pase mula, pase!

Arequipa, ya te extraño.
Ash, Katie, Jake, our friend Jennasen and I loved our mini-trip...

We got in town around 5 am Friday, and after relaxing a bit at our fantastic hostel wandered to the Plaza de Armas where we laughed at the menu at the restaurant we ate at. The attempted English translations were great, such as:
Palta Rellena a la Jardinera (Veggie filled Avocado)= "Padded Avocado do to the Gardener"
Bistek de Alpaca (Alpaca steak)= "Bistek of German nikel"

After wandering through countless agencies, we finally found a place to book our Colca Canyon tour, and spent the rest of the day on a city tour, going to lookout points to see the unbelievable mountains and volcanoes surrounding the town.

The next morning we woke up bright and happy early at 3:30 am to bus out to Colca. After stopping to see the famous Andean Condors, our group was dropped off in the middle of the mountains to start our trek down the canyon.
(Let me add that right before they dropped us off the guides were talking amongst themselves about an Israeli girl that was lost in the canyon...whose body was just found a month ago. Oh god.)
TREK DAY 1:
3 hours down: hot, but full of singing songs to our guide Omar.
1 hour up: lunch was waiting for us, as well as more much needed water.
Get lost take 1: Omar hadn't taken this trail in a while, which led to us accidently coming upon private property, which led us to get chased by a group of terrifying dogs, which led us to have to backtrack and hike even more, which led to it getting darker than we planned.
2 1/2 hours of flat, up, up, up, down, up, up, up: My calves hate me.
1/2 hour of down in the dark: Will I trip and fall off the mountain edge? Who knows!
Arrive at "Oasis": Since we got there when it was dark..and since there was no electricity...we could not see anything, but I'm sure it was pretty! Omar tells us we just walked about 30-35k (20ish miles). Hmm..that would explain why my legs feel funny...After a much needed dinner and lemongrass tea we hudlded in our bamboo thatched bungalow and prepared to get up at 4:30 am to hike up the canyon.

TREK DAY 2:
4:30 am: Shouldn't we be leaving?
6:00 am: Omar comes pounding on our door...informing us he slept through his alarm. Oops.
6:30 am: We start our trek up the largest canyon in the world, which let me tell you, when you are climbing out of it, you can sure as hell tell it is such. Gah.
3/4 way up: Jennasen and I are out of water, walking slowly upwards in the sun, blisters getting bigger and better with each step!
Last 1/4 way up: We get to ride mules the rest of the way! YES! My mule, Luisa (Haha Lou, there's a mule in Peru named after you), decided she didn't want to go up anymore, and when her owner wasn't paying attention she made a break for it and whipped around on the tiny path trying to go down, not caring about the little gringa girl that had nothing but a small wedge to hold on to for dear life as she dangled over the canyon. Benito, the owner got her back in line and profusely apologized to me. "Disculpame senorita! AY! Disculpame! AY! Mula! Mula! Pase!"
The end of the hike since we made it to the top? : No. Omar waits for Jake to make it up, and tells us that the bus is just a 10 minute walk away. Hahaha. Right. Well, after walking for a while, we come to a fork in the road. With no one in sight to ask, we chose the path that looked the most worn. 5 minutes later, another fork in the road. Hm. We get passed by a herd of sheep and realize we are lost. After hiking through the fields towards some houses we ask men where the plaza is. The point across all the fields to the opposite end of the city. Awesome.
The end of the hike since we made it to the plaza?: YES! 10 minutes later we left Cabacabonde, finally getting something to eat!

After stopping to see the hot springs in Chivay, ancient Incan terrazas and at the highest point in the area to further increase my already raging altitude sickness, we returned to Arequipa.

A few things I must say about this trip:
1. If I had to settle down in Peru, I would absolutely live in Arequipa. The city and the mountains were unbelievably gorgeous, despite the freezing nights and the nearby active volcano...Also, the town is full of ruggedly-good-looking-muscular tour guides.
2. Colca Canyon is a hike I would suggest for anyone who is in kick-ass shape, has no problems with altitude, isn't currently sick, and has had a good night sleep before. (note:I was none of the above when I went)
3. I will post pictures of all of this in a post soon to come!

But now we are back in Lima, getting ready for class presentations and our first final next week, along with 3 huge final papers and 2 more final exams the next week. If any of you feel like sending me some luck, raspberries, or spicy tofu from muramoto, please do.

Besos y Abrazos