The definition of a Canyon

So off to the Colca Canyon we went, the same one that used to be the deepest canyon IN THE WORLD... until they decided one a bit further north was actually a few meters deeper. Oh well. We made it our mission to discover the definite of a "canyon" on this trip.

Starting our research in the Small town of Chivay, which has turned into the first stop on the tourist circuit of the area. A small artisan alley has sprung up along with a number of pizzarias (it's what gringos eat). After hiring bikes for the day, we set off packed with snacks for a number of little towns. Our luck held out and we managed to roll into the first town just ahead of the San Isi...something festivity parade. The townsfolk gather together with candles, drums and brass instruments and parade around the main plaza with a "float" of sorts on their shoulders. They dressed up some cows and dragged them along in front, and like kids at an opera, they complained the whole way around. After a few more towns, we ate a scrumptious lunch at a small local resturaunt, and sought out some hot pools. The water was not scalding, but did a very nice job of soaking our sore bike bums. The last stretch of the ride was, of course, uphill, and we pulled into Chivay wishing there was another hotspring awaiting us.

Our next research excursion was farther down the canyon, at the town of Cabanaconde, where we set out just after seven in the morning on a mammoth hike. Short on time, we tried to pack into one day, what would have been a very pleasant three day stroll. 1000m down into the canyon we came across the coolest thing ever! Geysers! Smoking! Bubbling! It was very smelly, but a great place to sit and eat an apple, beside a chilly river, and scalding hot pools of sulphurous springs. Up the other side we climbed passing a couple from Montreal who commented that we hiked "really fast". We were on a mission... Up and up we went, 600m in fact, and ate the most delicious lunch at the top; avacado, tomato, cucumber, mayonaise, onion and.... BREAD! Dirt would probably have tasted great after climbing up for 2 hours in the sun. The views along the other side of the canyon were nothing short of spectacular, snow frosted peaks towering above small villages clinging to the sides of hills that plummetted 1000m down to a slightly raging river, perfect. Our goal in sight, we raced against the sun down to a spot dubbed "The Oasis", where some prespective locals have diverted some underground rivers into pools for the tourist throngs. Getting there just ahead of a lot of tourists we enjoyed the pool all to ourselves, soaking away the day's dust. Then I decided to put Sarah's nalgene into the outtake tube... heh... oops. So we spent the good part of an hour extracting it so the pool wouldnt overflow. The sun soon dissapeared behind the top of the canyon, so we shivered our way into our clothes, and headed back up to Cabanaconde, despite the insistance from the oasis owner it was 5 hours back up and that we should stay at his hostal for the night instead. Up and up we marched, catching up to the sun, watching it rise, then set again on the mountain tops above. We made it most of the way up before the stars came out to guide us the rest of the way. With hardly a light from the surrounding towns, the sky looked amazing, definitely the best sky we've had yet down here. We crawled back into town just after seven that night, devouring a bowl of soup and some manzanilla (camomile) tea before dropping into bed and falling into a deep deep sleep.

Back in Arequipa we compiled our research notes and came to the conclusion that a canyon means: Very tiring biking and hiking. 1000m down, means another 1000m back up. Amazing vistas. Bring lots of chocolate. Water is expensive on the other side. Cactuses are sharp!

Now we have the `long haul` ahead of us. A plane to Lima, then a series of busses back up to the coastal town of Canoa in Ecuador for some ocean surf, hammock naps and happy hour!


See you soon!