Colca Canyon Decent

Our day started early at 7am with our 4x4 being dropped off for us at the hostel and we hit the road straight away to Colca Canyon. Although the trip was only 200kms it took us nearly 6 hours due to the poor roads and the volume of trucks on them. The last section was just a dirt road. We reached over 4000 meters above sea level during the trip and were privy to some spectacular views.

When we finally arrived and started our trek down into the canyon it was after 2pm. The hike down took about 4 hours and it was pretty tough going, going downhill is just as tough as uphill when the terrain is rocky. The views were spectacular and something I´ll never forget.

On our way down we passed various locals who make the trip up and down on a daily basis (one carrying a parrot on her shoulder) plenty of mules carrying supplies to the villages below, we even met a student from one of the villages who was hiking up the canyon, then taking a 7 hour bus to Arequipa to take an exam! To think I used to give out about having to cycle 15mins to UCC in the rain...

When we reached the bottom, after relaxing by the riverside for a short while we headed on to a nearby village where a local family put us up for the night. It was a bit like an unofficial hostel, they have hikers staying with them all the time. They had no electricity but stil managed to cook a fantastic spaghetti bolenese which we ate by candle light. The house looked directly at the canyon wall, it was hard to believe we´d come all the way down it. As there was noth ing to do in the dark and we were nackered, we were all in bed by 9am with alarms set for 6am again the following morning where we´d hike 3 hours along the base of the canyon then 4 hours back up it.

Lima & Arequipa

Arriving in Lima

After 15 hours of flying we finally arrived in Lima at 10pm local time last Sunday night. Our hostel pickup was waiting for us at the airport, it always makes you feel important to see someone holding a sign with your name on it when you come out the arrivals gate, even if this guy looked pretty scruffy and his car was battered Corolla from the early 80´s with no seatbelts or a speedometer. The horn did work though, he barely stopped using it for the whole 30min trip.

We caught up with Kieran, Ciaran and Antonio in the hostel and headed out for a few beers. We were staying in Miraflores which is the nicest part of Lima. When we took a trip around Lima the following day, I realised why people have said there´s nothing much going on there. It´s just a bussling city overlooked by shantytowns (see them in the background below)

While the walk around was enjoyable, we were glad to catch a flight south to Arequipa that night.

Arequipa at Night
This old Spanish colonial city is far more pleasing on the eye. The entrance is very dramatic, the whole city is 2600meters above sea level and the airport is at the highest part. Getting a taxi into the centre was all downhill and gave a fantastic view over the city. Our hostel was right in the centre, just a few blocks up from the main plaza. Peruvian cities all seem to have fantastic plazas and are well looked after.All the stone walls are made from white stone unique to the area and it looks fantastic at night .

 

The adventure begins

Just shutting down the laptop now in work, flying out to London tomorrow and onto Lima on Sunday. So long SolarWinds!