Thursday 29th
December – Colca Canyon – Day 1
Happy Birthday Fionntan!!
Happy Birthday Fionntan!!
Today was the start of my three day tour to Colca Canyon,
the second deepest canyon in the world at 3200m, nearly twice as deep as The
Grand Canyon (1800m). The deepest canyon
in the world is also in Peru, a bit further north, and is called Cotahuasi
Canyon (3535m). Now let me clear up a
little technicality here. In reality,
these two Peruvian canyons are actually the second and third deepest canyons in
the world. The world’s deepest canyon is
Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon in China at 5382m.
But Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon is so inaccessible that its depth was only
measured accurately in 1996, and due to its remoteness the Peruvian canyons are
considered the two deepest. Plus I’ve
never been to China so Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon doesn’t count.
I was trekking to the second deepest canyon in the world, and that’s
that.
Elias, our tour guide for the three days, picked me up
from The Wild Rover at 8.00 a.m. and after collecting the remaining members of
our group, Mary, Ruslan, Natasha, Paul, Michaela and Gabriel, we were on our
way. As we drove out of Arequipa we
passed flat landscapes where llama-like creatures roamed. They weren’t llamas, but were related to
them. I’m not sure what they were called.
But they didn’t seem to know too much about The Green Cross Code or realise that immortality was a myth.
With the peaks of cloud-covered volcanoes, including El
Misti, in the background our first stop was to see The Forest of Stones. This was a fascinating scene. As we walked towards it, large pillars of
rock stood out against a backdrop of steep walls and canyons. The pillars of rock were huge and jagged,
some towering 20m high. A group sat
perched on the edge of a sheer drop. Stepping
on to this I noticed a crack running along it but my weight compared to the
weight of the rock pillars would not cause any chance of a collapse. When looking through the rock pillars you
could see a huge sloping cliff with many different layers of sedimentary
rock. After walking a bit further and
looking back at the overhang I had just been standing on, I certainly wouldn’t
have been so quick to clamber on it – the whole massive piece of rock was
completely undercut. The pillars were
made of soft rock and some would crumble if you squeezed it in your hand.
Next it was off to the highest point we would reach on
our tour, 4900m, where it was possible to get a fantastic view across the Andes
and see several volcanoes in the surrounding area. I’m taking our guide’s word for this as all
we could see were vast banks of cloud.
Better weather needed. But at
this location we saw what is one of the first plant species that ever existed
on Earth. This is a green plant that
grows to look like a rock. Not only one
of the first plant species on Earth but it would also seem to be one of the
most unimaginative. After this is was on
to Chivay where we stopped for lunch before making our way to Cabanaconde, our
stop for the night.
To reach the town we drove along winding mountain roads. At times this was terrifying. As we drove we came to the end of the valley
and approached the start of the canyon.
The drops were sheer and high, possibly 1000m. But I am glad to say, unlike previous
drivers, ours took it slow allowing us to loosen our grip, ever so slightly,
from the edges of our seats. Along the
way we stopped at lookout points to take photos of the dipping valleys and
carved canyon before arriving at Cabanaconde.
As we entered the town it was noticeable that not every
house or shop had lights on and a lot of people were using candles. Puzzled, we continued to our hotel, checked
in and discovered that there was huge power cut across southern Peru. After a walk around a dimly lit and quiet
town, we had our dinner by candle light. Over dinner we had a great talk with Elias
about Peru and the different industries Peru relies upon for income. After everyone else had gone to bed, myself
and Elias talked about astronomy (and many other topic). One area of astronomy that has been intriguing
me at the minute is the Incan constellations.
I asked Elios about it and it turned out he is actually very keen on
this and has a book with all the details.
Tomorrow I’m going to have a good look at it.
With and early wakeup call and the inability to do
anything without a head torch or candle I crashed early.
Friday 30th
December – Colca Canyon – Day 2
Up at 7.00 a.m. and still no electricity. The sky was clear and a striking blue. As I walked onto the balcony outside my room
the landscape surrounding the town was hypnotic. Rising serrated hills with the peak of a
volcano in the distance.
After breakfast we all packed and handed over our bigger
bags to be taken into the canyon on donkeys.
Elias then walked up to me and handed me his book on Incan astronomy. I couldn’t read it as it was all in Spanish,
but the pictures in it were excellent.
It showed the Inca’s constellations compared to the constellations we
are more familiar with. Unsurprisingly
their three main constellations were those of the Condor, Puma and Snake, the
three main animals that Incas respected.
When I get the chance I hope to research this a bit more. Elias has also said he’d like to set up a
tour that explained this to people – I think is a great idea and a tour I’d
definitely sign up for.
Then it was time to start the trek. We set off through Cabanaconde and after
crossing a few fields we were soon at the entrance to the canyon where we had a
short break to prepare ourselves for the 1200m descent. As we began to walk, down in the distance and
far below, we could see The Oasis, a resort of sorts at the base of the canyon
which would be our camping spot for tonight.
Around The Oasis ran the Colca River.
Ruslan asked about this river running beside The Oasis and Elias pointed
out that the river was actually about 200m below The Oasis. From our vantage point they looked at the
same level. This gave a good indication
of high up we actually were and how far down we had to trek down.
The trek down was steep and at times tough with countless
switchbacks but stunning views of the canyon walls all around us We trekked for over one hour and the base of
the canyon and The Oasis looked no closer.
Upon reaching the halfway point Ruslan and I started to pick up our
pace, I think the only thoughts in our head were to get there as quick as
possible and jump in the swimming pool – it was touching 30oC so it
was a sweltering trek. Eventually The
Oasis began to seem closer and the end was near. It took us a total of three hours but, after
getting startled by a few pigs living in a disused house where I relieved
myself, we reached the canyon floor.
Here we could truly appreciate the beauty of Colca Canyon. Towering rock faces all around, a raging
river below us, a blistering Sun casting shadows that highlighted the jagged
formations. At the top of one of the
cliffs Elias pointed out the road that we drove along yesterday. The cliff was easily 1000m high. From this viewpoint it felt even more
terrifying that we had driven along it.
And we’ll be doing the return journey tomorrow.
Then it was time for a swim in the pool to cool off. It did feel odd there being a resort in this
location, but it was the perfect resort - very chilled out and peaceful. I met another group coming into the canyon
which included Helen M and the three Australians I shared a taxi with in
Arequipa.
After getting much needed food, a few of us decided to
trek up the other side of the canyon to see it from the other side. This didn’t take too long but in the heat was
tough. We crossed a high bridge and
could see the raging torrent of the Colca River below, with waterfalls flowing
down the cliffs on the other side. While
charging up I passed a few people I had met in Cuzco who were on their way
down. I reached the top and started to feel unwell – again. This is becoming very annoying. I have no idea what is causing it, but I have
to find out. As Elias explained the
local fauna I couldn’t even pay attention as I was scouring the surrounds to
find a rock to jump behind. But
thankfully it passed and we made our way back to The Oasis. When we reached the camp site again, Natasha
gave me some tablets to help my cramping stomach. I really hope they work because tomorrow we
have to do the 1200m ascent out of the canyon.
After watching a few people play volleyball and chatting
with Helen M for a while, we had dinner.
We were surrounded by insects everywhere – a moth deciding that my food
looked too tempting not to dive straight into and promptly drowning in my
sauce. Other moths seeing this act of extreme
stupidity decided that dive-bombing the dinner plates was not the best idea, so
instead headed straight into the enclosed and water filled candle holders. They
soon suffered the same fate as their forerunner by drowning in the water. The firefly that came after had a little more
success. After landing on the wine
bottle it casually hung around for us to examine. Not really knowing how to get it to spark
into life we poked and prodded it before it finally fell off the bottle and
displayed its fiery glow. Once we
returned to the tents we could see fireflies everywhere lighting up the bushes.
Tomorrow the trek out of Colca Canyon begins at 5.00 a.m.
to avoid the heat - so an early night was needed.
Saturday 31st
December – Colca Canyon – Day 3
The shower in the Oasis was located outside, beside a big
tree with only a little flimsy wicker-like door and no roof. So today in the darkness that still exists at
4 a.m. I showered along with several spiders still sleeping in their webs and countless
other little critters who were not too pleased at my early morning invasion of
their slumber. At least that’s why I
think they all decided to jump on me. When
I managed to get clean I joined everyone for breakfast and we prepared ourselves
for the trek out of Colca Canyon – an altitude ascent of 1200m.
From the canyon floor, as we looked up there was a partially
clear sky with a thin layer of cloud beginning to roll in. That would keep the Sun off us at least. At 5.25 a.m. we began, Ruslan opting to take
a donkey up. I much prefer climbing up
than down – unless going down is over very loss sand or stones which I can run
down. But yesterday’s decent was
slow. The ascent would be much more fun
and challenging. Once we started, I got
up a good pace and decided the best way was to keep going and not stop at
all. It was hot going even at this time
of the morning (if you are allowed to call any time prior to 6.00 a.m. morning
– I don’t!). As I went up I was looking
out for the spot where Elias said yesterday, ‘We are at the halfway
point’. I came across this spot four
times. Everywhere looked the same with
all the switchbacks. But finally I came
to the real half point and I was making good time. Not long after I began to enter the cloud layer
which provided a cooling air around me and it wasn’t long after that I very
unexpected broke through and above the clouds into dazzlingly bright
sunlight. I looked back to see an
amazing vista. The canyon completely
covered with a perfectly white cloud roof.
It looked like I could step onto it.
I knew at this stage there wasn’t far to go so I powered on, on the way
bumping into a few locals who stopped for a quick chat. They said things in Spanish. I said random
things in Spanish which I think were the answers to their questions. They were all really friendly and welcoming
with big smiles and exclamations of good luck for the climb. My legs were beginning to get very heavy, but
I kept going and soon the top was in sight.
Finally I reached it in a time of one hour and twenty minutes. I was the first up and very pleased with
myself (time for a bit of wallowing in my own self pride – out of about 30
people the next quickest that day took two hours and five minutes). I was greeted at the top by two locals selling
drinks and chocolate who rewarded me with a free banana for being first up. They had a dog which rewarded me by trying to
eat my banana.
As I rested in the bright morning Sun and admired the
views of the cloud covered canyon two horses were herded towards the canyon
track by two boys who were definitely no older than eight years old. At one stage when the horse refused to move
the elder of the two boys - he was eight and a half I think – shouted at it
before lifting his foot and striking the horse with an almighty kick up the
rear. The horse decided moving on was a
good idea as navigation down the track was better than being humiliated in public
by a person one tenth your height and strength.
After about half an hour other trekkers started arriving
at the top, Ruslan on his donkey being the first from my group. As he approached the top and went behind me I
heard a crash and thud and turned round to see Ruslan hanging from the donkey
at what was certainly not the right angle.
I couldn’t help but laugh. After
managing to make it the whole up the steep and bending track he feel off on the
top flat stretch but he was unhurt. His jeans weren’t so lucky.
Over the course of the next hour everyone else arrived at
the top and once we were all gathered together we headed back into Cabanaconde
to get our bus back to Arequipa, with a few stops en route. The route back took us along the cliff
road. I tried to put out of head the
height that I now knew we were above the canyon floor as we rounded tight bends
and narrow passes. We stopped at Cruz
del Condor. This area of South America
is famous for its condors. They can be
seen flying out from the cliff and soaring high into the sky, up to a
staggering height of 7 km. Today we saw
none. Although the Sun was shining strongly
upon us, below there was the same cloud blanket as covered the canyon. The only animal in flight I saw was a
beetle–like beast that crash landed beside me after colliding with a wall. It baffles me how such small creatures can
fail to see such large obstacles. It
would be like me accidentally running into a skyscraper.
As it turned out I was the only person on my tour going
back to Arequipa. Everyone else was
going on to Puno and from there to Lake Titicaca. I had to cut this from my travel plans which
wasn’t a hard decision in the end. After
all, it’s just a lake. A lake the size
of Wales yes, but it’s just a lake. The
largest high altitude lake in the world yes, but it’s just a lake. A lake with floating islands yes, but it’s
just a lake. A lake everyone has said I
should go yes, but it’s just a lake.
Yep, it was a very easy decision to remove this from my itinerary. It’s just a lake.
So with only having 10 minutes to relax in the hottest
swimming pool I have ever been in (it was so hot I had to slowly ease myself in
the way I would slowly ease myself into the Baltic like seas off the coast of
Donegal) I left everyone else and went to Chivay for lunch with Elias. I had a lot fun with the guys on the tour -
kind, generous and a good laugh. Elias
was an excellent tour guide and definitely helped make the tour one of the
highlights of my travels so far. Then I
jumped on another bus and got back to Arequipa.
Arriving at The Wild Rover I ducked my head into the bar. It was 5 o’clock on New Year’s Eve and
already the party was in full swing so it was time for me to join in. Quick shower, quick change and I was getting
involved in the celebrations. I bumped
into a few people from Melbourne who are also going to Golden Plains. Maybe I’ll see them there. By 7 o’clock people were on the bar dancing. It was shaping up to be a crazy night. Before heading out to bring in the New Year
at Frogs, fireworks were lit in the hostel.
I don’t mean on the roof, I mean in the hostel. As we looked on from below, a few came flying
at us, one bouncing on the floor in front of me before whizzing into the girls’
toilets. Health and safety on this
continent is non-existent. In Frogs we
almost had to tell the DJ to do a countdown and after it wasn’t long before I
headed to bed, knackered after my early morning trek. I got to the hostel, but how is a
mystery. I knew neither where I was nor
where my hostel was. Thank god for the
beer scooter – always on hand to help us long.
Sunday 1st
January – New Year’s Day
Happy New Year everyone!!
Like most new year’s days mine was spent doing very, very
little. I did some research on how I get
to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile which is now going to be my next stop. The night did end up being a bit bigger than
expected. The Wild Rover bar was as
crazy as last night if not even more so.
I spent the evening with Gus and Helen M and a couple from London reminiscing
about the good times I had when living there.
Monday 2nd
January – To Got Or Not To Go
Today ended up being a day of many decision changes when
it came to getting my El Misti trek arranged.
The Wild Rover had a travel agency which organized El Misti treks, but
like Colca Trek, they did not have enough people, I was the only one. I went to the Colca Trek office and it was
still the same story there. They did add
that even if they did have enough people they would not take them on the trek
as the weather and conditions on the top of the volcano were not good. After hearing this I made the decision not to
go. Disappointed I headed back to the
hostel. At 6 p.m. the agency in the
hostel came back to me to say there now had two people who wanted to go and if I
still was interested they would have their minimum of three. I was a bit dubious about this after what
Colca Trek had said.
Wanting to make the right decision I asked many questions
about the trek. What happens if the
weather is bad in the morning? What
happens if the weather is bad at base camp and we cannot go any further? Do
they supply all the equipment? Is the
guide English speaking? The answers to
all of these satisfied me. If the
weather was bad in the morning we would not go and we would get a full
refund. If we left in the morning we
would definitely get to the summit as we would not leave if they thought the
weather at base camp would be too bad to reach the summit. All equipment I needed would be
supplied. The guide would be English
speaking.
After bouncing thoughts off Helen M and Gus I decided to
go for it. It’s the main reason I came
to Arequipa after all. The weather
tonight was awful – pouring rain. The
forecast for tomorrow is good. Fingers
crossed we get to leave.
Tuesday 3rd
January & Wednesday 4th January – How Not To Climb A Volcano
After waking up the first thing I did was check the
weather. Will we be going or not? It was much better than yesterday: the
pouring rain had stopped and there was even some blue sky about. At 8 a.m. I was collected and taken to the
tour operator’s office, Quechan Explorer, which is right next to The Wild
Rover. There I was told the trek was going ahead. Fantastic news.
In the office, one of the staff started to ask me what
equipment I had and read everything out from a list. Every time I said ‘No’ to an item she gave me
a look that was both dismissive and surprised at the same time. Eventually she reached the end of the list,
scurried away and came back with what I needed.
She handed me a pair of mountain trousers – the kind that you’d imagine
a person climbing a snow covered volcano would need. I put then on and reached for the zip. Where there should have been a zip there was
nothing. I handed them back and soon she
handed me another pair. I put them on
and reached for the zip. Where there
should have been a zip there was a zip that just about worked and was only ever
slightly more fit for its purpose than a sieve is for carrying water. Next came the jacket. A nice sky blue colour. Luckily fashion isn’t top priority on a
volcano climb. I put it on and reached
for the zip. It was only half attached
to the jacket. While I struggled to
fasten it the woman approached me, informed me they had no more jackets, took
control of the zip and just about succeeded in getting it to work. I was then introduced to my guide for the
trek, Jesus, and was quickly informed that on the trek he would fasten the zip
for me. We hadn’t even left the office
and I was already getting a sinking feeling about this. After being given gloves (I checked they had
the right amount of fingers) they provided me with a backpack which had a
slightly broken but still working strap, a tent, a ground mat and walking
poles.
While all this was going on I met the other people on my
trek, three girls from Switzerland: Corne, Sue and Sarah. A thought went through my head: ‘I was told
last night there were only two other people going and I was needed to make up
the minimum of three’. I let it
pass. Jesus helped me get my bag packed,
constantly speaking Spanish to me. I asked
questions in English, he didn’t understand.
A thought went through my head: ‘I was told my guide would be English
speaking’. I let it pass. Thankfully the girls could speak Spanish and
English and translated for me.
After speaking to the girls they said that they were up
early this morning and had a great view of El Misti in the distance. The weather it seemed was on our side. Finally at about 9.00 a.m. it was time to head
off. We jumped in a 4x4 which performed
like a 4x1, and were driven to the starting point of our trek – a 45 minute
drive outside Arequipa over first a sealed road and then an extremely bumping
and hilly field which put the 4x4 to the higher regions of its capacity to
function.
Our backpacks were unloaded from the roof along with my
tent. The three girls had brought their
own tent which they had been using while on their travels. They had started in Alaska and had now worked
their way the whole way down to southern Peru.
I put my pack on the ground, lifted my tent and grabbed the pack’s
straps to attach it. The straps where
there, the buckles and clips were not.
Jesus took over with some string and managed to get the tent and ground
mat attached.
At this point I should have realized that things were not
going to plan at all, but ignored my better judgment and, instead of insisting
that I did not want to continue, I began the trek with Jesus and the girls.
Just before we began the trek we looked towards El
Misti. Where it once stood had now been
replaced by a thick layer of cloud.
Jesus gave us a run down of the plan for the trek. I managed to decipher a few bits and pieces
but had to get the girls to translate which they very kindly did. This was to be the theme for the day. Then we set off, firstly over gravel paths
before it became steeper and involved climbing up rocks. Our starting altitude was somewhere in the
high 3000m range, I’m not quite sure. En
route we stopped for several breaks. By
the time our second break came the rain was coming down heavily but thankfully
I had my Gore-Tex jacket and over trousers.
The main concern was my backpack.
I searched for its waterproof cover but it was nowhere to be found. It wasn’t lost. It just didn’t exist. Jesus used a sack that he had and some string
and did his best to create a makeshift cover.
At about 3.30 p.m. after 5 hours of walking in the pouring rain and
howling wind we reached base camp.
Thinking things were bad at this stage, I had no idea
they were about to get a whole lot worse.
Jesus took the tent from my backpack and put it up. It was certainly a challenge in the wind and
rain. The girls got to work on
theirs. They had a huge tent. Once the tents were up, Jesus said something
to me in Spanish. I had no idea what and
looked at him blankly. Then he grabbed
my backpack, threw it in my tent and said I should to get in. This was to stop it from blowing away. It was now time to get out of my drenched
clothes. I took off my waterproofs and
opened my rucksack to face the most depressing sight. Absolutely everything inside my rucksack was
soaked. I don’t mean wet. I mean saturated. Every piece of clothing I had, both on me and
in my bag was useless. Utterly depressed
I sat in my tent looking and listening to the worst of the elements playing
havoc outside. I have never had a panic
attack before, but this was the moment when I came close – several times. We shouldn’t have ever left on this
trek. I even contemplated asking Jesus
if we could just leave now and get back to Arequipa, but I knew that wouldn’t
be possible. I sat there shivering
constantly and rapidly feeling sicker and sicker. I went to maneuver myself backwards in my
tent to get some heat by unfurling my sleeping bag but as I did so put my hand
behind me straight into a huge puddle of water.
I looked up and could see rips and holes in the tent. It was flooded. Every time I moved water lapped against
me. I grabbed a cup and began scooping
the water out. It was pointless. I looked outside the tent and was greeted by
a line of animals marching passed, two by two, and asking if I wanted some help
from a guy called Noah. I said, ‘Thank
you, but it’s OK. I have Jesus as my
guide’.
Having no clue as to the timetable off our activities, I
wandered over to the girls’ tent and asked if they knew. They gave me the details – we would leave
between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. to get to the summit as long as the weather was
good. We all knew at this stage it
wouldn’t be. I went back to my tent and
within a few minutes Corne came over and said, ‘You don’t look well’ and after
explaining my flooded tent problems, she very kindly offered me to come and
stay in their tent. They were my saviours. I can’t stress that enough. There was no way I could have stayed in my
tent and things may have turned out much differently if I had had to. I grabbed whatever I had that was dry and
made my way over. Just walking to their
tent was a struggle with the cold, rain and wind. But soon I was sorted and in my sleeping bag
in a dry tent. As the four of us sat
there discussing our trek we had a great laugh detailing how bad it was and all
agreed there was no hope of making it to the top.
After another few hours Jesus arrived with dinner. How he managed to cook it I have no idea but
full credit to him. After this we
discovered that his tent was also flooded.
This was turning into either a horror movie or a comedy. So when the time came to sleep there was five
of us in a three man tent. Sleeping was
tight to say the least. But it was dry
and warm. Sarah gave me tablets to help
with the head cold that was getting worse.
I managed to fall asleep for a few hours, woke up and thought it must be
about 3 a.m. now. It was 11.05 p.m. We all woke at about this stage and had a midnight
feast before a broken sleep until 4 a.m.
The attempt to the summit was not going to happen as it was still
pouring.
After breakfast and packing our tents away we started the
descent. The rain had stopped but the cloud was still clinging to the
mountain. Jesus set off first to make
sure we were going in the right direction.
Once this was established we started down. This was fun.
It was over volcanic sand so we could move pretty fast and had a bit of
fun. But the main thought in my head
was, ‘How long before I can crawl into my bed?’. After about two hours we made it back to our
pickup point and the 4x4 was soon there to escort us back to Arequipa.
Once dropped off at the office, the games began. I was angry, furious, livid at the tour
company for so many reason. The main
being the pathetic equipment they supplied.
As the girls could speak much more Spanish they fought our corner. The response from the company: ‘It rained’. My blood boiled. At no stage on my trip have I wished this
much I could speak Spanish. They said we
should have checked it before we left.
My response: ’What? I should have
put the tent up in the office and started spraying a hose over it? Are you serious?’ No matter what we said, they didn’t care. But after half an hour they finally relented
and offered us a free dinner and rental of bikes tomorrow. I wasn’t happy but there was nothing we could
do. They weren’t budging. I wanted all my money back. I was dreaming.
So after going back to The Wild Rover and getting a hot,
hot, hot shower we all met and went for a very good lunch at a place
recommended by Jesus. Jesus came along
too and got a free lunch. After all it
wasn’t his fault and he did everything he could on the trek to help us through
it.
After returning to the hostel, I relaxed, had a few
drinks to calm me down and was in bed by 9 p.m. feeling awful. Bikes planned for tomorrow. But I don’t think I’ll be well enough for it.
Thursday 5th
January – The End Of Peru
Very unsurprisingly today I woke up feeling awful. I went to the tour company and let the girls
know that I couldn’t join them on the bikes as I needed lots of rest to
recover. I again thanked them for
everything they did to help me.
After being in bed for a few hours, I booked my bus to
leave Peru. I will be going to Tacna,
crossing the border somehow to get to Arica and then hopefully straight to San
Pedro de Atacama. It’ll be a long
journey but the next stage of my adventure and my next country, Chile.
The rest of the day was spent getting myself ready. A few times during the day I was chatting to
Trevor from Vancouver, Canada. He gave
me lots of hints and tips on where to learn surfing. Planning to do a week’s course in Bali.
With my bus leaving at 7 a.m. I was in bed by 11 p.m.
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