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Off trekking for a few wonderful days in the mystic Colca Canyon. The Canyon here, 3 hours inland from Arequipa, is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and the second deepest in the world at 3140m. It's filled with some surreal scenery, traditional Andean farming terraces surrounding mountain towns built into the deep canyon walls, site of the Cruz del Condor where you can view 50 or so condors (3-5 meters wide) soaring above the canyon searching for carcasses, and a microclimate creating a tropical oasis deep in an isolated section of the canyon.
We started off from Arequipa at 3am, and drove a few hours to arrive in time for breakfast in Chivay, which was the usual white bread with avocado, with the addition of cactus juice and plenty of mate de coca to help with adjusting to the altitude. After we drove up to Cruz del Condor, where these enormous birds circled above us not more than 15 feet away, floating up on the thermal winds from the canyon below. They are not beautiful, I imagine Teradactiles when I look at them, but absolutely fascinating to watch as they float around above our heads and in front of us. I could have watched them for hours, but we had a long day of trekking ahead of us so we took off. The bus dropped us off at the edge of the canyon and we started a 4 hour descent zigzagging down into the canyon. The views were stunning, straight down into the canyon with the river below, small villages built into the few flat terraces. The few villages here are only accessible by foot, so they use donkeys to transport what they cannot grow themselves, up and down the steep paths. The walls of the canyons are covered in a blanket of green, mostly from cactus which is their main crop at this level. The cactus has a very sweet and delicious fruit called tuna, and the bacteria found naturally in the plant is a concentrated red color that they use to dye clothing and in cosmetics. Our guide was Lucia, a Peruvian woman about 5'2", who we nicknamed "the Mountain Goat". She climbs this canyon 6 days a week, it's her backyard. After 4 hours, she led the six wobbly legged girls (2 Irish, 2 Canadiens, and 2 Americans) to our lunch spot, a house at the bottom of the canyon. The family there cooked us a 3 course meal with cactus juice, avocado salad to start, a vegetable soup, and an alpaca stirfry with rice. We ate and rested for about 45, and then continued trekking at a rapid pace to try to make it to our campsite before dark. Lucia encouraged us with words like "tropical oasis" and "natural pools", and although we half believed her we practically took off running. The trail winded through the cliffs along a manmade stone canal that channeled water to the villages, and over a few rustic bridges that swayed precariously over the rapids below. We passed some locals along the way in the traditional attire with hand woven mantas on their backs filled with supplies and barefoot 8 year old kids herding llamas to graze. Along the way Lucia pointed out medicinal plants that locals use for ailments ranging from headaches to childbirth troubles, a hospital is many difficult hours away so only used as a final option. We came upon a woman selling tuna fruit with a baby sleeping in her lap, and made a quick stop to chat with her and buy some fruit. Two hours later, I had my head down and my feet were moving by themselves, when I realized the air changed and I was suddenly surrounded by palm trees and chirping birds. I looked up and we were in the "tropical oasis" as promised. In our state of exhaustion, it was almost surreal. Our pace quickened as we approached our campsite which consisted of mud huts with straw roofs to sleep in, a tiny restaurant, natural pools carved out of rocks from the canyon, and hammocks hanging from palm trees all built into the side of the canyon and surrounded by the most amazing view. We showered off the layer of dust and jumped into the pool. When we finally had cooled off, cervezas in hand, we climbed up a large rock to sit over the cliff and enjoy the view as the sun went down and millions of stars took over the sky.
Later on we had a feast again, did some more stargazing, and gratefully passed out in our little huts.
The next morning we threw on clothes and splashed water on our faces at 4 am and started trekking right away. A rough start, I barely slept as there were a lot of noises I have no idea from what creatures, during the night. I had to use a booklight (xmas present from mom and dad haha!) to see the trail in front of me, the result of spontaneity I guess. This was to be the hardest part of the trekking as we were going straight up the canyon wall for the next 4 hours, and I was glad that the darkness did not allow me to see the distance in front of us. A few groups passed by us on donkeys, heads down, if you decide you can't go on there are people with donkeys who come give you a lift up for 60 soles (about $20). The path is so narrow you practically have to attach yourself to the wall of rock to let them pass. I rested a lot, and used the opportunity to permanently engrave what was some of the most amazing scenery I've ever seen into my brain. We finally made it to the top, where farmers waited for us with cactus and bananas. We rested and then continued on flatter terrain through fields of corn and grains to reach our final stop for trekking, the town of Cabanaconde where breakfast awaited. The family here was very sweet to cook us a real American breakfast with scrambled eggs and toast. After we practically inhaled our food, we said goodbye to Lucia as she was headed back down on another trip, and headed to the natural hot springs to soak our screaming muscles. The bus trip back consisted of a peaceful nap with intermittent breaks to stop and respect the vistas of the pampa and the herds of llama, alpaca, and vicunyas (a Bambi looking version of an alpaca). They dropped me off and I made it to the bus station an hour later to fall asleep smiling on a 15 hour bus ride to Lima.
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Tom This sounds much tougher than the Precipice trail at Acadia National Park in Maine!! You have come a long way!!