Arequipa - Colca Canyon

I arrived to Arequipa on september 2nd in the morning and went to Arequipay Backpackers Hostel which is not too far from central Plaza. As soon has I got there I left my back on place because I cold not have a room until 11h30 am and went back to centre Plaza to take a walk and have breakfast. I went back to the hostel a little later to take my room. I spent most of the rest of that day hanging around and talking to people.

 

Arequipa

 

In the end of afternoon, we were a good group of people and we all decide to have a BBQ for supper, so we talk around the hostel to see if anyone else wants to join and we all leave for the supermarket to get something to eat. What was supposed to be only a few people quickly became a dozen. While and after this awesome lunch we had a few cerveza and wine, we decided to organize a trek to Colca Canyon on our own instead of going with a tour, we would leave the next morning to get to Chivay. In the beginning we were 3 talking about that and we ended up being 9 leaving together the next morning.

 

Our hostel in Chivay

 

Street food in Chivay

 

Chivay

The next morning (September 3rd) we organize ourselves a bit and go to the bus terminal to get tickets to get to Chivay. Our bus is for 2pm. We still have a few hours to get back to the hostel and get our stuff ready and to go get a few things at the groceries for a few things to eat for the trek and after we needed to be back at the terminal for 1h30. we catch our bus for a 3h ride and arrive in Chivay at around 5pm. Once there we find a small hostel for 10 soles each, leave our gear there and head into town to find supper. We stop in an outside market and find street food for 5 soles each for a plate of fries covered in some kind of chinese spaghetti with chives and two big pieces of fried chicken, very good. We then walk the streets a bit and find a Irish pub (yes, even in such a small town) where we decide to stop to have a beer. We then find a corner store and buy a few drinks to bring back to the hostel and after these few drinks we go to bed because our bus to Cabanaconda is at 7am the following day.

 

My view from the Hostel in Chivay in the early morning

 

Between Chivay and Cabanaconda

We get up very early (September 4th) to go take the bus, a two hour ride on a very bumpy gravel road. We stop at the Condor observation post and they tell us that we need to buy the boleto touristico for 70 soles (if you plan in only going down the canyon in Cabanaconda and come back up the same way, do not buy the boleto because no one actually seem to check, we got caught). So we pay for the ticket and go see the mirador a bit. One of the guys asks someone how long it take to walk to Cabanaconda and the man says 30 minutes so we let the bus go and figure we can walk it. It seems that the guy did not understand well because we ask another and he says it's 10 km to get there and he says it should take about 2h30 to get there by feet.

 

Condor

 

 

On the road to Cabanaconda

Not having other options now that the bus is gone we start walking down the road to get to the town. After just a bit we see a sign that says it's actually 12km that we have to walk. So we walk for a while and at a point we decide to cross through farmers fields and save a good 2km, but it still takes us around 3h to get to Cabanaconda. We finally make it to the town and we find a hostel with a restaurant where we can have a full lunch for 10 soles each. We take our time and start hiking down the canyon at around 2pm, which helps because the warmest part of the day is somewhat passed. It is still very warm and it takes us around 3h to get to the Oasis Paraiso where he offers us beds for 10 soles each and the supper for the same price. Beer is 10 soles and big bottles of water are 12 soles each, so I would suggest bringing your own beers and bring coal capsules to purify your own water and save a lot of money for water because you will need it for the trekking (I had my ''steripen'' that was very useful). We have supper and go to bed almost right after that night.

 

 

 

 

Enjoying the pool after going down into the Canyon

The next day (September 5th) we leave the Oasis at around 10h30 for a trek going up the other side of the canyon to go see a few villages that are there. We go to Malata and then get to Cosnirhua, we decide to turn around from there to go back to the oasis, but before we find a hostel to have dinner and then go back down. We stayed another night at the oasis before going back up to Cabanaconda in the morning.

 

Sun up between the mountains

 

Click on image to see the whole Colca Canyon album

 

View from the other side of the canyon

 

Malata

 

Cosnirhua

Small video for Colca Canyon

We get up at around 6am (September 6th) to start our hike back up at around 7am. It is a 1.1km hill going up, so approximately 4-5km of hiking on the same little steep road we came down on. It only takes us about 2h, which is less than going down. We go back to the same hostel then two days ago to have breakfast and at 11h30 we take the bus to get back to Arequipa, a ride of 6h in total. We arrive we some aching muscles but absolutely satisfied from our experience. When we got to the hostel in Arequipa, we had a small surprise when we were told the hostel was full, we had reservations for friday but on this thursday night no beds were available, so me and two others had to find another room for the night. We go to four different places that are all full or too expensive, we finally have a bed in the fifth place ''The Points Hostel'' for the same price as our other hostel. After a well deserved hot shower, we head out to find supper. We stop in a small place where we get ''tallarin saltado'' for 4,50 soles each and it was very good. We go back with some friends to our original hostel to have a few drinks with friends and later go back to the hostel at around midnight to go to bed.

 

Cabanaconda

 

Cabanaconda

On the road back to Arequipa

We get up not too late and head back to Arequipay Hostel again (September 7th) to take our rooms back. I decide to go take a small walk into town to go buy a few things but I mostly stay at the hostel all day. in the evening I try uploading pictures on my Flickr account but the internet connection is pretty slow and I end up giving up and go to bed.

Click on image to see the whole Arequipa album

On the morning of september 8 (Saturday), I spend all morning uploading pictures and try to get up to date in my pictures. In the afternoon I go to the Santuario Andino USCM Museum to see the exposition of the ice princess, 20 soles for a one hour tour and in that time a 20 minutes movie at the beginning, it's expensive, interesting but for too much. I spend the rest of the afternoon at the hostel speaking with friends outside in the yard because a few of them are leaving in the evening. A few of them will be heading the same way I am in the times to come, so I might meet them again somewhere on the road. In the evening, a bit of work and I am finally able to get up to date in my pictures.

 

Public Market in Arequipa

Sunday September 9th, I leave early in the morning to go to the downtown mirador of Arequipa and on the way back I go to take a walk in a park to which the entrance was 1 soles. I then wander in the town and in the public markets for a little while, this is where I found insole for my new shoes because they are a bit hard. I also find a pair of rubber sandals for 12 soles (4.65$ Can). I then go back to the hostel after going back for ''Tallarin Saltado'' at the same place as a few days before for 4.50 soles. I then spend most of the afternoon and evening doing some reading on Bolivia.

 

Tallarin Saltado

 

Small video for Arequipa

Monday September 10th, I go to the bus terminal around 11am to buy a ticket to go to Puno for the next morning. I find one for 10h30, it is a travel time of around 5h for 15 soles, good price. In the afternoon I decide to go visit the Santa Catalina convent, 35 soles, it is very expensive but I few people told me it was worth it, because it is very big and quite impressive. It is in fact very big, quite impressive and exceptional and my curiosity was served, but I definitely did not have enough for my money. It like a village inside the convent walls of the white city. I have some great pictures and I walked around the site for about 2 hours. At 3pm I got back to the hostel and started getting my gear ready for my departure in the next morning.

Click on image to see the full Santa Catalina Convent album