A tour of Colca Canyon - by Jody

  Chivay, Arequipa, Peru Saturday, March 26, 2016

Bryan was up and off for his trip at 3am this morning but I got a leisurely lie in and was being picked up at 8:30 for mine. We had decided to split-up for this next destination. Mainly because Bryan thought it would be fun to walk - first down - then up - the worlds second deepest canyon, and I did not! So off we went in the same direction but at different times on different buses. There is a nice group of people on my bus; 2 Scottish lads in their young 20s, a young couple living in Brighton, a young German couple and a German chap on his own. lastly a Portuguese family who didn't speak to anyone and I found the mother really annoying because she would not stop touching and stroking her son - who was about 13!Our guide Beatrice stopped us just outside Arequipa to buy cocoa leaves ready for the altitude. They smell pretty bad and she told me not to do anything with them yet - she would tell us when and how to prepare them. About an hour outside of Arequipa she told us to take out our leaves. The Scottish lad behind me piped up that they were disgusting. She asked him if he had had them before which he replied no - just the 5 he had chewed his way through this morning. Then she laughed at him and asked him - what did you want to do that for - you are not supposed to eat them they will upset your tummy! We all had a good laugh at his expense for that one. Beatrice showed us how to select the leaves, take a piece of the minty chewy stuff that comes with them and make a parcel around it with the leaves. Then tuck it down the side of your cheek and just leave it there. Gradually they get softer and occasionally she said for us to squeeze it with our teeth to release the minty flavour from the ball inside. Gradually I could feel my mouth going numb like it does at the dentist - not from the needle but from the stuff they put on first. This is good she said because it is working and getting into our system. I'm not convinced it works because as we climbed higher through the stunning mountain scenery, I could feel a headache coming on.A bit about the scenery; WOW! Just so so beautiful - hardly any trees or buildings just an amazing photograph waiting to be taken wherever I looked. We passed herds of wild Vicuña which apparently all belong to the government but the local people have the rights to the wool which is the most expensive in the world. We stopped at a place in the middle of nowhere for breakfast and despite saying to Bryan many times that I wasn't going to buy any knitwear, my will power crumbled when I saw all the beautiful jumpers and there wasn't anyone to stop me! At least it wasn't vicuña Bryan - just alpaca.At this stop I got the chance to try muña tea too. It is made with a high altitude Andean mint and it is supposed to be very good for your tummy and for the altitude. Apart from that it was a nice refreshing drink. We climbed higher to 4,910 metres (+16,000ft) and beatrice came around the bus checking our fingernails. If they were a bit blue it showed we were not getting enough oxygen so she made us inhale medical alcohol to open our airways further. It seemed to work. Beatrice ensure we made plenty of stops to take photographs which was brilliant. It always frustrates me when I see somewhere so beautiful and I want to capture it and I can't. So Beatrice must have read my mind as we stopped in upteen places along the way. The scenery reminds me a bit of Tibet in places. Not all of it but where it is bleak and sparse and stony. Very beautiful just like Tibet.We stopped for lunch in Chivay and Beatrice led us towards a 'for tourists' restaurant. Whenever I see that I know I am about to be ripped off. We have been able to buy a 2 course lunch with a drink for 10 s/. - £2. This restaurant was charging 30s/. Not much still you might think but remember I don't have a job or any money coming in; what I have has to last me. See what I mean about being ripped off. Well i decided I would wander around the town instead and find something else. Beatrice nearly had a wobbly about splitting off from the group but when other like minded people joined me she had to give in. A bit further up the road I found a small shop and Nick, Veronica and I just bought Inca Kola (tastes like cream soda) and crisps for about 5s/. - £1. Much better value when you are not very hungry in the first place.We were dropped off at our hotel - that's probably a strong word to use for it - and i was shown to my room. Well it was like stepping back in time - to the end of the second world war and the concrete billets people used to stay in when they went on holiday. But it was clean and I had a beautiful view out of my window allover the countryside. The 'hotel' has 2 baby alpacas in the grounds which are adorable. When you walk over to them they come running over to see you then run away again. So so sweet. Nearby is a natural hot spring complex and a few of us were up for a trip there. Beatrice brought the minibus around for us and just 5 of us went. For just 10s/. each (£2) we could work our way through 5 different spa pools - all open air - and all different temperatures and with different minerals. I had been suffering really badly with my hip from trying to sleep in awkward positions on the bus from Nasca so this was my entire motivation for coming here really. And it was wonderful!I can't remember the last bath I had but this was pretty special. The water was like a hot bath and I could feel the heat sinking into me. Wonderful. It was in such a beautiful setting too and they had waiters bringing you cold drinks or beers if you wanted them. I just elected to stay in the one pool, soak up the hot water, relax and enjoy the view. And it really did help my hip. Perfect. We got back to the 'hotel' and it was feeding time for the baby alpacas. And guess who got to feed them. It was great until the kid came along and I thought I had better move over to let him have a go. Grr! Dinner tonight was a fun affair. Beatrice ordered us ready for 7pm and the bus drove us - quite literally - 30 seconds along the road! We could have walked that! But Beatrice wanted us there as quick as possible and we arrived before anyone else in the restaurant. So why so early beatrice? So she could move the tables around and get us the best seats of course!The food was really nice. 25 s/. (£5) got us a 3 course meal with a show. On the menu was hot wine - Vino Calliente and I thought that sounded nice on a cold evening. The german man was sitting next to me and inquired what I was drinking. I said it was hot wine - like gluhwein you get in Germany, and he denied all knowledge of what i was talking about. Flatly refused that gluhwein existed and the rest of the table were in disbelief. We have all had gluhwein at the German Christmas markets. Now we are thinking he is only pretending to be German! Well the wine didn't warm me up enough and back in my room it was so cold, I went to bed fully clothed. Hope Bryan is a bit warmer than me wherever he is. Day 2 saw a beautiful sun rise, a dodgy breakfast at 6am and an hour long trip to our first destination.All the cold and the bad room was soon forgotten as we arrived at a layby on the mountain side in the middle of nowhere called Condor Cross. Why is it called this? Because this is where the condors live of course! WOW to the power of 10! To watch these birds soar over us and glide on the thermals that came up from the canyon as the morning grew warmer, was just spectacular. I have never seen anything like it. We got to spend almost 2 hours here watching them and I must admit I could have stayed a lot longer. I was reminded of the David Attenborough documentary when I was growing up - Flight of the Condor. It was hard to leave. I wondered if Bryan's trip would bring him here and hoped he would get the chance to see them too.Our next stop on the way wasn't quite so spectacular but pretty all the same. The small town of Maca. It had lots of indiginous people all waering traditional costume and waiting for the tourists to pay them for a photo with their baby alpacas. I had done just that on the road and got to stroke the alpaca babies (and the one at the 'hotel') so I knew how soft they were. Then I spotted Bryan! At last our paths crossed. But he was exhausted (which I'm not wholly surprised about) The canyon walk itself would be tough enough but to do it at this altitude was bonkers to me. His trip was making their way to some hot water springs so they could all soak their feet! But not before he had posed for a photo with a baby alpaca. The little girl we gave the money to just couldn't stop scowling at him. We were not sure why but it was quite funny.We have asked the question about the whole photo with the baby alpaca thing and if it was ethical. Or was it like the whole pose with the monkey thing back in the 60s & 70s which is now deeply frowned upon. Our observations lead us to this. The alpacas are loved and very much cared for by the people. You can see that when you observe them and the affection they give the alpacas. They are not harmed in any way and are returned to the herd every evening. Also, they only do it for a while until they are grown, then they go to spend the rest of their days out with their herd every day and another baby alpaca takes it;s place for the tourists. It doesn't seem harmful - not natural we agree for an alpaca to pose for photos, but not harmful. And at the same time it gets them very used to being handled so when they go out to join the herd, it is easier for the people to round them up when they need to. That is after all their way of life out here. Well we waved goodbye as his bus headed off and my bus turned towards lunch. Another for tourists restaurant but this time i sat inside and drank cheecha morada whilst a few others ate. It's all I could afford in this one! The two Scottish lads did the same and the German chap who had elected to eat, must have felt sorry for us as he nabbed an orange for each of us. Cheers Wilf!We continued on back towards Arequipa and it was great to see all the scenery on the other side of the road. I really can't express how beautiful this place is. I loved Peru the first time I came 10 years ago but the things i have seen and done on this trip so far, have made me fall in love with this country even more-so. It truly is a most stunning country. Well the bus dropped me off at the door of my hostel and I was straight in the hot shower and ready to take a nap when Bryan text me. He tumbled through the door about an hour after me absolutely exhausted. His bus hadn't dropped him home but in the centre of town and expected him to walk all the way home. After all that walking he had done already! We were so tired tonight we asked the hostel owner to order us a pizza and we just flaked out. It had been an incredible couple of day for both of us. Tiring but such beautiful places and things we had seen. Would we do it again? That's the big question. You bet we would. Amazing. Incredible. Awesome. Stunning. Whatever similar adjective you want to insert here - it fits. Colca Canyon was all of these and more.   [gallery columns="4" ids="12381,12383,12384,12385,12386,12387,12388,12389,12390,12392,12395,12397,12398,12400,12404,12408,12412,12417,12423,12429,12433,12438,12446,12454,12477,12484,12496,12501,12509,12518,12529,12537,12544,12554,12568,12577,12591,12594,12604,12615,12623,12631,12644,12646,12652,12657,12663,12667,12679,12683,12689,12693,12697,12704,12707,12709"]