Colca Canyon--Arequipa, Peru

So if hiking the Inka trail wasn't enough, we decided to venture to the sunny part of Peru, known Arequipa to hike the Colca Canyon. Arequipa seemed like an absolutely beaut of a city, but we didn't have too much time to dilly dally there unfortunately. The Canyon is located not to far from the city, and is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon- or as locals like to say, "...the not so grand anymore canyon..." haha. We had a short visit at the top where the condors cruise around the air, these big massive, ugly birds look pretty serene and chilled as they fly about.

We continued on to the start of our trek, that was accompanied by two guys from Holland, Eelco, and Jarno; and our guide Steven. It was a rather easy jaunt down the canyon to the river, where we cooled off from the day's heat. We climbed back up the opposite side of the canyon a smidge to our lodgings. That afternoon we perused around the trails, picking fruits and such off the ever abundant trees and bushes that grew...pretty sure we nabbed a few from a local's field--oops. We brought in hot peppers, limes, pomegranates, apples, figs, tuna (aka prickly pear-that grow on cactus), paycai (it looks like a banana- but has these yoghurt like substance that covers the seeds inside.), and a few others I can't quite remember the names of. The second day we arose early to get to our new spot, called the Oasis----and it honestly was. In midst of a barren dessert like section of the canyon, were these palm trees, exotic flowers, and of course an AMAZING swimming pool, that had a massive rock that acted as one of the containing walls- that we could climb all over and jump from! We had a lovely day of swimming, relaxing, eating mangoes off the tree by the pool, drinking colca sours (you can only drink there, since the fruit is only from the specific cacti grown in that region), and playing cards. The guys, Marielle and a few other girls from surrounding sites played a game of soccer (it really isn't my sport-unfortunately). All the guys were super impressed with Marielle's skills, and I don't think you could have slapped the smile off her face if you wanted to; I have come to love to watch her play-she honestly lights up like a light bulb when she does. The next day was the tough day, climbing all the way up the canyon to the top. We awoke early so that we would be caught hiking in the sun, since it was a hard enough climb without the heat already. That was a trial on my will-power, but I made it! After a quick breakfast, we visited a few more Inka sites, some hot springs to relax in, and a viewpoint of a string of active volcanoes.

That night we arrived back to the city, we had a quick dinner with a friend Christine from Norway that we met in Cusco, before we were off on a bus to Lima. My stomach was already growling in anticipation at the thought of the amazing seafood that lay ahead of us.