Colca Canyon- Descent and Ascent

Once again, we crowded into a van before the sun rose and began a hiking journey. This was our only over-night trekking trip of the vacation, so we opted for the interesting option of staying in huts that night and hiking out by headlamp light...but we'll get to that.
Our group was an assortment of English speaking travelers from England, Italy, Holland, Malaysia, the USA, and France. We all didn't talk too much until lunch that day, but they were definitely my favorite group of travelers that I might while traveling for the three weeks.
We reached the Condor Lookout point, and luckily were able to spot 5 condors circling the mountains. Some of the birds actually came pretty close to the platform, which gave a real sense of their grand size. No picture or video that I took could do it justice, but they were beautiful catching the wind on their wings.
You would think that the journey down would be a piece of cake, but the trails were so dusty that every footstep kicking up dust left a parched and dry throat. We arrived to the canyon entrance, prepared ourselves, and all started the switchbacks down. It was about two hours of descent passing by interesting rock-side cliffs and cacti that we finally reached a river and bridge. The river cutting through the canyon was incredibly green. That's also where we started to really see the villages that speckle the canyon. Our guide told us that there are only about 300 people who live among the villages, and their only transportation out of the villages and canyon is walking or paying for a horse ride, and horses only became an option a few years ago.
From there, we did a bit of ascending to get to the house where we had lunch. Even with the heat, lunch is still a customary appetizer. We also enjoyed some alpaca, rice, and avocado (they grow 80 variations of avocado trees in Peru).
The next part of the journey was more filled with close-by spectacles, such as man-made irrigation systems, a pool of water, a horse, and some village houses. By this point, we had reached the other side of the mountain and we were traversing into the bottom of the canyon. Our last marker before our hostel village was a waterfall and another bridge on a different part of the river. The sun was just setting as we exited the trail into our hostel sitting area, which had several huts for groups and pairs, bathroom huts, a restaurant/bar and a pool. We waited eagerly to find out how the sleeping arrangements would be arranged. Our guide asked for all the couples to notify him, and after he had counted off all the people who raised their hands he looked right at my dad and I. This was about the fourth time in the trip that we were confused for a couple, and I again had to clear up the confusion. All of the non-couples were put together in dorm style cabins that fit five people.
We still had about 3 hours to kill before dinner time, and there wasn't much there to do except drink and talk. Some brave souls tried out the pool, but the water was cold to start with and it was cold with the sun set. I opted for a pisco sour (the national drink of Peru) and conversation with our travel buddies. After a few beers, dinner was ready and we all munched down hungrily. Our guide announced that we had a 4:30 am wake up meeting time, so we headed to bed soon after dinner was over.
We packed our things, turned on our headlamps, and started up the trail. The ascent up Colca Canyon was estimated to be three hours of switchbacks, and travelers we met in Machu Picchu told us that it wouldn't be an easy journey up. The first 30 minutes of following our guide's quick pace felt endless. Finally, we took and break and he told us that he would meet us at the top and to go our own pace. I stuck with my dad as we took turns leading. I admit that I felt very jealous every time someone passed by on a horse, but I also felt very proud to be tackling the challenge. It took us about 2.5 hours to reach the summit, and half of our group was up there waiting. We bought some Gatorade and bananas from the vendor woman, and I admit that maybe it wasn't smart to do the climb on an empty stomach. We made it though. My dad and I also agreed that it would be our last big hike of the trip, which it was.
When we collected everyone from the group, we walked to the nearest village and got our traditional bread and tea breakfast from a house cafe nearby. Our next bus ride led us to natural thermal pools, which was a relief on our aching muscles. The water was a lot warmer than I expected, and we enjoyed the pools for an hour. The water was so hot where it entered the pool that we had to move away from it. Afterwards, we once again boarded the bus and this time went to a point where you could see 6 active volcanoes and the Andes Mountains chain. It was windy and cold though, so we boarded the bus quickly again. From there, we only had about 1.5 hours of a drive back to Arequipa.
It was during that drive back to town where my sickness finally really hit me. I remember leaving the bus and not being able to speak clearly and feeling that I ran into a brick wall. We checked back into our hotel, and then tried to find our way back to the supermarket. We got a bit lost. Then I had to try and explain our symptoms and what I wanted... in Spanish. It was more than my sick self could handle at that moment. Eventually though, we headed back to our hotel and passed by a large celebration for Arequipa Day. I couldn't function very well though, so I went to sleep pretty soon after and didn't give much thought to the large celebration.

Rainbow Mountain

No one warned us that there would be snow. I figured that Peru could get cold in the Winter (the Brazilian relativity for "cold" that is), but I forgot that the altitude was an additional factor. We waited in the alley at 3 am for our guide to pick us up, and we got hopeful every time that a car passed by. Hearing our names finally being asked was one of the biggest reliefs. Except, we booked the excursion through our hostel, and the tour guide only had one name written down. It all worked out. So, we loaded the vans and drove around winding roads to the beginning of our hike. It was a slushy mess, and I only really wiped out hard about three times. When we got to the last twenty minutes of the hike it was a fast elevation change and the hardest part. We had to stop every few minutes to try and suck in wind, which made sense since we were 5,000 meters up and hiking a mountain. We did it though. Just as everyone says, the colors are not as bright in person, BUT- we had snow covered mountains on one side and color streaked mountains on the others. We had made it to one of the lookout points, but there was another to climb yet, which was every stepper. Getting up was the easier part, but coming back down I literally sat down on my bum and inch my way on the icy downhill slope. I had a very cold bum and hands afterwards. The hike back was a bit easier since the sun had dried up some of the mud. Standing at the summit through and looking at the contrasting scenery that surrounded me was astounding. The snowy mountains reminded me of the Swiss Alps, but the dry rocky section reminded me of Arizona.

Rio de Janeiro- Sunrise Hike and Day 1

My Corpus Christi Holiday fell on the tailend of the greve- national strike with the truckers association, so I hoped that no delays would come to my flight… but they did. I left for the airport way too early, as I normally do, and got there at 9:40 am for a 11:55 am flight. My flight was delayed until 2 pm though, which made me miss my connecting flight in Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. Alexa, a Fulbright from Apucarana, was also in the airport waiting for her flight and we hung out as we waited. I finally made it to Sao paulo, caught my adjusted flight to Rio, ubered from the airport to the metro station, and met up with Jake. We met at the municipal theatre, which Jake described as “Wizard of Ozy” with its green glow. We took the metro to the Ipanema neighborhood for our Pousada- Bonita. We went out to dinner with an America named Cesar, who was also staying at the Pousada. That night we spent drinking wine and talking to the bartender,and then booked an early excursion for a hike.

Jake and I woke up at 3:30 am the next morning, and met up with our hiking group in the lobby. This included a hippy guide named Gustavo, another guide, a Spaniard woman,and a Brazilian woman. We drove to a certain point in the Tijuca National Park and then hiked from there. We hiked up Pedra Bonita and has a stunning view of the major North and South zone beaches, Christ the Redeemer, and all of the city. We stayed there for about an hour as the sun peaked, and beside us was Pedra da Gávea. On the drive back we stopped at the viewpoints for Vista Chinesa and Mesa do Imperador, but the drive up through the national park was winding and on the hillside. The views were absolutely breathtaking.

We got back to the hostel and had a scant breakfast. There was no fresh fruit being served because of the greve. After, we walked three blocks to Ipanema Beach and spent an hour relaxing. I was surprised by just how many vendors come right up to you and try to sell you their hats, congas, drinks, food, toys and what not- and they even tried to sell to jake as he was sleeping. The beach water was colder than I expected, and similar to New Jersey water temperature, but the waves were much smaller (but I guess the temperature can be explained by the June Winter season).

To see the video of my adventures, click here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_54-SfTrRU&feature=youtu.be

 Pedra Bonita 

 Mesa do Imperador 

  Pedra Bonita 

  Pedra Bonita 

 Pedra Bonita 

Vista Chinesa

Vista Chinesa

Ipanema Beach