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So before, in between and after Machu Picchu and the Amazon jungle we spent a few days exploring the City of Cusco. We visited the Inca Museum which I think is worth the effort of finding. Also the plaza de armas, which although is spectacular lacks a certain class due to the KFC and McDonalds which can be spotted (although they have tried to hide them) on every corner.
An overnight bus to Arequipa with a word of advice - wrap up warm. The bus was cold, with no blankets to keep us warm, we made do with our jackets wrapped around us but it wasn`t really enough. Another slightly odd thing, we had to give our finger prints to get on the bus, not sure why but it is done now, so the three of us are in the Peruvian system.
Once in Arequipa, and ripped off by the taxi driver we made it to our hostel, which was really close to the main square, with hot water and spacious rooms. Because we had arrived on a night bus, we had a while to wait before being able to check in. We took this time to visit some local sights, one of which being the main square. There was a festival going on for Saint Carmen, which was something different.
35 soles, and we headed into the Monasterio Santa Catalina. Don`t bother with the guided tour, there is a lot of information around in both Spanish and in English and paying extra would not be worth it. The 35 soles is however worth the money as we spent a fair length of time in there.
The following day Emma and I were picked up at a ridiculous hour - 3 in the morning, so we could head to the famous Colca Canyon, the second deepest in the world. The grueling 3 day trek should not be thought of lightly and tested physical and mental stamina, or for me anyway.
The first stop was to visit the condors. These big vulture like birds were beautiful to watch soar through the air, so close to where we were. Emma however did not get to witness these, and nature called with a rather upset stomach. Starting the trek down after this took all the energy that Emma had left and became a task to keep her going at one point. For me, going down was easy apart from the slipping and sliding of the stones. The constant watching of the feet and burning on my skin that only being so close to the sun could cause.
After going down for what seemed like forever, we then had to go up for a little. This walk on the first day was only 4 hours, and we had arrived where we were going to set up for the night before lunch. We met some great people at this point during lunch and chatted away until dinner time. With the quick darkness there was nothing to do but call it a night at 8 o´clock. A good night's sleep was in order to for the three hour trek the following day.
One hour up, one hour flat and one hour down was on the agenda for the next day. With Emma feeling a bit more herself, with a little more energy we trailed through this with not much effort with the rest of our little gang. There was another gang "the power rangers" who seemed to think that everything was a race, whilst us at the back enjoyed the scenery and took photos of the oasis and waterfalls.
Second night was in the oasis, and soaking our tired muscles was a nice way to spend the rest of the next day. Now the last day . . . 4 o´clock start to make our way out of the canyon. The only way was up, and up and up. This took us 3 hours, which apparently is an average time, so I´m average yeah. No photos were taken on this part of the journey. The legs hurt, the body ached in places I didn't know possible but I made it. Not everyone did, some took mules.
You may have realised that only Emma and I did this. Meredith decided that walking wasn`t for her and that she would prefer to visit the canyon by bus. She did a two day tour which I think cost her about the same amount, but as I was struggling up that last mountain side, I thought she might have had the right idea.
As I soaked my weary body in the hot springs before lunch I realised though how much of an achievement it was, and how proud of myself I am for doing it, wouldn`t change it for the world. And even better, the body didn`t even ache the next day, maybe I´m slightly fitter than I thought.
Back in Arequipa and on a bus to Nazca, I´ll update you with my adventure from there later.
- comments
Pankaj Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanetd to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Zeynep This sounds hoirifrc why don't they just let you plug in headphones if you want to listen? 17 hours of mandatory rubbish films is harsh. That's just how they do it in Peru.