Hiking
Saturday, March 5th, 2011Photos: Colca Canyon trek
Day 184 Wed 2/3 Arequipa/ Chivay/ San Juan de Chuccho – Colca Canyon trek day 1
Awake at 2:30 to get ready for the tour van at 3:00 am. Nick, Joe and I are slow as could well be imagined. The van was full and we leave town around 04:00 am after picking people up. Nobody was in the mood for a chat and most of us fall asleep as we leve town. We get to Chivay around 06:30 am after formalities at a police control station.
The breakfast is meagre; the redeeimgg feature being some juice made from quinoa. We then head on to Cabanaconde where we would start the hike, making a stop at Cruz del Condor. It is a nice viewpoint where one gets a first look at the Colca canyon. The stratified Machu-Pichu lookalike of the fields make me look forward to Machu Pichu, and wide awake. We also see quite a few condors in flight.
It is but 20 minutes to get to Cabanaconde and we head to the start of the trail. Th van splits up into two groups according to the trek they signed up for, the options being a 2-day or a 3-day trek. Our 3-day trek comprised of Joe and Nick, two lads from Nebraska who had just wrapped up college, 3 doctoras from Barcelona, a city counsellor from Montreal, our guide Cristina and myself. We do the usual touristy “before the trek” group photo and head down. The scenery is beautiful and we arrive at the bottom of the canyon in about 2 hours. My knees find it rough towards the end of the trek. The village of San Juan de Chuccho is small, with agriculture and tourism being the main occupations. There is only 1 school for kids of ages 5-10. Children would have to go to the town of Cabanaconde to pursue higher education. I dont think there was a hospital.
After lunch, it was time for a short nap to recuperate from the early start and the strong sun. Nap, shower and we regroup to get a look arounbd the village and indulge in some fruit – picking. We pick fruits from cactus (tuna) and peaches (melacoton/ durazno). The farming is organic and we enjoy a few peaches – delicious. The cactus fruit has to be picked with care, since they have small (but painful) thorns.
While our guide heads to help out in the kitchen, the 7 of us sit around the table playing some games that the Spaniards concoct. Dinner is delicious (soup, some dish made of pumpkin & rice, mate from hojas de coca) and would be for me, the best meal of the 3 days.
There is no electricity and we eat our meal in candle-light. The night sky is amazing; clear sky allows for a great view of the stars. Not something that a city-dweller takes lightly 🙂
Day 185 Thu 3/3 San Juan de Chuccho/ Malata/ Oasis of Sangalle – Colca Canyon trek day 2
After a good, filling breakfast, it is time to hike to the Oasis of Sangalle, with a few stops along the way as our guide gave informative talks on the culture of the people in the villages we passed, and the fauna. We also got some info on some Incan customs.
We pay a visit to a museum in Malata, stopping for a short group photo in the main square and head on down to Sangalle. The first 2 hours are easy, but the last hour is tough for me. I find it easier to climb than going down as my knee bothers me on descents.
We are about 3 minutes from our lodge/ bungalow, when Nick takes a tumble and twists his right ankle. He is instantly surrounded by 3 doctors. Joe and I help Nick down to the pool where he bathes his ankle and the drs ply him with Ibuprofen. They also wrap his ankle.
All of us head to the pool for two lazy hours except poor Nick, who sits poolside. Ester, one of the Catalonian girls, heads to bed after a quick dip as she isnt feeling well. It is time for lunch. After lunch, it is frisbee and pool for me, while a couple of the group lounge in hammocks and others take a catnap. The guides arrange a game of volleyball and we have a fun time for an hour and a half. Our group, the folks from the 2 day trek, our guides, folks from the lodge, all join in. We have quite a few laughs too during the game.
The folks in the kitchen invite us to help them cut the veggies and then it is time to sit around the table chatting and playing cards, while waiting for dinner. Time for an early night again. There are no lights in the room or the bathrooms, so we have to depend on our trusted torches.
Day 186 Fri 4/3 Oasis of Sangalle/ Cabanaconde/ Chivay/ Arequipa – Colca Canyon trek day 3
Wake up at 4:00 and start the hike at 5:15. The trails are uphill and tough in parts. It takes me about 2 hours to get to the top. Nick’s ankle holds up well – kudos to the girls!
Another group photo and we head for breakfast at Cabanaconde. We get 30 minutes to walk around the village and then it is off to Chivay. The church is pretty and has an exhibition of some great photos of the region.
We stop at a viewpoint where we can see where the canyon ends and the valley begins. The pre-Inca terraces of the land in the pretty, green valley has me looking forward to Machu Pichu. We also stop at some village where we get to taste Colca sour and have a look around.
Lunch at Chivay and then it is 3 hour ride back to town. We arrange to meet Francoise for dinner as the girls are off to Puno as soon as they can. Francoise is late to the Plaza de Armas were we had planned to meet and so I have dinner with Joe and Nick, who have a bus to catch in about an hour and a half. Dinner and then it is time for goodbyes. When the duo hailed a taxi, the policeman and policewoman who were standing nearby came up tp the taxi, took down the credentials of the driver and notes the number of the taxi. The lady also made a phonecall to ascertain the taxi is authentic. Apprently there are some fake taxis that scoundrels use to rob poor, unsuspecting tourists.
As I walk back to the hostel, I run into Francoise. He arrived 15 minutes late and was sitting down, watching the people. Cue for my second dinner. I have another meal, albeit a small one and a nice chat with Francoise.
It is time to close curtains on the end of a tour that was extremly enjoyable, not only for the views, but also for the people. All of us got along so well and had a great time together, with a lot of laughter and fun. The only unpleasant things being Nick’s fall and Ester’s bad afternoon (and for me, the descents).
Damu