Canyon de colca
we made it back, barely alive! i am so sore and bruised and scraped up, but that´s just the bad news. we started our adventure by staying in a friend of a friend´s extra room, christened the trash room because of a pile of trash in the corner. we then hung out with a new friend, raul, before leaving on our bus trip. we listened to music and talked about a million things. he and cass even salsa danced in the tiny room. then, it was off to the bus station in a crazy caravan of taxis. we waited forever, worried that our trip would be delayed again. finally, we were on the bus. the road, after awhile, was so bumpy that i came off my seat at least three times, there was no sleeping, even though it was around two in the morning by this time. then, the worst happened, our bus couldn´t make it up a hill, so we had to get out and walk in the cold and the dust. then, it was back on the bus, only to get off again and do the same thing. then, we all switched to another bus, where there was standing room only. we were all so tired and irritable by that time. it reminded me of what i had read about the trains taken in the holocaust, though our experience lasted only three hours. i tried to be tough, because it didn´t seem that bad, but there were the bodily smells of at least sixty people or more, trapped in a tight space, shoulder to shoulder. so many people were sick and our guide kept wiping alcohol over our faces to keep us from throwing up. at one point, i knew i was going to pass out, so our guide, abil, moved so i could sit on the arm of a chair near him and i sat like that for the rest of the trip. i was so tired though that i was resting my head against the seat in front of me, and i even snuggled on this poor peruano woman. then, abil let me sleep leaning on him, and we were finally there. we ate a quick breakfast at chivay of bread and mate de coca and then it was back on the bus until we made it to lunch at cobanaconde. after lunch, we started our trek. canyon de colca is the second deepest canyon in the world, and the second only by 163 meters. cass and i went with the spanish group, which included two girls from spain, a couple that consisted of a brazilian guy and a dutch girl, a dutch guy, two norwegians, a group from france, and us. we hiked the last part in the dark, and as i had stupidly forgotten my flashlight, i shared cass´s headlamp. we went through many wonderful little villages, and even got to go to one of the canyon schools and meet the students…hope my pictures turn out. abil was very informative. we crossed a suspension bridge, walked through several streams, and finally arrived at our hostel, where they had candles burning and dinner waiting. we ate by candle light in outdoor patios with palm leaf roofs. we shared a room with the two spanish girls, julia and suzanna, which was also lit by a single candle. i slept like the dead, but then it was up at six thirty to walk again. the whole trip consisted of standing aside as mules and indigenous people passed by on their business. we walked through desert landscapes and terraced farmlands where we saw chickens, pigs, cows, mules, and lots of dogs. we also saw two condors. the next day, we finally arrived at paraiso, or paradise, and oasis on the canyon floor. i forgot to mention that i ate it hard right by these gorgeous waterfalls and have some spectacular bruise memories to prove it. the oasis was incredible, bamboo and palm leaf shacks, alpaca, sheep dogs and mules everywhere and two cool green pools. we all took a dip and then ate a hurried lunch before climbing out of the canyon again. it was a rough trip that took me three hours, and i was in the slowest group. i walked amongst mules to the sound of scratchy peruvian music from one of the men´s radios. the canyon was spectacular. we were passed by a peruano woman and her son guiding a mule, a donkey, and a horse up the canyon. the woman got of her horse and left the four year old boy to ride alone, which he did, whipping the horse gently with a rope the whole time. when we arrived back to cobanaconde the whole city was dark and the street vendors had let their stands with candles. the restaurant, where we threw down some mate de coca, was also candlelit. after our tea, we went to the hostel, suffered through some freezing showers, and went back to enjoy dinner in our multinational company. we plan to go out with many of them tonight. much love, darcy
Tags: Travel
July 8th, 2005 at 6:38 pm
Darcy,
Not so sure you enjoyed that one! Those are the kind you remember though. Sounds like you are finding out what Peru is really like. I spent the day over by Warner springs working with a friend brushing for well sites. Hot and dirty. Tomorrow I have a track meet in San Diego, my first one this year. I will write more tonight.
Love, Dad
July 8th, 2005 at 7:09 pm
Sorry Darcy! I had to laugh at the description of your bus trip. I know you like to sleep when on the road, and I know you CAN’T STAND bad smells, and the idea that you had to get off the bus twice so the bus could make it up a hill made me laugh. You survived… but like Dad said…. you’ll remember THIS adventure! The guide wiping alcohol on your face to keep you from throwing up and you snuggling up on that Peruvian woman cracked me up. Are you glad that you went to Canyon de colca……or was THIS part of your trip a mistake? I love reading your desriptions….you definitely paint a picture with words. Hope that your evening with your new multinational friends makes up for some of the bad times. I love you, and I am looking forward to your next travel blog. Love, Mom (I’m bruised too… I fell today while walking up the steps to my classroom….It brought back memories of my fall in that contruction area at UCLA. Yes, sometimes some of your most vivid memories are experiences that weren’t so much fun at the time.
July 9th, 2005 at 12:44 am
Are you still calling it “a little trek through the Canyon de colca ?”. In a few months I’m sure you will be laughing more about it than you are now. Hope the body rejuvenates itself soon. My leg has started acting up so I can add my injuries to the list of people with problems. It is pretty lonely here in the valley with everyone gone. B has had to stay with Grandma since some of the caregivers didn’t show up. Bruce left the 4th of July for bootcamp and today they allowed him a 20 second call home. Denise was so excited to hear from him. He says all is going well and he has no regrets as yet. Rees and L and kids are sailing to Catalina. Leaving this Sun. I think they will stay a week. The middle son, Blake got married last weekend and they will move east as Blake is studying to become a doctor. So now all the boys are married and Roy has a son so Rees is Grandpa I’d guess you would say. I have a lot of paper-work to do this month and I hope I am done by the time you get back. I thought I would have to wait until this Sunday before you would be able to write so your letter today was a HUGE and GOOD surprise. Michelle and Jacob are now on the Blog list so maybe you will be hearing from them. I hope so because Jacob had some taxi rides that would compare to some of your stories. Tonight Michelle is cooking dinner for her in-laws. Hope it all turned out. Kathy is having big trouble with her bees. The honey is all gone out of the frames. The hives are either being robbed or the bees themselves are hungry and ate all the honey up. K is feeding them sugar water or whatever it is to keep them going. My Spanish letter wasn’t ready because I thought you wouldn’t be back yet so you will have to wait for that big event. Guess I have blabbed enough for now. You can’t imagine how glad I am that you are safe and sort of back to normal. Mucho love - G and G. We all love your letters. Hi to Mama Cass.
July 9th, 2005 at 12:50 am
Darcy,
I thought I would have a lot more to say now, but my brain is fried. It is 9:42 and I just got home. We went to Margarita’s for dinner. Then I stopped at Grandma Farley’s on the way home because Bee was there. I am getting some of the boys together Sunday, to set Grampa’s headstone. I have the concrete base prepared. Peter called to see if I could sail with him, but I have a full dance card. I hope you are getting enough rest. You don’t want to get sick half way through your trip! Hasta la bye bye.
Love, dad
July 9th, 2005 at 2:12 pm
hola!!! just finished reading all of your entries thus far. sounds like you are having a great adventure! so happy for you! we returned from ours on july 6. felt like we were gone 3 months instead of 3 weeks! i know what you mean about not being able to keep up with your experiences! too many new things coming at you too fast! i did keep a journal but will need to supplement now that i am home and not on the road… we were able to do all that we had hoped for and more. south africa is a gorgeous country! after the first week in stellenbosch (wine country) where troy’s conference was held, rented a car and travelled from cape town along the eastern coast. like you, became friends with people from all over the world - all parts of africa, israel, great britain, germany, new zealand, australia, japan, etc… one of troy’s colleagues from indiana, diana, joined us for a portion of the trip. she was a good travelling partner and as her husabnd is a bird expert, felt like we were with audobon himself! spent much of our time along the most beautiful coast i have ever see. tasted the indian ocean - delicioso! seafood and wine fantastic! had an incredible encounter with over 40 elephants at a watering hole. their rumbling brays moved my soul! also sat among a baboon troop and even had one of the babies come over and play with my shoe strings! other animals: zebra, warthogs, meercats, mongoose, rock hyrax, tortoise, jackal, kudu, hartebeest, vervet monkeys, duiker, whales, otter, seals, lizards, ostrich, penguins and oodles of other birds. most of our time immersed in nature. did a lot of hiking which hopefully helped work off all of the fried calamari i consumed! flora as spectacular as the fauna. winter there so aloe in bloom brilliant red and breathtaking when against the turquoise sea. protea also flowering big and bright. at beginning and end of trip went sightseeing in cape town area: walked the city streets with one of my buddies from australia (found a cool bead shop!), cable car to top of table mountain, explored Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, shopped at a big flea market, visited the very touristy waterfront & aquarium, ate at a traditional african restaurant with lively singing and dancing, went to a museum illustrating the sad results of apartheid but also the progress now being made… huge disparities in wealth persist. many people of color still in townships. aids epidemic…. but there is hope! infrastructure amazing - roads, parks, tourism system all better than in u.s…. despite all we did, know we barely scratched the surface. hope to return one day. everyone there so friendly and helpful! love you lots and while still in peru, raise a cerveza toast to more happy trails for us both!!! looking forward to your updates… “go well”, as they say in south africa. tu tia, La T-ster
July 10th, 2005 at 4:20 pm
Hello! Sounds like you are experiencing a lot. Hopefully your wounds heal fast. Can’t wait to see the pictures you have been taking. Thanks for the updates and have fun!
July 10th, 2005 at 5:06 pm
hi again! been thinking about your adventure and i ‘ve decided it sounds more like “Survivor Peru”! hope you win! luv, the t-ster
July 11th, 2005 at 10:24 am
Darcy,
Yesterday, Kenny, Jim and I set Dad’s headstone. It only took us 1 1/2 hours to set it. Then we sat on headstones and talked for 2 1/2 hours. Then we went to lunch at Pancho’s for two hours. I had left the house at 9am and got home at 4pm. Them headstones take a long time to set!! Not much to report otherwise. Thinking about cruising the Gaslamp next weekend in my yellow Celica. Think I will have to put a sexier sounding exaust on it though. Had a bat in the house the other night. He went back up stairs and decided to fly through the attic fan, which was on. He could use more practice at that! Remember, if you bring home a Peruvian boyfriend, make sure he has money enough to support your poor old dad. Later.
Love Dad