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After a few weeks of indulgence, we decided to get our legs moving again and took a ferry from Copacabana across to Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca. It's a beautiful little island with no roads or vehicles so the only way to get around is to walk - which we did, from one end to the other. We started in Yumani where we were tested with a steep hike up some Inca stairs before we could find a hostel and eat; doesn't sound like much but at 4,000m, everything is hard. That evening, after our first taste of trucha (Titicaca trout - amazing stuff), we took a short walk south to watch the sunset. The Incas believed the island was where the sun was born (hence the name) but unfortunately it was overcast that evening so we didn't get to witness its homecoming. The next day we took the high trail and walked north to Cha'llapampa via the Chincana ruins. The extra uphill was definitely worth it for the views of the lake and Isla de la Luna - being up so high, the air is really clear so you can see for miles. As Gerard put it, it's like real life but the Blu-Ray version.
Isla del Sol was our last stop in Bolivia and we were sad to leave; Gerard was cramming in as many saltenas as he could before we took the bus to Peru. Our starting point in Peru, Puno, was just around the corner (in South America terms, that's a 5-hour bus ride) and still on the lake though so it was not a huge change. We also arrived to discover that carnival was still going on there so the dancing cholitas and foam-dodging made us feel right at home. Our main reason for stopping in Puno was to take a trip to the floating islands (Islas Uros) which was deemed by Lonely Planet to be the #2 top thing to do in the whole of Peru (after Machu Picchu of course). Now Lonely Planet has failed us before (particularly on the food front) but never so spectacularly - it was quite possibly the worst tour I've ever done. The highlight was finding out that the locals refer to their reed boats as Mercedes Benz, undoubtedly because some tour guide at some point has told them to because it will amuse the gringos. Terrible.
From Puno we moved on (rapidly) to Arequipa, Peru's white city. Our first day we did a walking tour which is fast becoming my favourite way to get acquainted with a new place. We were shown around lots of colonial buildings, tasted Peruvian coffee and chocolate, and discovered a new grading system for how spicy a chilli is (based on how many times it makes you cry - crude but funny). We also got some good advice in case one of the surrounding volcanoes was to erupt during our visit - apparently we'd have precisely 6 seconds before being destroyed Pompeii-style so our guide suggested we use the time to strike a pose so at least we'd look good in the museum. By all accounts there are 3 volcanoes looming over Arequipa, the largest being El Misti. True to its name however, it remained shrouded in cloud for our entire stay so, despite an optimistic stroll up to the Yanahuari viewpoint, we were forced to take the guide's word for it. Fortunately, it was still worth the trip since it's a really pretty and sedate part of town (one of the few where we managed to escape the endless stream of stinky taxis) and we also got to sample some local lunch staples at a picanteria (literally "spiceria").
Continuing to check off Arequipa's tourist hotspots, we also paid a visit to the Santa Catalina monastery. We decided to go in the evening when it's lit only with candles and wood fires since it sounded atmospheric and also an authentic way to see the way the nuns would have lived hundreds of years ago. It definitely was all that but we underestimated how spooky it would be as well! The monastery is huge (known as a city within a city, it has streets and everything) so it was really quite dark by the time we'd worked our way around, at which point innocent wax figures of nuns start to look pretty sinister. Aside from that though, it was incredibly peaceful with the soft lighting and total silence; a nice haven from the bustling city outside the walls. Really enjoyable experience.
Speaking of enjoyable experiences (though perhaps a slightly less cultural one), following a tip from our walking tour, we joined a chocolate workshop one evening. I'd expected an opportunity to stuff my face but apparently Peru is a huge cocoa producer and the little independent chocolate shop we were in took its craft pretty seriously. We learned more than I knew there was to know about chocolate and had a go at the different production stages (getting rid of dud beans, roasting the good ones, separating nib from husk and grinding the nibs) - all of which is actually done by hand at the shop. After all our hard work, we were finally rewarded with a tasting and moulded our own chocolates with various toppings, yum!
Aside from being a lovely city in its own right, Arequipa is also the main access point for Colca Canyon - the deepest canyon in the world, almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. We were feeling bold and decided to go it alone rather than join a tour (the majority of which set off at the ungodly hour of 3am) so we hopped on a local bus to Cabanaconde. Despite some wheel issues (somehow fixed using rocks), we were delivered safely at the Cruz del Condor viewpoint almost exactly on schedule. As we stepped off the bus, a huge condor swooped down over us which was both impressive and a handy confirmation that we were in the right place. From there we walked the rest of the way to Cabanaconde, dodging herds of bulls (each time making an escape plan in case they decided to charge) and then cutting through cornfields on a trail that a friendly cholita pointed out to us (which we hoped was a shortcut). We spent a night there then woke up bright and early the next morning to descend down into the canyon on the less-travelled path to the west towards Llahuar. The scenery was amazing but the walk was tough with steep knee-busting downhill trails covered in slippery stones and precipitous drops to contend with. We only saw 3 other people in 5 hours of walking though so it was well worth the effort - and fortunately we had natural hot springs to relieve our aching legs when we arrived in Llahuar. The next day we made our way to Sangalle ("the oasis") which we thought would be a nice flat walk since we were starting and would finish in the depths of the canyon but actually the trail took us almost all the way to the top and then back down again. We were drooling over the lovely blue swimming pools we could see on the way down but by the time we got there we couldn't manage more than a quick dip because the temperature had dropped so much - cruel world! From Sangalle it was a stiff hike up the next morning, ascending 1.2km over 4km of trail. The map told us to factor in 3.5 hours but we made it in 2 hours 15 mins which, according to the Lonely Planet scale, puts us somewhere between fit and superfit (here I choose to take its word as gospel) - pretty impressed with ourselves, roll on Macchu Pichu!
First port of call after arriving back in Arequipa was a proper shower, having gone without for 4 days (standards have slipped). All food in the canyon was veggie, apparently due to lack of livestock down there rather than any kind of moral objections, so we also decided to go for a slap up dinner at Mister Pollo. We had a whole chicken between us which we completely devoured, all the more obscene considering someone had deemed it appropriate to have the TV tuned to a live Caesarian section. Like I said, standards have slipped.
Next stop Cusco, not much time left in our South America adventure anymore :(
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