Now our whirlwind tour of Chile comes to an end and we board the train in Arica to take us across the border into Tacna and then board a bus for a place called Arequipa. As far as border towns go, neither Arica nor Tacna are that bad but not really places were we would want to spend much time.
Arequipa however is really a lovely town. Lots of tour and travel agents asking for your attention but not in the same offensive, in your face manner as we have experienced in other places. Had a bit of a lazy day today, just organising a trip to nearby Colca Canyon and checking out the Monasterio Santa Catalina, which occupies a whole block and is a 'citadel within a city'. This place is over 600 years old and at one time housed Spanish nuns from the wealthiest of families so the nuns had houses built within the monasterio and generally had a minimum of three 'staff' to take care of all the mundane chores of cooking, cleaning, washing etc. The nuns entered the monasterio at about 13 years of age and never left; only having occaisonal contact with their families through a solid brick wall with a few bars allowing them to see each other (not so different from a prison really). Other girls, as young as three years old, entered the monasterio for their education but then never actually left! Today, it is still a convent but houses much fewer nuns who enter at about 18 years of age. Inside though, it really was like a small town. Each nun had their own house, there was a bakery, fruit trees, water - everything needed so that the nuns never had to leave.
Day 2 in Arequipa was slightly different. We were collected by bus at about 4:00am and headed off to the Colca Canyon (Cañon del Colca) which is one of the world's deepest canyons at 3191 metres. Our first stop of the morning was at the Cruz del Condor, home for the Andean Condor. We only managed to see one that morning but it was pretty spectacular to see this huge bird flying so high and so protected from predators (ie, humans!). The bus then dropped Tim, me, Marcus (a Swiss guy) and our guide off to begin our two day trek in and out of the canyon. Now, you may recall that just a few days ago Tim had injured his back to such a point that he could barely stand or breathe, let alone carry his pack. The imagination doesn't have to stretch far to realise who the poor sucker was then that had to carry the pack, with enough warm clothes, bedding and raingear for the two days for both of us. By the time we had completed the 3 hour, rather steep (remember this canyon is 3191 metres down!!) downhill part of the trek I could barely walk, was almost in tears and would have gladly pushed Tim over the edge if only we weren't already at the bottom! Anyway, after I calmly (!) explained to him the situation he agreed to carry the pack for a while. Camp for the evening was a place called the Oasis and it really was. Natural spring pools in an oasis of green and palm trees which made such a striking contrast to the colours of the canyon.
Day 2 of the trek dawned bright and early (5:00am start) and the inevitable climb out of the canyon (again remember 3191 metres ...). After 2 1/2 hours I finally reached the top and I was truly exhausted. Just over half way up I had even tried hitchhiking a lift with a passing mule but to no avail. And just as I was congratulating myself on having made it without tears, swearing or threatening to kill Tim, the guide, Marcus or the passing Mule, the guide took off again on the final leg of the trip back for breakfast and the bus back.
At the time and even looking back with rose coloured glasses, I can honestly say that this was, without doubt the most physically and mentally demanding thing that I have ever done, everything since has simply not been comparable. My toenails are still an attractive purple colour and I am not sure they will ever recover! It was beautiful though - just wait 'til you see the photos!!
The adventure didn't end there though. Having thought that the tour would have us back in Arequipa by 6:00pm, we confidently booked our tickets for the next leg of our journey to Cusco, to begin the Inca trek. (It was at this point that I told Tim that following the Inca trail I was never again walking anywhere and any future mode of transport would involve me sitting). Anyway, on the way back from the Canyon our bus broke down and we eventually made it back to Arequipa at 8:00pm, in time for our bus to board. Unfortunately, we still had to get back to the hostel, collect the rest of our bags and make our way to the bus station. Luckily for us we had a great bus driver who clearly explained the dilema to the taxi driver who managed to get us there in record time and we found ourselves settled on our overnight trip to Cusco with seconds to spare. Dirty, stinky and tired but on our way.
That about sums up our first few days in Peru and next comes the truly magnificent Inca trail.
take care
Tim and Tracey
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