7-7 Got up at 3am for the bus ride to Chivay where we had a breakfast at 6 and then continued onto Cruz del Condor (Condor Crossing). There, at one of the deep parts of the famous Colca canyon, we watched huge condors soar below us and then catch updrafts and rise above us. There were about 15 condors going back and forth. It was a magnificent sight to see these beautiful birds soar up above the river way down below and then float effortlesly up so that they were graceful silouhettes against snowcapped peaks. I then took the bus down to the tiny village of Cabanacondae. I just chilled out there for the day, going for a small hike for some views of the canyon, reading, and going to the freezing mass at night.
I came here to do a trek in the Colca canyon. Peru claims it to be the deepest canyon in the world, but I also did a trek in China, the tiger leaping gorge, where they claimed it to be the deepest canyon. Also the annapurna gorge in Nepal had a big sign claiming it to be the deepest. From what I read, the deepest is actually a gorge in Tibet. But it is interesting how they measure it. these places that claim to have the deepest ones, measure it from the lowest point of the river to the top of the highest mountains on either side. Thus why nepal can lay claim bc annapurna mtn and I think it´s dhauligari both rise to 8000m. In my own head I think a canyon has to be what the river cut (like the grand canyon) as opposed to the mtns rising above it.
Anyways, almost everyone does a 2 or 3 day group led tour that has at least 10 people in it and they all go to the same spot. I got lucky and got some good intel from some people on my jungle tour that suggested staying in this hostel, pachamama, in cabanacondae instead of taking a tour from arequipa where a lot of the time is spent driving. And they said that pachamama had good info so that you could figure out how to trek in the canyon on your own.
7-8
My tent had accidentally been left in the tourist van on the day I went with the condors. Everyone in the van had just a small backpack bc they were all on the 2 day trek, but I wasnt on a tour and would not be returning to Arequipa, so I had my huge bag. they had to detach the tent from my pack and when they did it at 3 in the morning, i certainly didnt remember it after watching the amazingness of the condors. But luckily i had made friends with Rosa who I had booked the tour with and she was very helpful in getting the tent back to me. So I picked it up in the plaza that morning when the next tour groups rolled in.
Ammadeus of pachamama had given me a good 3 day itinerary where i would go to some unspoiled villages where none of the big tours went and see some cool things. He drew out a very rough map and i headed out. I had some trouble finding the trail at first bc near cobanacondae there were so many trails crisscrossing everywhere around terraces and livestock pastures. Eventually I was kind of lost and asked a little boy herding sheep and he took me cross country through all the cacti to find the main trail that descended into the canyon. From there the trail descended impossibly steeply down to the canyon. It was crazy how this trail was built with its switchbacks and hugging narrow ledges with huge drop offs. The hike took me from Cabanacondae at 3290m (10,800ft....the top of the canyon by cruz del condor was about 4200m) down to Llahuar at 1970m (6460ft). Heading down from the rim had really great views as you could see the greenish river at the bottom and snowcapped peaks at the top. As I descended, even though it was the dry season, I actually got some rain. The trail was just so steep and cool. It reminded me of the Kaebob trail in the grand canyon.
At the bottom I went over a hanging suspension bridge where you could see some fumeroles and geysers along the river bank. I stopped in a small village after i crossed the river, and bought some bread from a woman who showed me how she was weaving a beautiful multicolored blanket. I arrived in the tiny village of llahuar (2 families with a total of 9 people) and stayed in a home stay. I then went down to the river and soaked in an amazing perfect temperature hot springs right along the river bank at dusk. The the stars came out and in the clear, desert air, the stars were amazing.
It was kind of nice to head down to such a low elevation where things were warmer. When you travel there are some things you notice that you wish the US did different but there are way more things that you are thankful for. One thing, that the last 2 trips have made me really grateful for is our climate control. Almost all our houses are heated, our schools, banks, libraris restaurants, cars, offices, etc are all heated. In our lives we are actually hardly ever uncomfortable. After travelling through the Himalaya and northern India in the winter and then traveling through patagonia in fall and S. America in winter (I have only been to one place on this trip, the amazon, where I didnt need a sweatshirt or jacket at night. Even when I was in the amazon they had a cold front and I was glad to have lots of blankets. Even at iguazu it was cold and we needed jackets), you really appreciate the warmth. Usually the days are pretty warm, but at night it gets freezing and the rooms have no heat, the restaurants, no heat (and often they are outdoors anyways), the churches no heat. No heat in any stores and they dont use it on buses either. So at night you have a chill. So down at this low elevation and after heating the body with the hotsprings, i actually ate dinner without my fleece on for the first time in a very long time.
7-9
In the morning I first went for a nice morning soak by the river in the hotsprings before I hiked up to the village of Llatica at 2570m (8430ft) which was on the other side of the canyon from cabanacondae and up another smaller canyon. After exploring this sleepy village, I continued up above the Rio Molloco and up the canyon to the village of Fure at 2760m (9050ft). At the village there were several ribbon waterfalls falling from way up high and down into the village. Here I stayed at another homestay. The trails up to here were so cool. They were really narrow with steep drops down to the river. It's just crazy where they were able to build trails. The canyon is so incredibly steep. And throughout the trails you are walking through cactus trails full of los of different species of cacti--kind of like a cactus garden. So beautiful, especially combined with the sweeping canyon views. From Fure, I continued up the canyon to the tall and powerful Huaruro Falls. Very impressive! It was then back down to Fure to spend the night. Only tourist again up in Fure.
7-10
Hike along a sweet narrow, cliffy trail to mirador Apachetea with great views up and down the canyon. The trail was really sweet and they cut it at a nice grade so i thought it would have been great for mountain biking. I then descended down to the village of Malata at 2450m (8040ft). From here you could see down to the bottom of the canyon and could see the village of San Galle (aka Oasis) where you could see lagoon blue pools sparkling in the sun. It was hot in the heat of the day by this point, and I couldnt wait to get down to the pools. I made it down to San Galle at 2050m (6725ft) where the tours do go and visit bc of the nice swimming pools with waterfalls falling into them. th village is surrounded by palm, banana, and papaya trees. I chilled in one of the pools for a while and talked to one of the guides who asked where I had been.
He told me I did it right how i did it to go see some of those vililages where there are no tourists and where the people are still living life as they have for ages. But he said it is all going to change very soon. i was actually gchatting with a friend a few days earlier and i was telling her how i was a bit bummed i would be missing out on the big treks in the cordillera blancas and huayhuash bc of the winterfly antarctica job. And she told me, dont worry, it will be there when you get back. I just agreed. But this guy kind of reminded me of one of the reasons I have really been getting out there to travel and see things. He told me how they had plans to connect all these villages to roads and bring power to them. He said the funny thing is that the power scheme was thought up in the 80s based on a hydroelectric plan, but that was when there were big glaciers in the mountains above the canyon, and they are almost all gone now so the creeks coming into the canyon only have water seasonally, so the hydroelectric thing will not work too well, except in the big river which they also plan to dam, which will of course drown out some villages. Actually, on this day, with about 1km left until Malata, I ran into a big tractor. It was in the process of making the singletrack trail into a road navigable by cars. It was crazy on my little map it was marked as singletrack, and just over a few days they had made it into a road passable by cars. If I had come to this place a year later, or even a few months later, it would be totally different.
This is one of the reasons why I have really tried to get out there and travel. Things change so quickly. I remember my china guidebook said to hurry up and get to the 3 gorges in china and do the amazing treks there as they had a dam planned. Of course, my book was old and when i got there, the dam had displaced several million people and buried the 3 gorges. When I talked to people on the Everest base campe and Annapurna circuit trek who had been there 20 years before, they talked about how differnt the trek had been. back then it was truly staying in tea houses with families, but now you stay in little lodges. When I was doing the Annapurna circuit they were in the process of starting a road that would completely go around the circuit, making it navigable by car and thus ruining it as a trek. Lots of times progress happens at the loss of culture and uniqueness that we as tourists like to see. Or sometimes it's glaciers melting, tigers becoming extinct, etc. I mean, I am sure it wont be long before the everest base camp has a sheraton and cable car up to it. I like to get to some of these places before modernization (or extinction or whatever) takes place, but at the same time, I totally understand the people's reason for wanting it. I mean just bc we like to see traditional villages doesnt mean these people shouldnt have access to electricity and cars as well. just think if estes park was still attached to Boulder and ft. collins by just a trail. i wonder how many CU games our family would have made it to if we had a 60 mile round trip treki. And I just laugh thinking of my dad carrying his huge big screen tv up on his back for 30 miles or me my 42 pound ochem books home for college breaks up the 30 miles of hills. Then again, maybe that would be good, bc we certainly would have a whole lot less fat nebraskans and texans in Ep if the only way up to EP was by a trail! But anyways whether we like it as tourists or not and whether the villagers like it or not, it is happening all around the world, so actually sometimes by waiting, things do change.
Some other reasons why I have gone for so much travels so early is partly because the opportunity has arisen. Who knows what will happen later. The dollar continues to crumble compared to other currencies and prices, even in a 1 year old guidebook are always much higher than the guidebook suggests. At some point budget travel may be very hard. And who knows, if the US economy were to really tank, we may become like other countries and only our top 10% could travel. And then in my personal life, I could get a great job, but one that only gives 2 weeks holidays, which would make travel hard. Or i could have a family, or a mortgage, or other things that make travel harder. So when people ask why I have been traveling so much and so early, that is a big part. The world changes quickly AND I have the opportunity now, so why not take it.
Today was tuesday and thus on monday being in the little village i had not been able to check my email (oh there is that modernization thing again), which i was trying to monitor every weekday bc i was still waiting for that official job offer and i wanted to make sure they didnt pass me up bc i didnt respond. I wanted to make it back up to the one computer in cabanacondae before the denver lockheed offices closed. It was super hot, so I pulled a trick from ole Jude´s hat and jumped into the cold river with all my clothes on. As i pounded back up the canyon in the heat with the sun on my back, I passed by lots of trekkers from the tour groups suffering in the heat. Mom´s thing certainly did the trick! They said it would take 4 hours to the top, but in my hurry to get to the email, I did it in under 2 hours. I was pretty out of breath near the top as all of a sudden you find yourself back up near 11,000 ft.
I got to the computer, waited an eternity for my email to open (even in HTML mode) and then BOOM! The official job offer was there! And I am glad I hurried up bc they gave you two business days to reply and this was at the end of the 2nd day!
I celebrated with some icecream in the plaza and then went to my favorite restaurant for an afternoon snack. A restaurant of mainly all man, all wearing cool cowboy hats. That night i celebrated with a more expensive and fancy dinner at my hostel having alpaca steak and a pisco sour and a machu picchu sour.
I came here to do a trek in the Colca canyon. Peru claims it to be the deepest canyon in the world, but I also did a trek in China, the tiger leaping gorge, where they claimed it to be the deepest canyon. Also the annapurna gorge in Nepal had a big sign claiming it to be the deepest. From what I read, the deepest is actually a gorge in Tibet. But it is interesting how they measure it. these places that claim to have the deepest ones, measure it from the lowest point of the river to the top of the highest mountains on either side. Thus why nepal can lay claim bc annapurna mtn and I think it´s dhauligari both rise to 8000m. In my own head I think a canyon has to be what the river cut (like the grand canyon) as opposed to the mtns rising above it.
Anyways, almost everyone does a 2 or 3 day group led tour that has at least 10 people in it and they all go to the same spot. I got lucky and got some good intel from some people on my jungle tour that suggested staying in this hostel, pachamama, in cabanacondae instead of taking a tour from arequipa where a lot of the time is spent driving. And they said that pachamama had good info so that you could figure out how to trek in the canyon on your own.
7-8
My tent had accidentally been left in the tourist van on the day I went with the condors. Everyone in the van had just a small backpack bc they were all on the 2 day trek, but I wasnt on a tour and would not be returning to Arequipa, so I had my huge bag. they had to detach the tent from my pack and when they did it at 3 in the morning, i certainly didnt remember it after watching the amazingness of the condors. But luckily i had made friends with Rosa who I had booked the tour with and she was very helpful in getting the tent back to me. So I picked it up in the plaza that morning when the next tour groups rolled in.
Ammadeus of pachamama had given me a good 3 day itinerary where i would go to some unspoiled villages where none of the big tours went and see some cool things. He drew out a very rough map and i headed out. I had some trouble finding the trail at first bc near cobanacondae there were so many trails crisscrossing everywhere around terraces and livestock pastures. Eventually I was kind of lost and asked a little boy herding sheep and he took me cross country through all the cacti to find the main trail that descended into the canyon. From there the trail descended impossibly steeply down to the canyon. It was crazy how this trail was built with its switchbacks and hugging narrow ledges with huge drop offs. The hike took me from Cabanacondae at 3290m (10,800ft....the top of the canyon by cruz del condor was about 4200m) down to Llahuar at 1970m (6460ft). Heading down from the rim had really great views as you could see the greenish river at the bottom and snowcapped peaks at the top. As I descended, even though it was the dry season, I actually got some rain. The trail was just so steep and cool. It reminded me of the Kaebob trail in the grand canyon.
At the bottom I went over a hanging suspension bridge where you could see some fumeroles and geysers along the river bank. I stopped in a small village after i crossed the river, and bought some bread from a woman who showed me how she was weaving a beautiful multicolored blanket. I arrived in the tiny village of llahuar (2 families with a total of 9 people) and stayed in a home stay. I then went down to the river and soaked in an amazing perfect temperature hot springs right along the river bank at dusk. The the stars came out and in the clear, desert air, the stars were amazing.
It was kind of nice to head down to such a low elevation where things were warmer. When you travel there are some things you notice that you wish the US did different but there are way more things that you are thankful for. One thing, that the last 2 trips have made me really grateful for is our climate control. Almost all our houses are heated, our schools, banks, libraris restaurants, cars, offices, etc are all heated. In our lives we are actually hardly ever uncomfortable. After travelling through the Himalaya and northern India in the winter and then traveling through patagonia in fall and S. America in winter (I have only been to one place on this trip, the amazon, where I didnt need a sweatshirt or jacket at night. Even when I was in the amazon they had a cold front and I was glad to have lots of blankets. Even at iguazu it was cold and we needed jackets), you really appreciate the warmth. Usually the days are pretty warm, but at night it gets freezing and the rooms have no heat, the restaurants, no heat (and often they are outdoors anyways), the churches no heat. No heat in any stores and they dont use it on buses either. So at night you have a chill. So down at this low elevation and after heating the body with the hotsprings, i actually ate dinner without my fleece on for the first time in a very long time.
7-9
In the morning I first went for a nice morning soak by the river in the hotsprings before I hiked up to the village of Llatica at 2570m (8430ft) which was on the other side of the canyon from cabanacondae and up another smaller canyon. After exploring this sleepy village, I continued up above the Rio Molloco and up the canyon to the village of Fure at 2760m (9050ft). At the village there were several ribbon waterfalls falling from way up high and down into the village. Here I stayed at another homestay. The trails up to here were so cool. They were really narrow with steep drops down to the river. It's just crazy where they were able to build trails. The canyon is so incredibly steep. And throughout the trails you are walking through cactus trails full of los of different species of cacti--kind of like a cactus garden. So beautiful, especially combined with the sweeping canyon views. From Fure, I continued up the canyon to the tall and powerful Huaruro Falls. Very impressive! It was then back down to Fure to spend the night. Only tourist again up in Fure.
7-10
Hike along a sweet narrow, cliffy trail to mirador Apachetea with great views up and down the canyon. The trail was really sweet and they cut it at a nice grade so i thought it would have been great for mountain biking. I then descended down to the village of Malata at 2450m (8040ft). From here you could see down to the bottom of the canyon and could see the village of San Galle (aka Oasis) where you could see lagoon blue pools sparkling in the sun. It was hot in the heat of the day by this point, and I couldnt wait to get down to the pools. I made it down to San Galle at 2050m (6725ft) where the tours do go and visit bc of the nice swimming pools with waterfalls falling into them. th village is surrounded by palm, banana, and papaya trees. I chilled in one of the pools for a while and talked to one of the guides who asked where I had been.
He told me I did it right how i did it to go see some of those vililages where there are no tourists and where the people are still living life as they have for ages. But he said it is all going to change very soon. i was actually gchatting with a friend a few days earlier and i was telling her how i was a bit bummed i would be missing out on the big treks in the cordillera blancas and huayhuash bc of the winterfly antarctica job. And she told me, dont worry, it will be there when you get back. I just agreed. But this guy kind of reminded me of one of the reasons I have really been getting out there to travel and see things. He told me how they had plans to connect all these villages to roads and bring power to them. He said the funny thing is that the power scheme was thought up in the 80s based on a hydroelectric plan, but that was when there were big glaciers in the mountains above the canyon, and they are almost all gone now so the creeks coming into the canyon only have water seasonally, so the hydroelectric thing will not work too well, except in the big river which they also plan to dam, which will of course drown out some villages. Actually, on this day, with about 1km left until Malata, I ran into a big tractor. It was in the process of making the singletrack trail into a road navigable by cars. It was crazy on my little map it was marked as singletrack, and just over a few days they had made it into a road passable by cars. If I had come to this place a year later, or even a few months later, it would be totally different.
This is one of the reasons why I have really tried to get out there and travel. Things change so quickly. I remember my china guidebook said to hurry up and get to the 3 gorges in china and do the amazing treks there as they had a dam planned. Of course, my book was old and when i got there, the dam had displaced several million people and buried the 3 gorges. When I talked to people on the Everest base campe and Annapurna circuit trek who had been there 20 years before, they talked about how differnt the trek had been. back then it was truly staying in tea houses with families, but now you stay in little lodges. When I was doing the Annapurna circuit they were in the process of starting a road that would completely go around the circuit, making it navigable by car and thus ruining it as a trek. Lots of times progress happens at the loss of culture and uniqueness that we as tourists like to see. Or sometimes it's glaciers melting, tigers becoming extinct, etc. I mean, I am sure it wont be long before the everest base camp has a sheraton and cable car up to it. I like to get to some of these places before modernization (or extinction or whatever) takes place, but at the same time, I totally understand the people's reason for wanting it. I mean just bc we like to see traditional villages doesnt mean these people shouldnt have access to electricity and cars as well. just think if estes park was still attached to Boulder and ft. collins by just a trail. i wonder how many CU games our family would have made it to if we had a 60 mile round trip treki. And I just laugh thinking of my dad carrying his huge big screen tv up on his back for 30 miles or me my 42 pound ochem books home for college breaks up the 30 miles of hills. Then again, maybe that would be good, bc we certainly would have a whole lot less fat nebraskans and texans in Ep if the only way up to EP was by a trail! But anyways whether we like it as tourists or not and whether the villagers like it or not, it is happening all around the world, so actually sometimes by waiting, things do change.
Some other reasons why I have gone for so much travels so early is partly because the opportunity has arisen. Who knows what will happen later. The dollar continues to crumble compared to other currencies and prices, even in a 1 year old guidebook are always much higher than the guidebook suggests. At some point budget travel may be very hard. And who knows, if the US economy were to really tank, we may become like other countries and only our top 10% could travel. And then in my personal life, I could get a great job, but one that only gives 2 weeks holidays, which would make travel hard. Or i could have a family, or a mortgage, or other things that make travel harder. So when people ask why I have been traveling so much and so early, that is a big part. The world changes quickly AND I have the opportunity now, so why not take it.
Today was tuesday and thus on monday being in the little village i had not been able to check my email (oh there is that modernization thing again), which i was trying to monitor every weekday bc i was still waiting for that official job offer and i wanted to make sure they didnt pass me up bc i didnt respond. I wanted to make it back up to the one computer in cabanacondae before the denver lockheed offices closed. It was super hot, so I pulled a trick from ole Jude´s hat and jumped into the cold river with all my clothes on. As i pounded back up the canyon in the heat with the sun on my back, I passed by lots of trekkers from the tour groups suffering in the heat. Mom´s thing certainly did the trick! They said it would take 4 hours to the top, but in my hurry to get to the email, I did it in under 2 hours. I was pretty out of breath near the top as all of a sudden you find yourself back up near 11,000 ft.
I got to the computer, waited an eternity for my email to open (even in HTML mode) and then BOOM! The official job offer was there! And I am glad I hurried up bc they gave you two business days to reply and this was at the end of the 2nd day!
I celebrated with some icecream in the plaza and then went to my favorite restaurant for an afternoon snack. A restaurant of mainly all man, all wearing cool cowboy hats. That night i celebrated with a more expensive and fancy dinner at my hostel having alpaca steak and a pisco sour and a machu picchu sour.
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