peru - arequipa and colca canyon

From Machu Picchu we headed back to Ollytantambo, taking a 9 hour bus ride to our next destination - Arequipa.  I was very nervous about the trip given my last awful bus experience to Cusco.  With my Dramanine in hand for motion sickness, I happily drugged myself to sleep and had no problems...until I woke up freezing to death in the very early morning.  It´s funny, it never occurred to me to ask if there would be heat on the bus, I just thought it was a given!  The other women next to us were all bundled up in extra blankets they had brought with them, along with sweaters and scarves.  Guy only had on a short sleeve shirt, I had luckily grabbed my hat, and we grabbed a few extra tiny fleece blankets from the empty seats around us.  As we waited for the sun to rise, I laid with my blanket over my head, but was still shivering and looked at Guy who smiled as he showed me that he could see his breath.  I finally climbed into his seat (with him in it) to try and warm up!  I´m sure the other people in the bus thought we were crazy gringos.  When we arrived in Arequipa, the sun was up and we warmed up quickly.

Arequipa is a city quite unlike most of Peru in that its quite modern and "cosmopolitan" compared to most of the country.  There were times it felt like we were in Southern California!  The Plaza de Armes is gorgeous with a large fountain surrounded by beautiful white sillar stone buildings.  There are many upscale stores and cafes, and you can tell there is more money flowing around in this city than the others we´ve been to.  Although there are snack carts, there are fewer people selling in general on the street, and few people approach you to buy whatever it is they are selling.  The attitude is completely different...almost snobby if you ask me, and most people are dressed quite nicely, making me feel like a grungy backpacker!  In the couple of days we were there, we laid pretty low and booked a 2 day tour to Colca Canyon, which is nearly twice the size of our Grand Canyon. 

I wasn´t feeling well when we were picked up at 8 am  by our tour bus the next day, but decided to move forward anyways.  Our tour guide, David, was so cute I just wanted to put him in my pocket.  He explained everything twice...once in Spanish and then again in English.  He always began by saying "ok friends" and repeated that phrase throughout his explanations to us.  We saw lot of beautiful countryside, and stopped in a few small towns with eager locals, waiting to sell their wares of take pictures with us or dance for us (all for a price, of course!).  We also saw vicuñas, which look like a cross between a deer and a llama.  We stopped for some coca tea, which I desperately needed since we were quickly approaching an altitude of 4,850 meters.  We reached the town of Chivay, where we stopped for lunch and then were to spend some time resting in our hotels.  At this time I could barely eat rice and felt terrible, so we skipped the hot springs and continued to rest through the afternoon.

I continued to stay in bed and Guy went to the dinner/music and dance "show."  At this point I didn´t know if I´d be able to continue the tour the next day.  But when 5 am came, I was feeling well enough to go (although at this point Guy informed me that he had been up the night before, sick!)  Despite our nasty feelings, we headed west to the Colca Canyon, with stops at a few viewpoints, as well as a church and The Mirador Cruz Del Condor.  Here, we were able to view the canyon, as well as a dozen or so condors, swooping through the air.  The canyon was quite stunning, although in my opinion, the Grand Canyon is much more impressive!  The condor viewing was quite spectacular, though, and we spend a good chunk of time trying to capture them on camera.  We both weren´t feeling good, but tried to keep a sense of humor and make the best of our situation.  Its always a bit nerve wracking being on a bus with no bathroom when you don´t know when you´ll need one!

We saw lots of animals on our drive back: llamas, alpacas, sheep, cows, pigs, donkeys and horses, which of course instantly cheered me up!  We stopped at the highest point on the way back, Pata Pampa, where we were able to view several (5?) volcanoes, as well as what looked like a little village of stone pile "offerings."  The native people stack rocks at this high point as a way of giving thanks to the mountain for all it provides.  I decided to build one as a way of making peace with the mountains, since they have been causing me so much strife! (altitude sickness)  Although I think the sickness Guy and I were having originated from something we ate, going up and down through the mountains definitely adds to the not so good feelings!  The bus ride got a bit long at the end on our way back to Arequipa, but I was just so thankful that we both were able to make it through the day (and the bus ride).  We were originally considering doing a trek or rafting in the canyon, and although those wouldn´ve been great experiences, I thank God we didn´t do those, because of our health!  Traveling can sure be a blast, but it can also be exhausting...