Well, Peru didn’t start quite the way I hoped it would.
The plan was to relax and enjoy the beautiful white colonial town of Arequipa for a few days before re-joining Ryan for a three day trek in one of the deepest canyons in the world, Colca Canyon. Technically speaking, all of this did happen. But somewhere along the line in Arequipa, something got into my system that upset my stomach, and in turn, my week.
I didn’t want to bail on plans with Ryan as it was likely the only other days we’d overlap down here. So I bravely (read, stupidly) decided to continue with our hike through Colca Canyon. The first day’s hike was okay, but my physical state rapidly declined after we got to our hostel. The next two days were the most miserable days of hiking I have ever endured. Nearly the entire time I wasn’t hiking I was in bed. I could barely eat. My stomach flipped back and forth between yelling at me because it was hungry, and immediately feeling painfully bloated after I ate four bites of food. Most of what I did eat didn’t last in me a whole day, coming out one of two ends. I’ll spare you more details.
My semi-reckless behavior meant that by the time we were out of the canyon, my body had nothing left to give. I spent the next two days back in Arequipa laying in a dark room, sleeping, nibbling on snacks, drinking copious amounts of electrolytes, taking meds, attempting to nurse my body back to some semblance of life. Wednesday was the first day I felt any improvement at all, and slowly but steadily I’m coming back to normal. Thursday was the first day I’ve had mental capacity to write, hence why this is coming later than usual.
That said, there isn’t a whole lot that’s happened these past few weeks. Colca Canyon was beautiful, and I’ll give a some more detail on the hike & landscape itself. That’s really the only activity worth mentioning so this will be a bit of a shorter newsletter.
LOCATIONS
- Copacabana, Bolivia (Apr 20 – Apr 21)
- Arequipa, Peru (Apr 21 – Apr 24)
- Colca Canyon, Peru (Apr 24 – Apr 27)
- Arequipa, Peru (Apr 27 – Apr 30)
ACTIVITIES
Colca Canyon
At its deepest, the Grand Canyon measures 6,093 feet (1857m). At Colca Canyon’s deepest, it is roughly twice that of the Grand Canyon, measuring 11,000 feet (3350m) and stretching for 43 miles (70km). It is also home to the Andean Condor, one of the largest flying birds on the planet with a weight up to 30 pounds (~13 kg) and a wingspan reaching just over 10 feet (3m).
On our first morning, Ryan and I started with a stop at Mirador Cruz del Condor, the infamous viewpoint along the canyon that gives the highest chance of seeing condors circle through the air. After a slow half hour of waiting and seeing only a few condors far in the distance, we nearly left. I’m glad we chose to stick it out for a bit longer. Very quickly, as the temperature warmed, the air traffic became more and more congested with the great birds. The longer we stayed, the more that appeared, and the closer they flew. At points they were flying less than 15 feet above our heads. A big bird doesn’t look very big in the distance, but when it’s right next to you, it was something to marvel at. I had told Ryan the day before that I wasn’t convinced they were going to be very cool, and in that moment I stood very happily corrected.
Unsurprisingly, it is incredibly difficult to take high quality photos of birds swooping through the air that capture them in good light, and my few attempts were largely unsuccessful.
After our condor viewing, we headed deep down into the canyon, descending nearly 4500 feet (1370m) to our first lodge. From the very start of the trek, we could see the path switch its way back and forth all the way down the canyon to where we would finish our day. We had fantastic weather. It was the warmest I’d felt in all of my time in South America. It was quiet on the trail. We only ran into 5-10 people total on our way down, and it was nice. My body wasn’t upset at me at this point, so I was quite pleased with our initial day. After arriving at our lodge, we had the chance to soak in natural hot springs that were right by the river, providing a bit of hot/cold therapy to rest the muscles. They were magical, and I felt so relaxed after an hour of back and forth between the pools and the river.
Unfortunately this is where things went downhill (I should have just stayed in the hot springs apparently). Given I’ve already explained the joys of that part, let’s just move on to the next day of hiking.
Day two we traversed through the canyon, climbing a ways up, hiking flat for some time, and descending again back down to our second lodge. Certain sections were incredibly dusty, abundant with cacti of all shapes and sizes. These parts of the day reminded me somewhat of the dry landscapes of the Southwest US. But as we approached the end of our day, things became a much more lush green, and the cacti were replaced by avocado and fig trees in the garden of our lodge. I don’t ever think I’ve actually seen an avocado on the tree before, and it was fun to see what something that I eat so often looks like in nature. I didn’t give these trees much more than a moments glance before I went straight to my bedroom and slept for the rest of the day, so I also did not get any pictures of them (I guess when I’m sick, capturing photos falls even lower on my priority list).
Day 3 we climbed the 3500 remaining feet back out to Cabanaconde, joined by two friends Ryan made the night before. We started together, and after a while all took our own paces and would regroup every so often during breaks. I would have said it was nice to have additional company, but with the minimal physical and mental resources I had, I didn’t have much left over for chit chat. (I happened to run into the two of them in Cusco yesterday and we had a much more successful second attempt at getting to know each other.)
As I mentioned earlier, I wish I was able to appreciate this hike and landscape to a much greater degree than I did. I can recognize that it was beautiful, but I say that much more from a distanced, intellectual frame than an intimate, emotional one. But for this time, it becomes one of those adventures that centers around drudgery rather than beauty, and sometimes that’s just what you get.
A final note – I was informed that the link I included to Ryan’s website last week was not functional. You can find his writing at https://substack.com/@overnightoats to stay up to date with his own travels.
Here are a few more photos.
REFLECTIONS
Peruvian Hospitality
I was enjoying my bus row to myself when we stopped to pick up additional passengers. An 80 year old Peruvian woman sat down next to me. She asked me where I was from and we started a conversation. Between my still very broken Spanish and her soft mumbled tone, it wasn’t the most comprehensive conversation. There was a bit of understanding, but there a lot of her talking and me catching a few words out of every few sentences she would say. She could tell I wasn’t gathering everything, but that didn’t stop her. Throughout our four hours sitting next to each other, she would occasionally point out something about the landscape and attempt to explain it to me (to which I admit in most cases I nodded along simply pretending to understand). She would tell me bits about Peru, the city where she was from, and the places I planned to visit.
I was enjoying my first day back out of my dark hibernation hole sitting on a bench in the park. A Peruvian man with his ice cream exclaimed “Buenos Dias!” and proceeded to invite himself to sit down next to me. He started asking me questions and once again I was in a random conversation with a Peruvian from the street. He also told me about some of his favorite places in Peru, and gave me some new recommendations that I had not heard of (which I unfortunately will not have time for). A few minutes later his phone rang, and after a brief chat with the person on the other side, he stood up and bid me adieu.
Both these interactions have given me the impression that Peruvians are proud of their country and excited to share it with the people that visit. Peru isn’t the only place I have felt this way, but it is the place I am feeling it at this moment. It’s a pleasure to visit a country where the locals are excited to have you there experiencing their culture, even when there may be any level of language barrier present.
We have the opportunity to interact with visitors to our own spaces in the same way. Yes, this operates at the level of tourists visiting our hometowns, and that’s important, but there’s a much more fundamental underlying principal. People step into new jobs, new hobbies, new neighborhoods, all the time. As “the locals”, our response informs so much of the newcomer’s experience. We can treat them as passing tourists that aren’t worth our time, our new friends that are wanting to learn from our own communities. Let’s make their encounter positive. Let’s welcome them in a way that says “I’m glad you’re here” so they want to come back.
You can start by grabbing some ice cream and exclaiming “buenos dias!”. I think that should put you on the right track.
Grit vs. Stupidity
Grit is good. Stupidity is bad. Sometimes it’s a fine line between the two. Sometimes you cross said fine line, and you gain a better perspective on where it is. It’s better to try and stay on the grit side, but also, what’s life without a bit of stupidity?
NEXT UP
After spending more time than I would have liked to in Arequipa, I finally had confidence in my health to take a bus to Cusco. I’ll be around here for the next week or so, with my main priority being the 4-day Salkantay trek ending at Machu Picchu. I’m starting my trek this morning, and depending on how I feel after I finish, there’s another multi day trek around the area I’m considering, or I might opt for a day tour or two before I head further north.
Fingers crossed for no more food issues traveling. Three rounds of food poisoning in six months has me nervous if I’d mentally be able to handle a fourth.
As always, if you know anyone that you think would be interested in anything I’m writing about, I’d ask that you consider sharing this with them.
Thanks for being here. Talk to you next week.
– Trevor