One of the first things we did in Arequipa was go to the main square. Immediately it was clear how the city obtained its nickname the "White City"... All of the buildings around the square are made of a white stone formed from nearby volcanoes. B-E-A-utiful!
Plaza de Armas at night. Ohlala.
We only spent half a day in Arequipa because our final destination was Colca Canyon for a three day trek. After a long 6 hours of driving, we finally arrived at the entrance to Colca Canyon. For the next three hours we hiked down a slippery gravely path in which I may or may not have fallen down a few times... Let me just say that by the end of the trip, I dreaded the sound of slipping gravel.
Despite my apparent struggles I still had a lot of fun and we arrived where we would spend our first night. To my surprise, it wasn't a camping site. In fact, we all had little cabins with beds, bathroom, and shower (with hot water)! Here's a picture of some roses outside my room with the dining area behind it.
We arrived with plenty of time to journal, relax, eat dinner, and even tell a few ghost stories around the campfire. The next morning we left around 8 am to hike through the bottom of the canyon to our next resting spot. Along the way we stopped at a little museum where they told us all about the traditions of the people of Colca canyon from what clothes they wear to what food they eat.
Corn of many colors.
Colorful traditional clothes.
We continued on, only having hiked for a 4 hours or so and when we reached our next hostel where I was even more shocked because we had a pool!!
After cooling off in the pool we had lunch and played a game of pick-up soccer. It was a ton of fun, but oddly enough I kept on finding myself being distracted by the scenery! Can you think of a more amazing backdrop for a soccer game?...
The following morning we woke up at 4:30 to start our trek up and out of the canyon by 5. Despite not sleeping very well the night before I was all energized and ready to go after drinking a few cups of coca tea! Unfortunately we found out we weren't going to receive breakfast until we reached the top (which according to our guide could take up to four hours). Luckily, we had some extra granola bars otherwise the steep hike to the top of the canyon would have been significantly harder. Here's a picture from our first pit stop! Only three hours more everyone!...
At first I didn't understand why we had to start the trek so early in the morning (getting up at 4:30 in the morning to zig-zag out of a canyon didn't necessarily thrill me as much as getting up for Machu Picchu did...) However, when I realized that we would be hiking in the shade for the majority of our ascent I was very grateful we woke up at the wee hours of the morning. Especially considering that in the high altitude the rays of the sun are a lot stronger.
After lots and lots of zig-zagging, tons of people riding mules up the mountain passing us, and uncountable water breaks we finally reached the top. Here's a shot of my final destination... Almost there!!!
Once I reached the top I decided to take a celebratory 1/3 Kati(e) sandwich picture. We did after all zig-zag up 3,000 feet in elevation in under 3 hours. I was feeling pretty accomplished and also was missing Mari and Kati (my best friends and fellow "Kati(e) sandwich" members) so it just felt right...
Hopefully you noticed the awesome walking stick that our guide, Percy made me. He was hands down the rest guide I've had in Perú. Percy was super encouraging, helpful, and genuinely interested in teaching us about the land he grew up on. He along with my awesome, fun-loving, and card connoisseur companions made this trip absolutely spectacular!
Here's one last picture of the gang... Thanks for the great time everyone! Besitos!
Hasta luego,
Katie :)
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