Up the Colca Canyon

Day 10
2011-01-18
Colca Canyon & drive to Puno

Sunrise at the canyon

As the alarm went of at 4 in the morning, it was still dark outside. I had the chance to take a photo of the night sky with all those stars. We had a wonderful breakfast with pancakes, bananas and chocolate spread. Oh - I should mention that it was my best friends 30th birthday...so basically the birthday cake was a tower of pancakes with bananas and chocolate spread. ;-) Pretty improvised but the thought is what counts. After breakfast it was time to say goodbye to the oasis. 

Goodbye Sangalle

I chose not to walk up because I still felt a bit dizzy from the altitude and so I took a donkey which by the way was amazing! I’m not talking about the comfort…I’m rather talking about the experience to ride an animal that ALWAYS chooses the outer edge of the road near…the abyss! Yes I know – it’s easier to walk up like that because you don’t have to make those narrow turns and so…but – oh my god – I was getting nervous every time that animal went near the edge with me on it climbing up stone steps. Bizarre!!

Cabanaconde

But I am alive and everything went fine – although my donkey was farting all the time! YES – farting. And the man who took care of them (walking behind me) always blamed me for it! Ok…I knew he was joking!

Back up again we met our driver Sergio at the Plaza. We loaded our bus and started our drive to Puno which would last 6 hours. 

Our driver and his dad

We stopped several times to watch the changing landscape and it was really stunning to see how different Peru can be. There were mountains that were rough with no vegetation, then again they were green surrounding a lagune, endless hills, plateaus with Alpacas and Vicunas, small communities in the middle of these giant mountains, rails in the middle of nowhere going along a small river, forests and then again desert. It is unbelievable! The thin air made it very exhausting to be travelling that long but the views...wow!

At the lagune

After an uncomfortable ride we reached Puno in the evening. It seemed to be a very vivid city with lots of people around, lots of music coming out of the bars and really heavy traffic. We decided to hit our beds with no deviation since we were exhausted. Our hotel was awesome – it almost felt like coming to a home. The mom and her daughter who were the owners of the place were SO sweet and the rooms were clean, comfy and we were looking forward to the breakfast the next morning!

The deepest canyon in the world

Day 9
2011-01-17
The descent 

Breakfast with the guys

We got up at around 7:30 to have a good rich breakfast before descending into the canyon. It almost felt like family…having a nice chat with our guides and the other guys that were with us on this trek.

At 8 we were ready to leave and hat packed what we needed for the one night inside the canyon. The road down was quite challenging…very steep, many rocks making it hard to walk and donkeys coming our way. But we had views that taught us how majestic nature can be. It was breathtaking and you almost forgot about the struggle. And then there was of course the amazing view of Sangalle – the oasis at the bottom of the canyon. That made us leap forward to get down as fast as possible.

Down the canyon

It took us almost 2:30h until we reached the bottom of the canyon and Sangalle with its palm trees, fruit bushes and natural pools. It was just unreal – how could something so beautiful survive in between those rocks? It’s the river flowing through the canyon that makes it possible. Once down, we took off our clothes and jumped into the refreshing pool surrounded by mountains as high as we could see. It was unbelievable!

Natural pool at Sangalle

After a very good lunch prepared by our guide Carlos, we had a nice and lazy afternoon just hanging out, reading, napping or playing some volleyball. Later this afternoon Carlos would gather all of us together to give us some more information about Peru, the economy, politics, import and export, religion, beliefs and many more things. It was really interesting to hear someone talk about his country with such passion.

Sunset in the canyon

In the evening we had an early dinner so we could go to bed early and rest for the way up in the early morning. After the moon came out – and it was full moon – this place became just magic. You could see the stars sparkle and a tremendous peace came over our camp. Did I mention that we slept in tents? I haven’t done that in years and I felt like a young boy again hanging out with his friends. The night was quite chilly but we had sleeping bags and it was awesome to sleep almost underneath the stars.

3 days of extremes

Day 8
2011-01-16
Cabanaconde

This day began early. Packing our stuff, clearing the room, small breakfast on the roof of our hostal and then at 8 ready for our departure! The guides Carlos and the driver Sergio from Colcatrek Agency picked us up at the hostal to our 3 day tour to the Colca Canyon.

Our first stop was the National Reserve around 1 hour away from Arequipa. We went to some geological formations in this area which looked stunning. We were high up in the mountains and you could feel it because it became harder to breathe. Later on we reached the highest point of our whole trip: almost 13000 feet or 5022 meters. That was an incredible experience – breathing was such a struggle and you couldn’t move much without feeling exhausted.

Geological formations

After that we headed towards Chivay where we had a planned lunch at noon. On the way there we stopped several times to watch Lamas, Alpacas and Vicunas along the road through the national reserve. 

At lunch time we arrived in Chivay and had a great and tasty buffet in a nice restaurant. Ok – I must admit that it was quite crowded by tourists…BUT: the food was traditional and very very tasty!

Women selling art

Back on the road towards Cabanaconde – the last village before the descent into the Canyon – we stopped at Maca to visit an old church. It seemed like nothing special is going on there…just ordinary people, farmers, cattle, sheeps and alpachas were strolling around. 

And that’s what made it so special – to see the real life of the people and not just a fassade someone has put up for foreigners visiting and leaving some money. 

Just magical

Our next stop was a spot 30 minutes walk away from Cruz Del Condor. That was the most breathtaking panoramic view of the mountains you can imagine. It felt like standing at the edge of the world breathing in all that green energy that came from the surrounding mountains. Do you recall that situation from the Celestine Prophecy when he was sitting on that mountain and saw the whole universe evolve? That was my personal spot and it almost felt like the one in the book! It is such an incredible spot on earth!

Cruz Del Condor

After taking in the energy of this place we started to walk towards Cruz Del Condor – always at the edge of the canyon which was such an uplifting feeling.

Once we were there, we had the chance to watch a total of 4 condors flying around the mountaintops. We were really lucky to see these holy birds cause usually during that time of year it’s really hard to see them.

After that wonderful experience we drove to Cabanaconde to check into our hotel for the night. After a nice dinner we went to bed pretty exhausted.

Still Arequipa - hanging out

Day 7
2011-01-15
Arequipa

A nice backyard

The next day was very lazy. After a nice breakfast at our preferred baguetteria we visited a nearby area, did some more shopping, chilled on the terrace and then had dinner at the Soncollay. It was nice to have a day to rest and gain strength for the upcoming tour – the visit of the Colca Canyon!

Maybe now it's a good time to talk a bit about Arequipa. It is a very nice city - not too big - and the historical center where our hotel was located, is very neat. The Plaza del Arma is the central meeting point for either locals and tourists. In Peru life mostly happens outside - which is a normal thing to do when you have such a great climate. You see people walking around, chatting in the parks, sitting on the side of the road, playing music at a corner or having a nice meal or a coffee in one of the small bars and restaurants along the Plaza.

Soncollay kitchen

Peruvians are very friendly and helpful - always open towards foreigners which makes it so comfortable to get around. Whenever you need help or an information, people always try to help even when they're not able to speak english.

Furthermore it was good to take some time out in Arequipa to get used to the altitudes that were about to come in the following days.

That evening after the dinner at Soncollay we got ready for the departure the next morning at 8 am heading to the Colca Canyon.

Arequipa - a place to stop

Day 6
2011-01-14
Arequipa

view from the terrasse

As usual my day began very early (I could never sleep longer than until 7 am). I got up and went to the terrace on the roof which gave me a stunning view over Arequipa and the Andes in the morning light. Afterwards I had a chat with the owner of the hostal and got all the official stuff done. By that time Chris was awake and we went to have breakfast at a place nearby our hostal.

After that we hit the town and walked pretty much the whole historical center sneaking into backyards, hidden stores, small traditional clothing shops and so on. It was pretty amazing. After a while we found a French baguetteria in a courtyard which became our favourite place in town to have breakfast or a little snack in between.

Afterwards we did some shopping and got nice Alpaca Wool hats and some souvenirs…not to mention the picture postcards to send home. ;-)

In the afternoon we just sat on the terrace and chilled in the sun.

at the Soncollay

After a nice dinner we went to a restaurant called “Soncollay” to have a sundowner which was amazing because we were sitting at the plaza while the sun set. The drinks were tasty but what was the most exciting thing: When we wanted to pay the check the owner of the place started asking where we were from and such questions and so we got into a talk. After some minutes he invited us to go see the kitchen. The restaurant serves pre-inca cuisine which has a certain way of cooking the food, special ingredients and spices. Conversation moved on and he started talking about languages – how they correlate, where certain words come from and how everything connects in one place.

Plaza Del Arma

That’s when I started to get curious about what he had to say. He asked us if we were going to Machu Picchu. And then he talked about an old Inca word that described the herb that was used during the Inca time to smoothen the stones for their buildings. He explained how this word in other cultures meant “to lift” and then lead to the word that has “ocarina” in it which would be the flute-like instrument. He said that it could mean that music lifts things. Then he talked about old cultures like the Inca that developed 7 senses – 5 for the material world around us and 2 more: the third eye to perceive the spiritual world and the crown chackra enabling us to receive the universal energy.

I was blown away by this experience and had nothing to add. I got goosebumps and was so hyped about visiting this sacred place of Machu Picchu!

We promised him to come back the next night to have dinner in his restaurant.

Small aircraft & a first climb

Day 5
2011-01-13
The Nazca Lines

I got up pretty early to organize tickets for the flight over the Nazca lines. We found an agency nearby the hotel and got our tickets. A bus took us to the airport which is 2 km away from the city center and we checked in and later on boarded this small aircraft. 

The flight at an altitude of around 2000 feet was pretty bumpy and shaky cause the pilots where flying many turns to show us all the Nazca Lines from each side. It was pretty impressive to see, what the people back then could do. 

After a safe landing we went back to the city, got our stuff at the hotel and headed towards the bus terminal to continue our travel. Nazca is not a very impressive city and there’s not much more to do than fly over the Nazca Lines.

Our next ride should take us to Arequipa – a nice city in the mountains at an altitude of 3400 m above sea level. The drive took 11 hours…but since we booked tickets for Cruz Del Sur – a very high class bus company – it was ok. They have an onboard service, drinks and a movie system. But what is the best feature: the seats almost go flat. That makes even a bus ride VERY comfortable.

We got to Arequipa very late at night and checked into our hotel near the Plaza Del Arma…what a relief to be able to lay down and stretch our limbs in a private - family owned hostal.

What we could see of Arequipa so far was, that it was a nice city with a great plaza and lots of bars and restaurants to check out during the next days. 

Where birds meet

Day 4
2011-01-12
Ballestas Island & The Candelabra

The Candelabra

Our tour started at 8 in the morning and so we hit the pier to catch our speedboat. Once on board the 45 minutes ride started with a short stop at the candelabra. We stopped to watch the candelabra-like formation on a hill and continued on to the Ballestas Islands to watch the sea lions, the variety of birds, penguins and the majestic rock formations.

Sea Lions

It was interesting to see, how animals live in peace with each other on such a small spot. The water and the rocks were full of birds and sea lions just floating or diving for food. The skies were black from the swarms of birds rising from time to time and everything they did showed so much synchronicity...they seemed to have a silent agreement on when to fly, in which direction to fly and when to land again. Awkward!

Once back near the pier we even saw some dolphins coming out of the water. Unfortunately they were too fast to capture them on a photo.

Birds everywhere

After a nice lunch in Paracas at the ocean front we walked the beach for quite a while and then stopped on the way back to catch some sun. It was nice to watch the people, children, ice vendors and animals hanging out on the beach. It was very loud but peaceful at the same time cause you could see how those peoples lifes happened partly on the beach.

In the afternoon we continued our journey and took the bus to Nazca where we arrived in the evening. After a quick meal at a nice local bar this day ended in a nice small hostal in the center of the city which - to be honest - hasnt't much more to offer than the Nazca Lines. The room was quite simple but we liked the pink walls and the comfortable beds. By the way - the beds in Peru are AMAZING...in all of Peru!

Down the Pan-Americana

Day 3

2011-01-11
On our way to Paracas 

The pier @ Paracas

Our roadtrip started on day 3. We spent part of the morning having breakfast and organizing our further activities. Around noon we went to the local bus terminal and got a ticket to our next station – Paracas. The departure time was almost 3 hours later, so we decided to walk to a nearby area with an olive park and a pyramid that goes back to the pre-inca time.

Once back to the bus terminal we tried to find out how things work in Peru and we were thrilled by the fact, that it was very well organized. There was a baggage drop off station in the terminal and we even had a choice on what menu we wanted to be served on board. So…once we boarded the bus, we found ourselves in the VIP class which meant: seats that reclined so much that it was almost a flat bed…the next 3,5 hour’s drive would be excitingly comfortable driving down the Pan-Americana.

3 hours later we arrived in Paracas, a nice little town at the coastline of Peru. The weather was amazing. It was warm and sunny and we left the bus to find a hotel. What we came up with was the “El Pirata”…a nice hostal only 5 minutes from the beach with a beautiful terrasse heading the ocean!

Paracas beach

Time to hit the beach! Since it was almost 5 pm the sun already started setting and the lights came on. It was beyond imagination: The beach, the sunset, the fishing boats…it was breathtaking! After a nice walk on the beach we were ready for dinner and went to a nice restaurant at the beach that served fresh fish and a wonderful Pisco Sour. One of the waitresses was also a tour manager for the Ballestas Islands and so we got our tickets for the tour the next morning.

Our first day in Lima

Day 2
2011-01-10
Miraflores/Lima 

The coastline

The second day was filled by checking out the area of Miraflores. We had breakfast in the hotel before heading out to explore the surroundings. Our first walk took us to the coastline of Lima. The wonderful steep coast was pretty amazing. It’s not the classical beauty of a beach with white sand, palm trees and so on but it’s definitely a beautiful spot. The waves are pretty impressive and so the surfers were rushing into the water to take their best shot on riding them. It was awesome to be able to walk along the beach with the pacific in front of us. It was so calm and we could just hear the sound of the ocean. 

Later on we went to the shopping area in Miraflores and we were pretty amazed by the fact that the city is very clean. We walked to different spots with a great view on the ocean – one of which is Larcomar with lots of restaurants and shops. 

After that we went to a big artisan market called “The Indian Market” nearby the hotel. It was pretty amazing to see all those handcrafted goods. Instruments, textiles, clothes, statues, masks, jewellery and many more were the things the local people were selling in small shops. 

In the evening we had a wonderful Peruvian dinner nearby Kennedy Park in Miraflores. We were pretty amazed about the flavors and the taste of the amazing dinner.

The trip to Lima

Day 1

2011-01-09
Frankfurt - Bogotá - Lima 

My trip starts in Munich where I took my flight to Frankfurt. Everything went fine and I got to Frankfurt with enough time to catch my flight to Bogotá/Colombia. I met Chris – who was going to come with me on that trip – at the baggage claim – as planned. After having checked in we had still enough time to talk about our plans for the next 3 weeks.

LH 542 FRA-BOG

Once we were on board our flight to Bogotá, the excitement started to set in and the real deal began. It was a pretty smooth flight and after round about 11 hours we hit Colombian ground. After 2 hours we took our last flight from Bogotá to Lima/Peru which was a blast, too. I’ve never flown in such a comfortable economy class with in seat video systems and wonderful seats.

At around half past midnight local Peruvian time we touched down at Lima El Dorado Airport. We went to the baggage claim and got our luggage before heading to the arrival area. It was planned that a driver should pick us up and bring us to our hotel in Miraflores/Lima. And there he was – with my name on his sign.

El Patio - Lima Miraflores

Only 30 minutes later we checked in at our hotel – the El Patio in Miraflores. We got such a warm welcome and the journey started amazingly.

It has a been a long and fatiguing trip to get to Peru but we were sure that it was worth it. We were pretty excited about the following weeks that were lying in front of us.

I am back!

I am back from Peru and the experience still resonates in my mind and my heart.

Paracas beach

 I will tell you about each and every day of this trip - but please be patient if this takes some time. I want to remember each and every moment and write it down as accurate as possible adding some photos I took along the way.

These are the hard facts about the trip: We (my best friend and I) spent 21 days in Peru visiting 11 cities. We travelled almost 2500 miles - mostly by bus. We shot around 5000 (!) photos and I recorded 79 videos. We covered everything from sea level up to 5022 meters above sea level. The longest bus ride lastet 38 hours and we encountered avalanches, rock falls and flooded streets. We ate wonderful dishes and tried Alpacha. We went down the deepest canyon of the world - twice as deep as the grand canyon and we visited Machu Picchu - which for me was the most amazing experience ever.

Arequipa

We met wonderful people, slept in nice hotels, had just 2 days of rain and for the rest the most amazing weather ever. We never argued and laughed SO much all the time.

It was breathtaking, inspiring, exciting, emotional and definitely a journey we will always remember!