The next day i left the group in Cuzco and headed down to Arequipa “the white city” nickname gotten from the colonial era. Arequipa is Peru’s second largest city which lies in the Andes mountains, at an altitude of 2,335 meters (7,661 feet). In the horizon you can see snow capped volcano El Misti. (not pictured,believe me its there)
By this time my body was still tired and sore from the previous two days in Machu Picchu and the 19 hour bus ride so i basically took it easy the next couple days in Arequipa. While walking the around i bumped into Coleen, Nessa & North (from PSF) on some side streets in Arequipa. This encounter will become one of many i had with them on this trip. One thing about traveling “on the beaten path” you tend to run into the same people in different places in different cities. These common encounters may seem really random but they are not at all. Buses, trains, stations, hostels, cafes, tours and on the streets are the usual places these occurrences happen. North and I spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the Santa Catalina Monastery that begun back in 1579.
March 4th 4am I set off on a 2day 1nt tour/hike of Colca Canyon.
Colca Canyon is located in southern Peru and is the second deepest canyon in the world, It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States, the canyon’s walls are not as vertical as those of the Grand Canyon. It was a 6hr drive from Arequipa to the Canyon.
(we crossed this town in the canyon)
It was a bright and sunny morning and the hike down was long and tough (9am). One would think that hiking downhill would be easy but it really puts a lot of strain on your feet & knees. Once we reached the river below (12 noon some 3000 plus meters below) we had to climb back up to the village on the other side where we had lunch and a little rest.
Our journey continued where we had to reach base camp which was still several hours away. On the trek we had to go down through another ridge only to climb up the other side. We passed two small villages that we saw from the top of the canyon. Hard to imagine life down in the canyon where community of people are living. There were schools, churches, town plaza, little individual markets and homes scattered across. By late afternoon the rain & wind had settled in and the trails had become muddy & slippery. My pace began to really slow down as the elements worsened. We crossed several bridges & had many steep inclines & declines along the way. The trek really appeared to be never ending as darkness was starting to approach. Sunset in the Canyon is earlier than it is at the surface. We arrived at base camp after dark exhausted, wet & dehydrated after a 14km hike from the top. My clothes were completely wet and i wasn’t sure what i would be wearing the next day. I had to spend the rest of the night freezing in my shorts as I left my clothes to dry in this cold damp climate. The bed i had to sleep in was as hard a rock but surprising warm with a thick wool blanket covering it up. It was a 5am wake up call in the darkness for our 7km hike up the canyon. Body aching from the previous day, so i popped two Tylenols hoping it would provide some relief. It was cold and wet yet all my clothes were dry! The climb up was going to be short but steep. I found myself again completely gassed after 10 minutes of climbing again. Watching the sunrise in the canyon was quite amazing and welcoming to have some heat. Along the way i had to shed most of my clothing as the sun and my body temperature rose. I do have to thank the Cliff Bar i packed from home as it really helped me get some energy on the way up. As i struggled to climb the path up, mules passed me at blazing speeds with heavy loads on its back, i should have hired one. I reached the top of the canyon at 9am where breakfast was had. This simple breakfast of eggs with toast, jam & coca tea was probably one of the most satisfying breakfasts I have had.
21km in two days!
unfortunately this pic was taken before i started 
