IV. SA Peru/W2b3a, 6d: Cusco, Arequipa E

Sa, 01.04. Cusco: Montaña de las 7 Colores
(Rainbow Mountain)
That day was very important for me as I would finally pass the 5,000m mark and do some trekking up to 5,400m :)))
The trek to the Rainbow Mountain is another popular day trip from Cusco and got its name from the various colours that are created by different types of oxidating minerals such as sulphur (red), copper (grey and black), gold (yellow). Indeed, I had to confess that I have seldomly seen such a natural beauty before, it was incredible ;)
It was another early morning with the pick-up being at 3:45am as we had to drive for 3-4h to just get there - luckily I can sleep everywhere and could still relax a bit. After a good breakfast we started our first hike around 08:30am which was about 8km planned for 3h; however it was only me who made it a bit below of 3h and I am usual quicker but with an altitude hike of 1,000m more up and temperature drop from 8-5* it was not that easy - the guides Arturo and Samuel were super cute though and really celebrating and cheering me, whilst all or most of the others, including the boys, only arrived 30-60m later.
The official altitude and sign is at 5,200m but there was a dune-shaped mountain from which you get an even better view at 5,400m - my absolute new record :) The view and mountain itself with all these different colours were just about stunning and I did not really see something like that before. It is so hard to describe, just look at the pictures - but it was also for sure again pretty cold, especially when we were suddenly standing in a cloud :O
On the hike back I was really happy to have listened to some Dutch guys recommending us to take another, with 9km and 3,5h a bit longer hike, the one through the 'Valle Rojo' (Red Valley). That was the best decision ever as this landscape even topped the Rainbow Mountain, presenting incredible colours all the way through the valley. However, it was unfortunately again raining and slippery so that we took 30-50m longer with me being again the first one.
Our lunch was then already a linner or dinner at around 5pm with the so typical dish 'lomo saltado', sliced beef with onions, French fries and rice plus a veg soja dish 'tallerin carne de soja'.
We then made our way back to Cusco through the rain and hail, even having some tiny landslides along the way.

Su, 02.04. Cusco: City & Relax
On my last day in Cusco I enjoyed again its flair with the ancient cobblestone streets, grandiose baroque churches, reminants of Inka temples, Andean history and in general the mystic, commercial and chaotic city life as well as the awkwardness of ornateky dressed women walking their lamas on leashes.
That day was all about sleeping in (yeah, until 7:P), enjoying another awesome egg breakfast served by our nice hostel mummy, relaxing and giving the body a well deserved rest from all the hiking done in the last 2 weeks.
After picking up my clothes from the laundry (Cusco is just too cold and hand washing impossible as it would never dry), I met Benjamin I got to know at MP Mountain and we had an awesome linner with Peru's most typical dish: cuy al horno - guinea pig. For me a really interesting experience: it has a bit the texture of chicken but is pretty bony and the best meat is usually around the bones. That is the reason why it is eaten by hand and the typical taste comes from the greenish huacatay herbs. It is served with a small salad and for sure potatoes and potatoe cake, really yummy. We also ate it with an incredibly huge drink of quinoa, InkaKola and Coca Tea amongst locals in a nice restaurant also offering local dances and music - thanks again Benjamin for this nice experience :)
In the late evening I then took the 10h Enlaces night bus from Cusco to Arequipa in the south and was again surprised about the bus service for only 35S/10€ - clean toilets, films, direct, comfy cama seats plus tea with crackers and biscuits as well as a lot of star gazing; better than some air companies ;)

Mo, 03.04. Arequipa
Arequipa is a city at an altitude of only 2,325m and even though it is beautiful surrounded by high pampa and amid snoozing snow-capped volcanoes it really astonished me with a temperature of 35* and pure sun at the beginning of winter season - highly appreciated after 2weeks in soaking freezing rain and hail in Cusco :)
For many it is the most beautiful city in Peru, also called 'Ciudad Blanca' (White City), a perfect mixture between Cusco's Inka glories and Lima's glamerous modernity where everything is about food and planning the life around the next meal. It is Peru's 2nd largest metropolis and well known for its Picanterias and typical meals such as 'Rocoto relleno c pastel de papa' (meat filled pepper with Potatoe cake) and 'Tamal Arequipeño' (sweetcorn meat dish) which I both tried for lunch at San Camilo Market.
My hostel was also in a nice blue colour with a sun terrace and the whole city is a Spanish colonial city with baroque-mestizo architecture made out of local sillar (white volcanic rock). There are many cathedrals as well as a 400y old monastery.
In the morning I went to Yanahura and Yanahura Viewpoint, Church and Main Square from which you get a really good view over the city and to the volcanoes. They also sell 'Queso helado' (ice cream in form of cheese) here and I then went to the beautiful 'Plaza de Armas' with its nice buildings and gardens before booking my 2D/1N trekking to the Colca Canyon and then chilling for the rest of the afternoon.

Tu, 04.04. - We, 05.04. Arequipa: Cañon del Colca (Colca Canyon)
Arequipa unites the Pre-Inkan, Inkan and Spanish culture and offers some awesome trekking possibilities with the Colca Canyon being one of the most popular and 3rd visited touri destination in Peru.
The Canyon itself is 100km long and up to 3,400m deep which makes it the 2nd deepest in the world and twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the USA. It is surrounded by terraced agricultural fields, pastoral villages, Spanish colonial churches and ruins from Pre-Inka times. Moreover, it is the best place in South America to see the Andean Emblematic Condor up close with its 3m wingspan.

As usual, it was again a pretty early morning with being picked up at 3am as the drive to Chivay town at an altitude of 3,633m was with 3h also quite long.
We had a filling breakfast before driving to the 'Cruz del Condor' (Condor Cross Viewpoint) at 3,500m where we enjoyed and watched these magic birds and the really nice surrounding landscape.
From there it was only a short drive to Pampa de San Miguel where we started our 3-4h trekking downhill into the canyon. After getting a lot of information at the beginning we could luckily walk at our own pace which was really nice. I took my time but apart from a pretty running British couple was again the quickest/3rd and also enjoyed the fact of not having many tourists on the trek and walking for me, myself and I.
There are some animals such as snakes and in the far distances also pumas. Moreover, the region is known for the cultivation of avocadoes, oranges and olives.
After having lunch at San Juan de Chuccho with an altitude of 2,300m we had a pretty steep and especially tiny bush walk hike with free higos and cacteen fruits along the way and some river crossings. I also really appreciated the fact of finally hiking again in nice weather and the sun - my sombrero was also a good investment. We visited Cosñirhua and Malata village and hiked for around 3h and 8km before reaching the Oasis Sangalle at 2,180m where we had a swimming pool, dinner (Quinoa soup, spinach pasta, lemon grass tea) and stayed for the night.

The next day we had another early start and left still in the dark at around 04:30 to make our way back uphill out of the canyon. At the beginning we could enjoy a lot of stars and then some kind of small sunrise. The hike was supposed to be 3hrs but I made it 3rd again with only taking 2h15 even though I had many breaks at the beginning to wait for others, then a second breakfast to get some sugar plus for sure a lot of photo stops.
So you can think what you want but me with only 45kg, underweight, diarrea and stomach issues, small legs so rather climbing stairs am always amongst the fittest and first 3 to arrive :P
Up there it was again pretty chilly because of us sweating and the altitude. I did a bit of stretching to warm up but also to avoid any muscle pains before the sun finally came out to warm us up. I arrived around 7 but same than the day before we had to wait for another h until everbody arrived and then went another half h through mice fields before arriving at Cabanaconde at 3,287m for a scrambled eggs breakfast :)
From there we drove 2,5h back to Chivay, had the option of 1h Hot Springs before I enjoyed a veg-rice meal at the local market.
On our 3h drive back we stopped at Patapampa, a 4,910m high viewpoint to see the mountains of Sabancaya, Hualca Hualca and Ampato before driving to Pampas Cañahuas at 3,800m to see some more lamas and alpacas. We were back in Arequipa around 6pm and all I needed was a small dinner and bed ;)

Th, 06.04. Arequipa: City and Chill day
Puh, I did a lot of sports, trekking, exercise and maybe also too quick travelling the last days - a fact my body showed me with stomach issues and diarrea :P
So this day was all about relaxing before I took again a typical 'colectivo' (small little vans/buses for 9 people where they squeeze in up to 20 people, which are usually only used by locals so it is an awesome experience and which are only 80ct-1S so 10x cheaper than a taxi) and then a 10h Enlaces night bus to Nazca including a hot dinner (chicken, rice and veg like in planes) which was again really good even though not an expensive touristy one.
South America is a really big and long distances continent and after all my bus experiences the best place for me is on the 2nd floor directly after the stairs: it is close to the toilet, safest as the steward is frequently passing by, you have more space for legs, shoes and bag as no one is sitting in front of you, there is no heating but the possibility to put your feet up completely to get the blood flooded back, meals are served in the middle, there is more space to eat, you can climb over your partner to use the toilet plus it is on the right hand side and window which is perfect for my skoliosis. Furthermore, the most expensive and popular tour company Cruz del Sur sometimes has some offers and affordable spaces there.
Btw, in general the local people are really nice, friendly and helpful - especially when you speak Spanish. However, this is not the case for the tourist stuff who is usually under a lot of pressure, stress and
in the money making process reacting quite unfriendly and without understanding that you want to skip non included touristy things or eat at markets io pricey tourist restaurants :PBaca selengkapnya