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The South American Odyssey
  • The Craze for Travelling
  • The Craze for Travelling

The South American Odyssey

A 147-day adventure by The Craze for Travelling Read more
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  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling

    Back to Cusco

    November 11, 2017 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    We managed to do the 5 kms back to the starting point in about an hour. There we waited in the bus for the rest of the group to catch up. Then, started the return journey to Cusco. We stopped on the way for our lunch at the same place where we had had our breakfast. We reached back Cusco around 7 pm.
    We were too exhausted and the lack of sleep was finally catching up with us, so we decided to skip dinner and directly go to the hostel to sleep. We found a nice bakery on the way and bought some pastries. After that it was straight to the hostel and after a quick shower, we were asleep in no time.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Guitarist playing in the bus
    Guitarist playing in the busUrcos market

    Off to Arequipa to Cabanaconde

    November 12, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We woke up around 8 am after having slept for about 12 hours. It had been raining all the night. Even after we freshened up and had our breakfast at about 9:30 am, it was still cloudy and raining. It looked like the rains had started in this region. We decided to drop our plan for Ollantaytambo since it was part of the same valley and it wouldn't be fun trekking for 2 or 3 days in the rain. We decided to skip this part of the plan and instead head South towards Arequipa. We checked the weather and it showed sun for most of the next few days. So, we checked out at 11 am and took a taxi to the bus station. There was only one bus to Arequipa during the afternoon at 1 pm, the rest were starting at 7 pm and later so we decided to take that. This bus would go to Juliaca first and then get us to Arequipa at 12:30 am. That was quite a detour but it was the fastest option we had.
    The bus was from Flores company and was used by a lot of locals to travel towards Arequipa. There were vendors getting on and off on the way. There was even a guitarist who came on and sang a few songs for money.
    We reached Arequipa at 12:15 am and quickly figured out that the buses to Cabanaconde were from the regional terminal nearby. Most people informed us that the buses would leave in the morning. We anyways decided to check it out. We walked to the terminal and found a bus leaving directly to Cabanaconde at 1 am, in 20 min. There were 2 seats available on it. We bought the last two tickets and were off to Cabanaconde.    Read more

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    Back to the Rainbow mountain

    November 12, 2017 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    From the Red Valley, we trekked back quickly to the Rainbow Mountain. There were less people on the Rainbow Mountain now so we wanted to climb to the viewpoint again and take some pictures, before the rest of our group could catch up with us.
    We managed to get back, climb up and take some beautiful pictures before the others reached the base of the Rainbow mountain. Then we were off, back towards the starting point.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Colca Canyon
    Colca CanyonUnique dress from this regionCabanaconde main square

    Reached Cabanaconde

    November 13, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We reached Cabanaconde at 6:30 am bones aching and the internals badly shaken. 😁
    The people in this part of the region had a very different way of dressing than what we had seen till now.
    Cabanaconde has an interesting "feature", there's a lot of street dogs and one or two of them would follow each of the tourists arriving in the town, everywhere. You could walk to the restaurant, go to your hostel, walk to the viewpoints, they'll always be there following you.
    We too were followed all over the main square while we tried to find a place to stay. Finally, we booked ourselves into the International Hostel for S/ 30 for a private room with a shared bathroom. The place is right next to the main square.    Read more

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    2Amphitheater for bull fights

    To Achachihua Viewpoint

    November 13, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We slept after checking in and woke up at around 1 pm. We freshened up and then went for our lunch. We found a cheap place with a daily menu for S/ 10. They even prepared a vegetarian meal of vegetable patties, rice and salad for me.
    After the lunch, we bought our access tickets to the Colca Canyon of S/ 70 per person for foreigners and decided to spend the rest of the day going to the viewpoints nearby.
    On the way to the Achachihua Viewpoint, we saw the areana for the bull fights. It seems that during July period, they organize bull fights and other activities here.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    "our dogs" trying to scare the bull awayThe beautiful Colca CanyonSangalle oasis in the canyonSangalle oasis in the canyon

    Stunning views of Colca Canyon

    November 13, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    So, as was the tradition in this village, 2 dogs accompanied us all the way to the village. First to the arena of the bull fights and then to the Achachihua viewpoint. On the way, there were many bulls grazing in the hills. These dogs would start barking on them, scaring them away from us. 😉
    The views from the Achachihua Viewpoint were stunning. Its a beautiful deep canyon with the Sangalle oasis at the bottom. We could also see the trekking paths down to the oasis and up the other side that we would be doing the next day.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Hristo with "our dogs"
    Hristo with "our dogs"2Llahuar hot springs

    Views from Achachihua Viewpoint

    November 13, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    The scenery all around was breathtaking. We could see for kms away, across the canyon. In the far reaches of the opposite mountain, we could see the Huaruro waterfall, on the valley to the left, we could see the Llahuar hot springs and in the Colca Canyon, we could see the Sangalle oasis.Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Cabanaconde village
    Cabanaconde villageA bull penOne of our dogs engaging with the sheepView from the Achachihua Viewpoint4At the viewpoint

    The actual Achachihua Viewpoint

    November 13, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    On our map, we noticed that the actual viewpoint was a bit further away. We decided to walk there. On the way, we had some lovely views of the Cabanaconde village. We also saw a pen where they were raising bulls.
    At the Achachihua Viewpoint, we met 2 girls from Canada and Germany and they too had been accompanied by 3 dogs all the way from the village so the viewpoint was packed with dogs when we reached with our 2 as well.
    The views from this viewpoint too were amazing.    Read more

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    Walk to the hill church

    November 13, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    From the top of the hill with the cross, we could see a church 2 hills away. We decided to trek till there. On the way, we saw many cactii with their flowers blooming. It was a beautiful sight.

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
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    Back to Cabanaconde

    November 13, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    From the church on the hill, we managed to get back to the village before the rain started. At the main square, we also had some fried donuts like stuff the lady was selling.
    After that we were back at the hostel while it started raining.
    We repacked our day bags for the coming day since we would have to carry our things for the next 2 day's trek while we leave our main bags behind.
    Then in the evening, a major religious gathering happened in the main square with the speaker shouting some crazy stuff on the loudspeaker. Hristo actually dressed up and went out to see him. 😉
    It was 9 pm, time to sleep.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Egg tortilla with bread and rice
    Egg tortilla with bread and riceAn aquaduct with a sluice gate

    Start of Colca Canyon Trek

    November 14, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    The plan for the day was to start on the Colca Canyon trek.
    The trek is normally done in 2 days and basically involves going down one side of the canyon from 3200 mts at Cabanaconde to 2100 mts at the oasis at the bottom of the canyon and then up again on the other side to various villages at about 2500 mts, in one day. On the 2nd day, one can trek down into the canyon and up again on the Cabanaconde side using a different path to the top of the canyon and then loop back to Cabanaconde.
    Normally, all the tours follow the route in the opposite direction but we felt it to be more convenient in this direction since we would then avoid the crowds and reach the various places in the path when no one else is there.
    We woke up at around 7 am and had freshened up by 8 am. By the time we had our breakfast, it was about 9:15 am. It had been a lazy morning and we were about 1.5 hrs behind our planned time of departure. The clouds and rain from the previous evening had passed and it was a clear sunny day. The sun was directly overhead and it was quite hot during this part of the day.
    The start of the trek goes through some lovely fields of maize just outside the village. The lush green fields in the backdrop of the mountain range behind are a beautiful sight to behold. The locals have diverted water from the streams using aquaducts and sluice gates to water their fields.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Through some narrow channels
    Through some narrow channelsStream flowing along the pathStart checkpoint

    Trek start checkpoint

    November 14, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    The path continued along the flat of the fields outside the village. It passed through some narrow channels and at one place, the stream was flowing on the path for quite a few meters.
    After walking for about 30 min, we reached the trek checkpoint where they check the tickets. From here on, its about 5 kms straight down into the canyon with an elevation difference of about 1 km.Read more

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    The steep descent

    November 14, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After the initial track where there was some shade, the track started going down steeply. There was no shade and the sun beat on is mercilessly. The track was mostly loose stones and rocks with a thick layer of dust making it even more slippery and the steep descent didn't help our cause either. The going was slow since we had to be extremely careful where we placed our foot.Read more

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    Deeper and deeper

    November 14, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The path slowly and steadily continued going deeper and deeper into the canyon. At some point, we could see the oasis at the bottom but it still looked quite small from where we were, basically indicating we still had a long way to go.Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling

    Oasis gets bigger and bigger

    November 14, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    With our end goal in sight, it was easier to keep the motivation going. With each curve of the track, the oasis started looking bigger. On the way, we crossed a section of the path that had been dug through a layer of basalt columns.
    We reached the oasis at about 12 pm. It had taken us about 3 hrs of steady walk to reach the bottom. By now, we were almost out of water as well.    Read more

  • The Craze for TravellingThe South American OdysseyThe Craze for Travelling
    Flowers and greenery at the oasis
    Flowers and greenery at the oasisThe swimming pool looked invitingA lovely place2

    Paradiso de las Palmas

    November 14, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The oasis was a true oasis. In the bleak surroundings with only sand and stones and some cactii, this was a place rich in flora. There were fig trees, avocado trees, even mango trees and many variety of flowers. We finally got some shade from the burning sun.
    We stopped at the Paradiso de las Palmas. We enquired about the food and were told it would be S/ 10 per person and it would be vegetarian. If we had food or drinks then the use of the swimming pool was included. The food would be served at 1 pm. We decided to stop over and swim and relax while we waited for the food.    Read more