On May 17th we left Arequipa and drove through the mountains of Peru towards the Colca Canyon. As we were leaving Arequipa we had a great view of the volcanoes that surround the city:
Arequipa has an altitude of 2300 metres, and today we were driving to higher altitudes within the Colca Canyon, up to a highest point of 4910 metres. At high altitudes people frequently get sick with headaches, vomiting, shortness of breath, interrupted sleep, skin turning yellow and other very unpleasant symptoms. My doctor had prescribed me some altitude pills to prevent altitude sickness, which I have been taking daily (they seem to be working!). For people who don’t have prescription altitude pills, in order to prevent the effects of the high altitude the locals suggest the coca-leaf, ether by drinking coca-leaf tea, chewing on the leaves or eating coca cookies or candies. Coca products can be purchased in every store in the whole region, and are very widely used by the locals and all the tourists who come through the area.
Chewing on the coca leaves is an interesting ritual. In order to chew on the leaves, you take 15-20 leaves and peel away the stem and vein. Then the leaves are chewed altogether with a special rock that helps with the foul taste of the leaves. Some of the side effects of chewing the coca leaves is numbness of the tongue (numbness occurs while chewing and for a few minutes after) and high energy levels that can last for hours. I was curious about these side effects and I learned that coca is actually a natural drug, and to my surprise I found out that coca is one of the main ingredients in cocaine.
While driving we saw a number of llamas and alpacas on the side of the road. Previously I did not know the difference between llamas and alpacas, but I finally figured it out (with the help of our tour guide). Llamas have no wool on their head and legs, have longer and more pointy ears, and are taller. Alpacas on the other hand have wool on their head and legs, have smaller ears and tend to be shorter. Also the meat and wool from alpacas is of much better quality than the meat and wool from llamas, and alpaca sweaters tend to be very expensive.
I decided I would make friends with some of them:
After a few hours of driving through the mountains we finally reached our highest altitude of 4910 metres!
It was freezing up there!! And very windy! Also there was very little vegetation. It was hard to walk fast without getting out of breath, you could feel that there was much less oxygen in the air! Luckily I wasn’t feeling any major symptoms of altitude sickness!
While we were at 4910 metres we saw lots of stacked stone piles, similar to ones in Canadian culture. I asked our tour manager what they represented in Peru and she explained that people build these stacked stones as a ritual to give thanks to the mountain.
We finally arrived in the Colca Canyon area. The Colca Canyon is very large, and is actually more than 2 times as deep as the Grand Canyon with a depth of 4,160m. Within the area there are a number of towns, and we had the chance to visit a few of them and see the beautiful views of the canyon. Below is a map of the Colca Canyon area where you can see all the little towns.
Driving through the mountains was beautiful!
We visited the town of Chivay, where we stopped in the main square and were able to see some locals on the street with their pet alpaca.
One thing I found super interesting in this town was that they had tuk-tuks! These are little 3-wheeled taxis with covered seats in the back for passengers. I used to ride them all the time when I was in Thailand and Cambodia but I had no idea that there were tuk-tuks in South America!!
Because of the nearby volcanoes in Chivay, they have hot springs and thermal baths in the mountains. We spent some time relaxing in the hot springs! It was so nice to sit outdoors in 40 degree (Celsius) hot water when the outside temperature was about 10 degrees Celsius.
The thermal baths were really nice. They reminded me of the thermal baths I frequented while I was in Japan. We were so relaxed by the time we left the thermal baths! It was a nice break from all the touring!
Our hotel was located in Coporaque, about 15 minutes away from Chivay. By the time we reached our hotel it was probably about 6 or 7 degrees (Celsius) outdoors. In our hotel, each room had a gas heater that was manually turned on by the staff each evening. When the staff came to turn ours on they ended up filling the room with gas and were unsuccessful in getting the heater started. After waiting over half an hour (in the cold room) they finally told us that our heater wasn’t working and we would need to change rooms. They ended up putting us in a 2-storey suite with a functioning heater!! We had two beds on the lower level and 2 beds on the upper level, and a little living room with chairs and a table by the entrance of the room! It was pretty awesome!
The following day we continued exploring the Colca Canyon. We set out at 6am so it was freezing cold outside (about 5 or so degrees Celsius), and very hazy and cloudy.
Luckily it cleared up within a couple hours! In the photos you can see terraces made by the Incas, in addition to pre-Inca terraces. The terraces were made to grow crops, and in order to tell the difference between the terraces you can look at how large each one in: the Inca terraces are narrower, while the pre-Inca terraces are wider.
We also visited the town of Maca in the Colca Canyon. It is a small town, where we could see the locals wearing some traditional Peruvian clothing.
In Peru one of the traditional dishes, eaten only on special occasions, is the Guinea Pig! We had the chance to try them. I didn’t know how I felt about eating guinea pigs, especially since I think they’re such cute little animals! We ordered one guinea pig for the whole group just so we could taste it. To cook the guinea pig it is split it down the middle and then cooked. Once cooked, the whole guinea pig is brought out on a plate for you. Once you take your photos then the waiter will bring the plate back to the kitchen and where it is cut up into smaller, edible, pieces.
I had a little taste of the guinea pig. If you look closely in the photo you can see the poor guinea pig’s little ribs. I could only take a tiny little bite because I felt bad for poor animal!
When we reached an altitude of 4800 metres we saw snow! I realized that I have really seen all seasons on this trip! A couple weeks ago I was in Rio de Janeiro sweating hot in shorts and a t-shirt, and now I’m in heavy sweaters, hats and mitts hanging out in the snow! The changing weather has made for a really interesting trip!
This is me and my roommate in the snow:
I really enjoyed our time in the Colca Canyon! The views were amazing! As we were driving through I kept looking out the bus windows in awe of how beautiful the mountains and scenery was! And as a bonus, the cold temperatures (and my lack of warm clothing) forced me to purchase a number of traditional Peruvian items (2 sweaters, 2 pairs of mitts, a number of warm socks and a hat), all of which are very warm, adorable and are decorated with alpaca designs on them!
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