Peru Part 2: Arequipa

The highlights in Arequipa are people, food and the Colca Canyon trek. Here is where I met the lovely chocolate covered inside out Hilary and the foodie James. Both of them from the States and lived elsewhere for a very long time. Hilary, from Delaware, was in China for four years, studying and teaching plus her Mandarin is better than mine (I know…I need to improve very quickly). James, from Texas, lives in Chile and knows and eats good food plus he managed to master the slack line in a couple of sessions (urgh…tell me about it!).

Tired, so tired. Arriving in Arequipa on a night bus, I don’t know what to expect and one of the things on my list is to drop the bag then go get some coca leaves. Fortunate for me, the hostel manager was more than happy to let me settled in before the normal check in time. Hilary, who arrived way before me, was in the same room and we started chatting non-stop like we were friends of old. We decided to go out to the market to grab some food and she was keen to get her hands on some coca too.

Walking at altitude was proven to be very hard on both of us and going up stairs felt like we’ve climbed a mountain. It was Hilary’s first time at this altitude and she handled it very well. The San Camillo market was one of the best markets I’ve been to and they even have everything, even a lane specifically for sombrero. This became my favourite food shopping market and came almost everyday and James introduced me to the delicious natural yogurt, raw honey and head cheese (don’t ask me to explain what this is). By the end of my stay before heading to Cusco, too much of the good stuff and my stomach retaliated. Took me a good few days to settle it. Reminder to self…moderation!

Colca Canyon trek was the next day, so back to the hostel for a bit of chill time with some coca tea and fresh fruits from the market. It was a nice evening chatting and meeting Joe, James and a Taiwanese girl, learning about Cusco and some of the antics that happened there. I was using the socialising to put off packing for Colca Canyon and I had to forcefully excuse myself so that I could get everything ready and sleep so that I could get up for the early start at 2am.

Early start indeed and I was still half asleep when the bus came to pick me up. It went around town picking various people up then the start of a long drive up to Chivay town to have breakfast before the mirador for the ‘Flight of the Condors’. We were fortunate to spot around five condors flying graciously through the canyon since it was reported that the week before, there were none spotted. It was short-ish drive from the mirador before we reached the start of the trek for the canyon. The three day trek group consisted of five trekkers (Sean, CJ, Dawn, Calla and me) and guided by Juanita, a character who knows his stuff and strut it like no other.

The first day was downhill most of the way and a bit of uphill trek to our first night stay. It was a dorm style home stay run by a family and the place was picturesque to say the least. The second day was by far the easiest with mostly what Juanita called ‘Inca Flat’, which meant up and down through the valley of the canyon. It didn’t take long for us to reach the oasis, our second night stay where the two-day trekkers would have stayed before they tackle the three hours hike up the canyon. Juanita pointed out the route to us on the way to the oasis and all of us were thinking the same thing, ‘tomorrow will be hell’. So, we chilled as much as we could for the day near the pool and snoozed.

Day three was no joke, three hours for me to get up that canyon and if I remembered correctly it was 1,100m up in elevation and six or seven kilometres in distance. The rest of the group went ahead of me and I decided to enjoyed the hike instead, looking over the canyon with the sun rising and shining over the peaks. It was important to me to register the experience on the canyon, the beautiful view that nature gave me that morning, how far I’ve trekked up and the emotions that went with it. I did it, albeit the last one in the group and still managed to do some ‘Inca Flat’ distances at a good speed.

The experience taught me that I can do anything and everything that I have my heart set on. All those training, both physical and mental, throughout my thirties came in handy. I do miss working my mental strength in the office, it has taught me so much and I’m thankful for every moment that went with the sweat and tears. I am stronger because of it.

Back in Arequipa, celebration was in order. A group of us on the bus decided to meet up and have drinks and we ended up clubbing till late-ish that night. The DJ was amazing with the selection of songs and read the dance floor just right. It was what I imagine a clubbing scene would be like in Latin America, glad I decided to join them. Just like me, I also decided to go rafting with Dawn and why not if opportunity arised!

The remaining days were for resting and making sure I take care of this body of mine and making sure that the knees are alright after all the downhill trek on gravel path. I managed to do a couple of sessions at Mono Blanco climbing gym with James and Jenny. It was my first time on a slack line and it showed how much I need to work on my hip and core stability. The climbing was harder than normal and it was apparent that I haven’t climbed for a long time, I started to miss my training on the wall.

Arequipa has been good for me with the close proximity of the market, allowing me to cook and eat well (mmm…delicious quinoa soup with alpaca and yes, I made it!). Travelling for such a long time, I can feel that my body needed the rest and the nutrition that comes from good quality produce home-cooked. When it was time to leave, I was ready for Cusco.