After spending nearly 2 weeks in the cusco area, Ryan and were ready to move on and see more of Peru. Although Cusco is a great city to hang out in, the constant harassment around Plaza de Armas is a bit much. We took a night bus from Cusco to Arequipa, leaving at 8:30pm and arriving at 6:30am. We took a luxury tourist bus with a company called Cruz del Sur, and along with a decent meal, we played bingo and had our own TV screen with a wide selection of movies. Unlike most buses in South America, this bus was boiling, and I began peeling off layers one at a time. Nevertheless it wasn’t the worst sleep I’ve had, and the time passed quickly. However, arriving in Arequipa extremely early on a Sunday was not ideal. We made our way to our hostel, and because our room wasn’t ready, we hung out on the rooftop balcony sipping tea and admiring the view of the view of Misti Volcano, a cone shaped volcano that towers over the city of Arequipa at 5,800m above sea level. Time ticked by, the city slowly began to wake up, and we ventured out to find some breakfast. Arequipa was rumored to be Peru’s most beautiful city, and it is definitely not a sight for sore eyes. The Plaza de Armas is quite pretty, and after wandering around we found that we enjoyed the colonial architecture and cobble stone roads and side walks.
With approximately 1 million people, Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city, famous for its beautiful white buildings, delicious restaurants, and the Colca Canyon. After arranging our tour to the Colca Canyon, we set out to enjoy some of the delicious food. We ended up at Zig Zag, the number one rated restaurant, and it did not disappoint. Unfortunately, the food wasn’t cheap, and our late lunch ended up also being an early dinner. Exhausted from our overnight bus, we had an early night in an attempt to catch up on some sleep.
The following morning, we took a free walking tour of Arequipa, learning about some of the older buildings of the city, and the history. The tour ended with a visit to an alpaca farm where we learned how the wool is used, as well as a pisco sour tasting (the national drink here). Following the tour, Ryan and I set off to figure out our days after the Colca Canyon. After a very painful hour and a half at the travel agency with one of the most incompetent people I have ever encountered, we had everything (hopefully) arranged for the next few days. By the time we had finished at the travel agency, we were both starving, and headed to a popular restaurant where you get a plate with 4 types of local Peruvian potatoes, topped with your choice of toppings. We both choose chicken and vegetable toppings, which were delicious! The rest of the day was spent prepping for our trek and relaxing, before we made dinner and headed to bed early.
We were picked up for our trek at 3:30am the following morning, and made the 3 hour trip out to the town of Chivay, at the top of the Colca Canyon. Fortunately, we were able to get some more sleep on our way to Chivay, where we stopped for a quick breakfast before heading to the Cruz del Condor mirador. I had been looking forward to seeing a condor for a while, and they certainly did not disappoint. We must have seen nearly 20 of them soaring over the start of the canyon. They are the largest flying bird, with a wing span of approximately 3 meters. Once we had finished at the condor viewpoint, we continued for another few minutes to start our trek. At this point, we were informed that we were with a different group and we had to wait for them (in typical South American style). Feeling frustrated, we sat on the side of the road with 4 other people from our van, waiting for our tour guide to show up. After about 30 minutes we were on our way, and we made the 3 hour, mostly downhill descent into one of the worlds deepest canyons. Unlike the Grand Canyon, the Colca Canyon has some green shrubbery amongst the brown dust.
After hiking for 3 hours, we arrived at our lunch destination near the tiny town of San Juan de Chuccho. We ate lunch, and were given the afternoon to relax. Our accommodation was extremely basic, and we were a bit lost on how to fill the afternoon. We spent time reading, writing, and playing cards with the other members of our tour, passing the hours until we were served dinner. Dinner was a fairly disappointing fair of rice, potatoes, and cheese, topped off by introduction to our rooms for the evening. We were staying in a basic concrete room, with a bed. It was probably the worst room we’ve ever stayed in; fortunately, we were tired enough to fall asleep that night. The following morning we headed out for our second hike around 9am. We hiked for about 3 hours, with a variation of going up hill and downhill, before arriving at the “oasis” of the canyon. Although our accommodation was once again fairly basic, we had a pool, which was very welcome in the hot sun. We took a swam, baked in the sun, ate lunch, read in the hammocks, and then spent a few more hours playing cards before dinner.
The food appeared to be going downhill in quality throughout the day, and after more rice and potatoes, our entire group was feeling grateful that we were exiting the canyon the following day. We began our trek out at 5am, making the 3 hour ascent straight uphill out of the canyon. Although the majority of the trek was spent in the dark or the shade, I was drenched with sweat, my legs and feet were aching, and my heart was pounding by the time I reached the top. As much as I love a good hike, walking straight up hill for 3 hours is not enjoyable to me, and I was more than thankful to be finished the trek by the time I reached the top. Nevertheless, I was proud of myself for finishing, and watching the sun rise over the mountains of the canyon was pretty cool.
After a much needed breakfast, we began our journey back to Arequipa. We stopped at a few view points of the canyon, and I determined that the canyon was far more breathtaking from above than from inside. The green terraces of the canyon were spectacular to see from a distance, and far more beautiful than anything that we saw while trekking. We drove for 3 more hours before reaching Arequipa, where Ryan and I splurged on some good food to make up for our lack of nutrients in the canyon. Although I am happy that we had the chance to see the Colca Canyon, we were both very over the tour by the end, and if we were to do it again, we would most definitely do it ourselves instead of taking a tour. I’m not sure if we are just completely toured out from the last few weeks, or if the terrible food did it, but I think I speak for Ryan when I say we are happy to be done tours for this trip!