After leaving the rather depressing city of Nasca, we arrived in beautiful Arequipa. It is said that when the Moon separated from the Earth it left Arequipa behind. The startelingy white buildings made of rock from the nearby volcanos are rarley higher than two stories as the city is ravaged by frequent earthquakes. The second story is ususally a slightly differnt coloured stone so that in the event that it comes tumbling down, they have a better idea of where things go.
After a few weeks of minimal activity we decided to sign up for a 3 day trek to nearby Colca Canyon (which is really a valley).
Day 1: 5 hr bus ride to Cobanconda, lunch, 3 knee crushing hours into the Canyon, and 1 hour uphill to a small village of 100 people where we ate and slept in a local families house. The mixture of a light rain and the setting sun gave us the pleasure of an amazing rainbow and a sunset at the same time. Beautiful!
Day 2: Wake up early, hike another knee crushing hour back down into the cayon were there just happens to be a beautiful little oasis. Here we were allowed a few hours to laze in the sun and swim in a pool boardered by two massive boulders. Next was the exausting 3 hrs hike back out of the canyon. Poor Hyme (Amy) from Korea couldnt hack the hike, and rented a donkey.
Day 3: Bus to Cruz del Condor to view the amazing flight of the massive Condor, measuring up to 3m in wingspan. Too bad we didnt see any... just a whole lot of tourists. However, the next stop was the hotsprings, where we sat in the sweatering hot water to sooth our aching muscles.
All in all this was an amazing experiance, and we met some really cool people. Vincent from Montreal is traveling with us still, and while he is un poco loco, its been lots of fun.
From Arequipa the three of us, along with a french guy we met on the bus, headed to Puno which is on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca. Here we did a full day boat tour on the lake stopping to visit the incredible floating islands. The islands are made completely out of reeds that grow in the lake. When there is a fiesta, the people will drag 3-4 islands together to make a larger dance floor! Our second day in Puno was spend visiting a large ruin site, and then once again, we hopped on a bus and headed for Bolivia.
Vikki and I have been keeping track of our bus time. So far we have been on 33 busses... adding up to well over 150hrs.
Bolivia is beautiful... and cheap!! Where else in the world does your accomodation cost the same as a beer? (Both= 10 Bolivianos... about 1.25$) We are currently rexaling in the small town of Copacabana, which is also on Lake Titicaca. While it is quite cold at night (hats, mits, down jackets), when the sun shines its nice and hot (t-shirts and lots of sun screen).
Today we took out a ghetto little sail boat to cruise around the lake for an hour. It was quite a sight... the mast and boom made out of tree branches, and a big purple sail that looked like it was stolen off someones bed.
Tomorrow Vikki and I are headed off on another little trek... this time sin guide! We will hike 4hrs north to a small port town where we can catch a boat to the nearby Isla del Sol. We plan on staying a night or two on the island for some hiking and relaxing (something we are getting really good at)
I hope that everyone is doing well and smiling!!!
Here are some photos for you!!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19749&l=5df6c&id=510641175
Take Care!!!
Love
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