2 men and a Canyon.

So this post is going to be slightly late but i need to get it down before i forget!

So despite all of the horror stories me and john had been told about those that hiked into the Colca canyons solo (without a guide) we were determined to do it solo as my friends Timo and Roy told me it was thoroughly terrible with a tour. So minimal planning and we were off. we got the bus to a small town called cobanaconde (like copa cobahna with anaconda). the 1st night we arrived it was the evening so we went to the nearest hostel to check in. we realised when we arrived that one of the things we didn’t plan was accommodation......I know, amateur mistake. Never the less there was plenty of choice. 2 hostels. One called valley of fire and another that I can’t remember the name of. We went fir the latter. Very decent hostel, and for 10 soles a night, good value. so the morning came and we set off, at around 7 ish.

With my tourist map in hand and local directions now and then we were able to make it into the canyon. Colca being the deepest canyon in the world it took 7.5 hours for me and john to trek down into the canyon and over a ridge, then descends into an oasis. Along the way down the heat was blazing and we frequently had to move aside as the paths were small to make space for the locals coming down with their donkeys. One point to mention was the trail of donkey poo that reassured us that we were on the right path. So the scenery was amazing and the best reward was finally arriving at the base of the canyon at the oasis, named Eden, with is a pretty good comparison. Palm trees, waterfalls, swimming pools in the middle of a semi desert canyon. Pure bliss. For the night me and john stayed in little bamboo huts, and whilst john swam I slept.

For most of the canyon trek I was going full out, getting my trek on good and proper, john found it slightly harder to keep the pace as for many parts on the way down he was hampered by his fear of heights. Several times there was an extremely narrow path and a sheer drop, pretty scary for him ime guessing, but never the less we both made it down. Frequently getting "lost" as john would call it. I call it the scenic route. So for the 2nd day we began out hike out of the canyon back up to the town of cobanaconde. This route up was only 4 hours but from an elevation of 1000m to 2000 in 4 hours. The trail was completely vertical.

What we didn’t know was that usually people who do this route leave at 4 or 5 in the morning, this was too avoided the mid day heat. Me and john left at 8 in the morning and didn’t make it back up for 5 hours. We ran out of water and almost came to as crawl as we got to the top. It was purely mental strength that got us out of that canyon! But never the less I survived. So, this is where it gets ridiculous. We make it back, and have lunch. I order the steak and john orders the alpaca (lama steak) but the order gets mixed up and I get his, we then swap when the waiter tells us were eating the wrong food, but still neither is shore if he is right as both dished tasted and looked identical. So that mini crisis over we went out in search of a bus.

The time being 2.20 pm. the bus left at 2. We missed it by 20 minutes and so had to wait till the next one, at 9 in the evening. So with lots of time to kill we went to the internet cafe where john played games and I talked to Alice. We were both quite disappointed with the evening as we had planned a night out with the rest of the GVI volunteers but with a 6 hour bus ride ahead of us at 9 in the evening that was off the cards. Finally arriving back in Arequipa we were relieved to be back on familiar ground. The trouble hasn’t finished yet. So on arrival at our usual hostel we find the front desk deserted and every bed full. Middle of the night fully loaded up with our bags we went in search of another hostel; luckily there was a wild rover in Arequipa, a usual haunt for the gvi crowd. Having stayed in this hostel in La Paz I knew it would be easy to get a bed, and so we were settled for the night. Finally. We slept and the next day began the planning for our next move onto Cuzco with the rest of the gvi team that had finished and were off in the same direction. Tickets bought we enjoyed a final night out in Arequipa and then the next morning the 10 hour bus ride. Sunday, Bus day.

Stress head moment in the bus station. I had a bottle of drink in my bag that I was holding for Joanne as she had no space in her bag; this bottle was my down fall. we were running late and my bags were brought inside as I was searching for the others, this being the bag with the glass bottle in. it was dropped down on the floor and so all of my stuff got covered in liquorish smelling alcohol. Then we had to rush for the bus only to find my bag containing dinner and snacks for the trip was in the hands of another volunteer on another bus. I. was. Stressed. The bus ride was cold and i arrived in Cuzco sleep deprived. Never the less we got settled into a very nice hostel and spent the day recovering from Colca and the bus ride. Me and john decided to stay in the rival hostel to the one previously mentioned (wild rover), staying in Loki. This hostel was pretty awesome and if possible me and john are considering getting jobs there as bar men for 2 weeks. Ime shore it would be a great experience and really help john and myself to become more open people. That’s all that’s happened up to the beginning of Cuzco so far, minus the face me and john are currently 3 days into a 4 day hike to Machu Pichu, currently at the base of the mountain. I will blog all about it when we’ve visited the ruins and got back to Cuzco. Pictures to be added to this post at a later date. Hope you enjoyad this post. =]