Date: Wed, May 21, 2008 at 5:05 PM
Subject: Chapter Dos - Colca Canyon, Arequipa, and Puno
So we last left off in Arequipa with Gerson suffering from altitude sickness, chronic diarrhea (because he ate some sketchy sandwiches in Nazca....which smelled good, but I declined), and a cold....which left me exploring Arequipa on my own. Arequipa is a beautiful city nestled between mountains and three active volcanoes and is called the white city because many buildings are made of ash stones taken from these volcanoes. The people in Arequipa do not consider themselves Peruvians...they are better than that...they are 'Arequipenians'.
Colca Canyon....and Altitude Suckiness:
We set out for the Colca Canyon, I believe the second deepest canyon in the world, and home of the Andean Condor. Gerson almost didn't go, but decided that if he didn't...he might start feeling better and would hate himself for not braving it. We got picked up at our hotel at 2:30AM, and spent 45 minutes wandering around Arequipa looking for our remaining passengers. Eventually, we found them, and were off to the canyon. The trip there lasted about 4 hours, I know this because every hour on the hour, Gerson demanded Pepto Bismal (more like he grunted...."I need more")...and he did that four times. We stopped in a town called Chivay and ate a really bland breakfast of bread and coca tea. Suddenly, the urge to use the restroom hit me...luckily I checked first...as this was to be my first encounter with a toilet lacking both toilet paper and a toilet seat. Again, lucky me I had packed some toilet paper in my backpack, but neglected to bring an extra seat. I began to fear that I was coming down with one of Gerson's diseases.
We left Chivay and began out tour of the Colca Canyon....we stopped in a number of tiny villages. I was approached by a few people (Peruvian tourists I believe) wanting to take photos with me...I obliged...but in hind sight should have demanded 5 Nuevo Soles (the Peruvian currency) as the villagers often to if you snap a photo of them. As we drove on, the canyon got deeper, the potential plunge for our bus over the side of the canyon became larger (and in Peru guard rails are near non existent), and for some reason our driver insisted on keeping the edge of his tires as close to the edge as possible even though there was an entire road (I believe its a game he plays to make his day interesting since he probably does this tour every day). We stopped a few more times to admire the view below (farms, river, and Inca terraces), the view above (mountains, and Inca burial caves)....and finally reached Cruz del Condor, where we spent an hour watching the giant condors soar above. The condors have a wing span of about 6-9 feet, are black/brown, and have a white head. They rarely if ever flap their wings, instead they glide on the thermal columns and canyon winds. The sight seemed truly breathtaking...but in reality it was our altitude that was depriving me of oxygen....so much so that I began to develop a headache, similar to that which Gerson had been experiencing the previous day.
We left Cruz del Condor...made a few more canyon stops, and then returned to Chivay for lunch. First though, part of the tour went to some thermal springs, while Gerson, myself, and two Israeli women were lead on a "gentle" hike for some more canyon views. What should have been an easy hike was very difficult....we found ourselves out of breath, fatigued, and sick of the god damn canyon by now. At this point my headache was a 7 out of 10, with 10 being the worst I have ever felt in my life. I didn't have much appetite, but got some food down, drank some more coca tea (the rumored cure for altitude sickness and many other ailments), and even chewed on some coca leaves that a nice Peruvian woman who happened to be on our tour offered me...in return, I had to take a photo with her daughter...fair enough. After lunch, and after some tiny and adorable canyon children attempted to take Gerson's camera from him, our bus began its climb out of the canyon and back towards Arequipa. As the bus climbed, the headache intensified. At one point, I recall the tour guide saying that we were at the highest point of our journey, about 13,000 above sea level, and offered to let us out to take some photos. At this point, my headache was a 12 out of 10. It felt like there was an angry man inside of my head with a jackhammer....and when I managed to open my eyes, everything looked hazy...I thought this was the end. Amazingly, as the bus descended back to Arequipa, my headache began to subside, and I was able to enjoy the sights of alpaca and vicuna grazing in the fields around us. By the time we got back to Arequipa (around 6 PM), I felt about 96% better, and ate some Peruvian pizza...not anywhere near as good as NY pizza, but definitely better than CA pizza.
Last day in Arequipa?:
The next morning I felt 100% better, re-energized, and hungry. We stopped at a bakery and ate some delicious croissant-like pastries that had a caramel-like filling and drank some more coca tea. I am glad that bakery is in Peru and not SoCal...because I would probably stop there everyday. It was time to leave Arequipa for Puno.
We checked out of our hotel, caught a cab, and were on our way. I was sad to leave Arequipa...it really is a beautiful city and we could have used another day or two there. I thought I was going to get my wish when we approached a police road block. Our cabby explained that there was a protest scheduled for that day, and that in "this part of town (near the airport), protest sometimes get violent". We locked our doors, closed our windows, and began to fear that we were not going to make our flight. The police redirected us (so that we ended up driving on the wrong side of the divided street), and at some point we crossed back onto the airport road. A siren wailed behind us, and it occurred to us that we were now being pulled over. We stopped for a few minutes, and then continued towards the airport with a police escort. We got to the airport, checked in, and had some time to watch a huge police helicopter land and heavily armed men jumping , boarding our flight and getting the hell out of Arequipa just in time.
Juliaca....makes Livingston Manor look like Paradise:
Our flight lasted a whopping 30-40 minutes...pretty much the entire time climbing since Puno/Lake Titicaca is even higher in elevation than Arequipa. We arrived at the Juliaca airport which is supposed to be a 30 minute ride from Puno. From the air, Juliaca looked terrible, and from the ground....terrible is simply an understatement. Being the seasoned travelers we now thought ourselves to be, I thought it would be cool to try to haggle a lower fare from Juliaca to Puno. But we were quick to fork over our Nuevo Soles when we realized that it was either this ride (and whatever fare they demanded), or being stranded at the airport. This was because the same strike in Arequipa was also in effect for the next 24 hours in the rest of southern Peru. There were no taxis to be fetched, no buses to catch. There was just one renegade tour company who crossed the picket line and was offering rides. Gerson and I got separated between vans. People were squeezed inside, and luggage piled high on the roofs of the 4-5 vans. Our convoy left the airport, then proceeded to take the most non-direct route through Juliaca (to avoid road blocks and angry natives we were to find out). Juliaca was filthy...everything was either grey or brown in color. Most roads were dirt and would either have huge holes in them, or random piles of rocks/debris. Houses either had broken or boarded up windows. Litter, garbage, and who knows what else lined the streets...I have never in all my life seen such poverty. It felt like we were driving in circles, and every now and then a different van would take the lead of the convoy. A woman who worked for the renegade agency was barking orders to the other vans through her cell phone....if you have ever seen the movie "Black Hawk Down", about the American-Somalia conflict...it felt like we were in it.
We finally got on the main road to Puno...but we drove slowly because the locals had lined the roads with rocks in an attempt to curb traffic of any kind (other than foot or donkey). We could see the lights of Puno in the distance...but they just never seemed to get closer. We finally did reach Puno (which was also on strike), and began dropping off people at their hotels. At some point, it occurred to me that one of my bags had gone missing in the chaos...which somehow didn't surprise me...but left me a little irked. But all things considered I felt lucky to have anything at all. It turned out, as a local resident explained, that people were protesting because they were upset about inflation...they do not understand why their food prices are going up, and can not comprehend that it's actually a global problem. I can't blame them for being upset...and for me to lose a bag full of clothes and a few other items really just did not seem that tragic considering the difficult circumstances that these people live with...that to them seem to be getting even worse.
I finally re-united with Gerson at the hotel, my missing bag turned up, and we scheduled our tour of Lake Titicaca for the next day. Our hotel was amazing, perhaps one of the nicest I have ever stayed at, but the disparity between what we had just witnessed compared to our new temporary lake view living/sleeping quarters was a bit striking. My dinner that night was alpaca steak over a gnocchi in a cream sauce with an Inka Cola. It was delicious.
Things not to take for granted anymore:
1) Oxygen
2) Toilet Seats
3) Toilet Paper
4) Good plumbing (the kind where you can flush toilet paper down)
Lessons Learned:
1) As much as we can complain about gas and food prices...there are plenty of people who have it a lot worse then we can even imagine.
2) Apparently I am some sort of rock star in Peru and will be gracing a few photo albums as some random Gringo.
3) French people suck, young British folks are cool, and older British folks are hilarious in that they 'keep it real'. Seriously, they can say the most heinous thing and it sounds so pleasant in their accent.
Next chapters....Lake Titicaca, an awesome train ride, Cuzco, and Machu Picchu. To be continued.
Love,
Matt
----------------------
Additional Details:
Not the most luxurious hotel I'm sure, but a great price and we felt safe. Arequipa was by far the coolest city we visited in Peru (yes...even cooler than Cuzco) so you'll probably not want to spend too much time in your hotel anyway. This place has great location neat the Plaza and is really close to 'La Canasta"....
Best Breakfast:
La Canasta
Jerusalen 115
Arequipa, Peru
Coffee was good, and there was this croissant like pastry stuffed with manejar...to die for! Also nearby, while we are talking about sweets, track down a place called 'Fab. de Chocolates La Iberica S.A.' located at Jerusalen 136 for some amazing chocolates!
La Canasta
Jerusalen 115
Arequipa, Peru
Coffee was good, and there was this croissant like pastry stuffed with manejar...to die for! Also nearby, while we are talking about sweets, track down a place called 'Fab. de Chocolates La Iberica S.A.' located at Jerusalen 136 for some amazing chocolates!
Renegade Puno Tour Company:
Rossy Tours
Tele: 051-366709
Rossy Tours
Tele: 051-366709
Seriously, these folks came to our rescue. While others were busy striking, this company saw an opportunity to capitalize on the situation and also recognized that despite the economic woes people were facing, tourism is a saving grace that shouldn't be discouraged.
No comments:
Post a Comment