. That day was mostly downhill as we descended into the canyon, but interspersed with some stiff uphill sections. Our pace was relaxed, with only my burning calves from the slow descent to remind me I was exercising. I was so engrossed with the views I forgot the altitude and difficulty breathing and sand/rocks in my shoes and the heat and dehydration. I loved it. I felt refreshed and alive.

Me, Jared, and Juan Carlos

The Titanic pose was a must for nearly every site. Go ahead and laugh :)

When we reached the river at the bottom we crossed a swaying bridge and faced a sheer cliff. Up we went. The locals are obviously acclimatized to the incredible altitude of 3500 meters, but the rest of us are not. I sprinted for the top of the ‘brief’ climb ahead of us and made it only halfway. Even that was NOT easy, to say the least. JC kept assuring us the path would level soon…HA! The climb felt eternal.

See the bridge at the bottom?

And we're on it!

Signs of life along the way were the people and donkeys (or mules and even a couple actual horses) that had passed us throughout the trail (notice we weren’t passing them :). Donkeys loaded with supplies as well as their owners, we were amazed at how fast these older men and women traveled along the trail, practically sprinting past us, without wheezing and often in sandals. Insane!

It was lunch time and we were so anxious to reach the village. I barely noticed as my hunger pains increased, though, due to the change in scenery. Previously there had been mostly rocks, dirt, cacti, and other desert-like plants. JC had mentioned that the location for lunch was ‘tropical’ but I assumed he used the wrong word. He meant it though! This place was like a hidden paradise!! The lush greenery gave me yet another distraction. Pausing to capture an

image on film, I would look up to realize the others had disappeared somewhere through the foliage along the winding trail. We began to pass houses, animals, huts, even a few people here and there. In the middle of nowhere there stood a village. The only way in or out is via a steep cliff, so how do these people survive?

Notice: Cold Beer - Hot shower...LOVE IT! But too bad I had neither :(

An old house, now with no roof

Animals resting in the shade of their paradise

A random house - I didn't see many with roofs, I'm not sure where these people lived that we saw on the trails, but off the beaten paths I'm sure they had homes like this.

Rachael with her walking stick and a gorgeous little creek. I wanted to jump in it it was so hot.

Lunch of alpaca, just like the previous nights’ dinner, and then I passed out in the grass for a quick nap before another ascent. The second half of the day cooled some and was filled with more beautiful scenery. The sun set as we descended again to the town of Oasis for a night’s rest. Some views along the way were a leveled soccer field (yep – you read that right), the river of course, and even a few waterfalls. I put one earphone in so I could enjoy music along with our conversation, combined with occasional information from JC.

A view in the afternoon on our way out of the tropical land

Random "gate" - not sure it would actually keep anything out, but it was a cool photo spot :)

This spider I spotted was HUGE - JC said he'd heard of them but had never seen one before.

On the cliff's edge was this cross covered in beautiful red flowers

Part of tomorrow's trail...ugh...

And the Oasis to which we were headed for the night, at the bottom of the canyon

Jared's contemplative moment as the sun began to set

Just another gorgeous sunset!

Crossing another bridge, this one even less secure, we then followed painted directions on rocks to our place of lodging. We had reached another paradise. Dropping our things in the bungalow, we substituted freezing showers for a swim in the not-so-warm pool, filled with local “warm” waters. Dinner by candlelight, and day 2 complete!

There's the swaying bridge...almost there!

Is that the Garden of Eden?

Think the signs are clear enough?

Long before sunrise Jared and I were dressed, packed up and enjoying bread and tea to energize for the day. Rachael was able to sleep longer because she had paid for a mule to carry her and her bag up the steep incline the 3000 meters or so up that day. Smart girl. Running a little “late” (we had to reach town in time to catch our bus to Chivay), JC, Jared and I hit the trail. Pausing occasionally to breathe, and pausing occasionally to enjoy the view and take some photos (but really to breath :), we actually made very good time.

As we rose higher and higher, so did the sun. We were shaded by a mountainside for the majority of our climb, thankfully, but still saw the sunlight across the canyon as it reached further down our opposing mountains, illuminating a gorgeous view to take our breath away (as if we had any left!).

I enjoyed some music during the first hour, leaving Jared and JC a little behind me so all I felt was the presence of God, the mountains and my music. I felt I had entered another realm. After a bit I passed the ipod onto Jared and was left with just my thoughts and burning legs. Occasionally we saw other hikers, but mostly we were just passed by locals, driving their mules and donkeys up the hillside to reach town. Once again we were amazed at their fitness. Jared pointed out that at one point an elderly man, following his mules, had a HUGE bundle tied to his back. The kicker was that his mules carried NOTHING. As we struggled with our smaller packs we felt a little humiliation at this :)

Check out the moon at the top of this pic! By now I was fully in sunlight, all around me was brightly lit. Yet the moon still hung high and although it couldn't add much light, it added to the beauty of the canyon.

Nearing the top, we heard a familiar voice calling our names and looked down to see Rachael approaching on her mule. All smiles she began to speak and Jared quickly cut her off saying, “Don’t even talk to me until I reach the top.” She laughed and passed us, wishing us luck as she did. We did make it, and in just under 3 hours, although most literature said it should take 4! We were triumphant…and hot and sweaty and out of water.

It's hard to see, but Rachael is in the center, the third horse on the trail. If only you could see her face and how happy she looked!

Another 30 minute walk, but this time on mostly flat ground, led us to town. We were crossing through farmland filled with corn and horses and workers and crops. A small creek crossing reminded me how dirty I was and I was tempted to jump in. Everything was lush and green and brilliantly lit in those early morning hours. Mountains to our left and ahead, the canyon followed by more mountains to our right, fields spread out across the flat land with scattered trees, and finally the town with our blessed breakfast. We were famished, and they had pancakes for us! Filled with baby bananas it didn’t taste quite like home, but anything would’ve tasted good at that point!A view from the top - that tree is perched on the edge of the cliff like it's standing watch over the hikers making their journey upward...

Some of the terraced fields we were walking through. It was picturesque to say the least!

Another local bus, overcrowded and pungent, of course, took us to Chivay for lunch. We had the option of visiting local “hot springs” but opted for lunch and seeing a bit of the town instead. At the Peruvian buffet restaurant I practically showered in the bathroom sink. It felt so good to be (ALMOST) somewhat clean. We walked around a bit and down to the plaza, although rather tired and anxious to be seated on our next bus to return home to Arequipa.

In the Plaza at Chivay, a typical scene in any plaza - women in traditional dress with their llamas. Love it.

A view out the bus window driving back to Arequipa

Arriving late afternoon, Rachael had to work immediately so Jared and I cleaned up and took her pizza at the office for dinner. They had become such dear friends to me and I am so incredibly thankful for their presence during my time in Arequipa. Even though I would’ve loved a few days of solo hiking and it was unfortunate that I wasted time with my first attempt to go, I am so glad it worked for me to make that trip with the two of them.