Night in a hut next to hot springs: 15 soles ($5)
Eating fresh trout over rice and french fries every night: 5 soles ($2)
Squatting over the hueco (hole), legs shaking/aching, breathless at 9,000ft, overlooking the canyon 2,500ft below: Priceless
Generally the trek is 2-3 days, but we took an extra day so we could see the waterfall at the start of the canyon. It is merely a trickle right now compared to in the wet season in February and the boys were tired so they took a siesta while Katie and I went exploring in the boulder field below.
Trekking in Colca Canyon, Peru
My friends who are working in Arequipa on Chagas disease, Josh Siembieda and Katie Maloney, and I, just finished a four-day hike in the Colca Canyon - twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. I had arrived from sea level (in Lima) less than 24 hours prior after an exhausting and delicious Thanksgiving Day feast with over 50 American and Peruvian friends, two 25lb. turkeys, and lots of yams and potatoes and cheap Chilean and bad Peruvian wine.
Day 1
We woke up at 3am to take a bus from Arequipa to Chivay and Cruz del Condor where we watched the Andean Condors cruise within 30 feet of us.
We ended in Cabanaconde at lunch time and had trout with rice and french fries and we stared our hike. At the canyon lip, Cabanaconde (10,700ft) is the main town where all the small villages (spread out over the approximately 35 miles in the Canyon) go to for for education, trade, and transportation to Arequipa. We hiked over four hours downhill on soft rock to the Colca River and at the bottom (6,600ft) our legs were shaking and the smell of rotten eggs was overwhelming. There was a geyser and hot springs next to the small hostal called Llahuar (our room had a bamboo door, rock walls, dirt floor and a tin roof, and three mattresses). Don't worry - we inspected the room for chirimachas (the bug that carries Chagas).
Our local guide, Rolando, didn't speak any English so it was great practice for us.
Day 2
Since we had to carry our own packs, I tried to pack super light and it still felt heavy. I didn't cut holes in my toothbrush but I only brought the following items (including what I was wearing):
Backpack with 1 pair of pants, 1 shorts, 3 shirts, 1 jacket, 1 hat, 2 socks, 1 shoes, swim suit, travel towel, arm warmers, 1 flip flops, 5 underwear, 1 bra, sunglasses, SPF, hand sanitizer, TP (a MUST!), toothbrush, glasses, contacts, gallon of water, small first aid kit (Josh used the moleskin for blisters, I took 250mg of acetazolamide twice a day for altitude prophylaxis, and if it wasn't for the Advil on the last day when we hiked out I would have died), headlamp, Freakonomics book to read, iPod for the bus ride, travel pillow (this goes everywhere with me), camera (thank you Mom and Dad), battery charger (but none of the towns had electricity), phone (which didn't get any reception), trail mix and Swedish Fish (thanks Mom), and last (but not least) a photo of my dog.
We hiked up and down, then up and down some more, crossed the Colca River and then hiked up and up and up and up some more until we arrived in Fure. We stayed the night in Fure (9,000ft) with no electricity and no road (except the one for mules and trekkers), but they had water from an elaborate aqueduct system that dates back to Incan times when they terraced the whole mountain for agriculture. We ate dinner - fried trout, rice and french fries - over candlelight. It was chilly at night but without lights we were all asleep by 8.
Day 3
Quick video in the morning on the third day of the Colca Canyon and Colca River.
The third day we hiked from Fure down to "the Oasis," also called Sangalle (7,100ft), where we stayed at El Eden, a hut with dirt floor, bamboo walls and a palm leaf roof but it had a sweet swimming pool and was surrounded by palm trees and avocado, papaya, banana, orange and other wonderful fruit trees and flowers. It really felt like an oasis compared to the Arizona-looking cactus-covered canyon surrounding it.
Josh feeling "bad ass" and at home (he went to U of AZ) in the desert with of eagles, snakes, lizards and picaflor (hummingbirds).
Day 4
The last day, Katie and I woke up at 4am to hike out of the canyon (up 3,600ft). We were passed by many mules but it only took us about two hours (most people do it in 3-4). We enjoyed a not-so-refreshing Coca Cola Zero and some eggs for breakfast and hopped on the public bus by 9 to Cruz del Condor to catch one last glimpse of the famous Peruvian Condors, which we did.
Each part of Peru that I visit (besides Lima) has a very unique culture and customs. This areas is known for it's embroidery and the hats are the finest example of this. The women work very hard in the fields but are always wearing elaborate vests, long silky shirts, thick dresses, long braids, beautiful hats (our guide said a whole outfit costs over 1,000 soles ($300), which is more than a month's pay for most people - can you imagine!
Overall we hiked around 33km (20 miles) and our legs were sore and much in need of a trip to the Chivay hot springs - six large swimming pools fed with HOT water of varying degrees. The sunset as we drove into Arequipa was great with the mountains/volcanoes surrounding the city.
I can't wait to climb the Volcano Misti (19,000ft) next week - it's only a two-day hike with 12 hours up and 2 hours down!
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