Espagets en och minuts

I took my last big trip before finals last weekend. It was a last minute little adventure into the Sierra with my roommates and like all my trips, it was wild and had my mother known what I was doing the rest of her hairs would be gray, if not white.

Day 1: Lima to Arequipa to Chivay

My alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. I thought it was a mistake until I remembered we had to catch a plane at 6. The troops gathered and we hailed a taxi around 4 thinking we would have plenty of time at the airport. We did not. The line for Peruvian Airlines was to the door and by the time we checked in, we had to run to our gate. Oops. After a quick nap on the plane we landed in Arequipa, the second biggest city in Peru, nestled in the Andes. Exhausted and disoriented, we took a taxi across town to the bus station where we bought s/. 12.00 ($4.00) tickets to Chivay, a small town 4 hours away. The bus ride was both beautiful and terrifying. We were on a tiny dirt road weaving up mountains at top speed. Upon arrival we were approached by a woman named Marta who offered both a hostel and a buffet. Unable to say no to the promise of unlimited lomo saltado, we followed her through town, stuffed ourselves at the buffet, and met the pet alpaca at the hostel. Not wanting to waste any time, we headed to the other side of town to both zip-line across a small canyon and swim in the hot springs. We signed our lives away, donned helmets, and hiked up to the top of the zip-line. Not used to the altitude, we were all panting and barely shuffling when we reached the top. One by one we flew across the the canyon. I might have screamed a little bit. After the wild and windy ride we decided to warm up in the natural hot springs which turned out to be reeeeaaally hot. As soon as 8 p.m. rolled around, all of us were asleep under three layers of blanket, wearing every piece of clothing we brought. Apparently, the sierra is a little chilly at night.

Day 2: Chivay to Cruz del Condor to Cabanaconde into the Colca Canyon and right back out again

Alarms went off a 6 a.m. I hid under my pillow until I remembered we had to get to the bus station at 6:30. We powered through breakfast and hustled to the station and onto the bus. From Chivay we drove and hour to Cruz del Condor where we witnessed three HUGE condors circling the Colca canyon. These birds have wingspans of 6 feet, but have bodies like vultures. They were both majestic and insanely ugly. I guess you can't have everything. Once we snapped some pictures, we snuck onto a fancy tour bus and begged them to drop us off in a town close by called Cabanaconde. Another scary bus ride later, we wandered around Cabanaconde in search of a hostel and food. We lucked out when we found one named Pachamama which not only fed us, but the owner gave us maps and information on canyon trekking. Crazy on caffeine, we decided to hike down and back up the Colca canyon that day. The owner assured us we could easily descend in 2 hours and make it back up in 3. Ha. He was optimistic. We started out strong, but after 3 hours of rocky, uneven descent and scorching sunshine, not only were our calves and knees were burning, but our skin was too. Once we reached the oasis at the bottom of the canyon, my legs were shaking and I had no idea how we were going to make it up since it was almost 4 and the sun was beginning to set. We asked for flashlights, but the owners of the oasis assured us there would be enough moonlight for us to make it up. Ha. So much optimism. We started the ascent, taking breaks every 10 minutes or so because either our legs felt like they would fall off or our lungs might collapse. Every time Peruvians on mules passed us they asked if we wanted to ride back up. As much as I wanted to say YES SAVE MEEEEEE, I said no gracias. After 3 hours of climbing over jagged steps and loose rocks, it was completely dark. The guys at the bottom were right, we could see in the moonlight, but my brain was so tired I didn't have the energy to figure out the safest route. Luckily, a Peruvian hiking up decided to motivate us to reach the top. He promised to go slow, but his slow was a little faster than my slow. Completely exhausted we reached the top, 4 hours after starting, and we trudged back to the hostel. So grateful for our guide, we bought him a coke and all gave him hugs. At the hostel, the owner told us he thought we had died. I said, it was close. After eating, we slumped to our rooms and once again passed out immediately.

Day 3: Cabanaconde to Arequipa

Once again our alarms went off at 6 in order to catch the 7 bus back to Arequipa. We ate breakfast and literally ran to the Plaza to buy our tickets. They packed as many people as they could onto the bus, people were doubled up in seats and standing in the aisle. Five hours later we arrived in Arequipa. We pulled the usual drill of taxi-ing to the Plaza de Armas and finding a hostel. After lunch we toured a huge convent. I now know so many great facts about Peruvian nuns and nunneries. After hanging with the nuns there was some napping and more eating. After the eating was more eating and sleeping.

Day 4: Arequipa to Lima

Since we were so exhausted and sore from our earlier adventures, Monday was devoted to seeing Juanita the Ice Maiden museum. In 1995, one of the nearby volcanoes erupted, melting surrounding glaciers. Scientists found a perfectly preserved mummy of a 13 year old girl, who they named Juanita. Turns out she was sacrificed by the Inca back in the 1500s. And I got to see her. It was creepy. She still had nails, teeth, skin, and hair. Ewwwwww. Ew. What to do after seeing a creepy 500 year old mummy? Eat, of course. We headed over to the huge indoor market, passed by shrunken llama heads, frog juice, and dozens of underwear stands, and sat down at a stand offering rocotto relleno (spicy pepper stuffed with alpaca, cheese, and kalamata olives) and quinoa juice. SO DELICIOUS. Although I think my doctor strictly advised me to stay away from "street vendor" food. Oops. After basking in the sierra sunshine (which doesn't exist anymore in Lima) we drove to the airport and flew back into Lima.

It's been five days since the Colca canyon hike and I'm still sore. I hope I don't have to hobble around too much longer. It's getting embarrassing.

(P.S. dear mom, I promise I won't take Anna on too many dangerous nighttime hikes up rocky canyons when she comes to Peru. I know she's definitely in your top 3 for favorite children)