Arequipa Photos


The main reason for coming here was Colca Canyon, more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and by some accounts, the deepest canyon in the world. We did a three day hike into and out of the canyon and I have to say that overall I was a bit disappointed, mostly because it didn't seem all that deep to me. When I inquired about this, I found out that the point where hike is, the hike that nearly everyone does, is not even as deep as the Grand Canyon. The deepest part of the canyon is elsewhere. The walls also aren't as steep as the Grand Canyon, making it less dramatic, not to mention the colors. One thing I struggle with at this point in my trip is comparing everything to everything else. I wish I could just enjoy each place for how great it is, but I always end up comparing it to the other stuff I've seen.

The highlight of the trip for me was the "oasis" at the bottom where we spent the second night. Full of beautiful flowers and swimming pools, it's quite a paradise. We spent most of a day there relaxing, playing volleyball, and soccer against the locals. That night we went net fishing for trout in the river, but didn't catch anything. It was fun nevertheless. I had never been net fishing before and it was more difficult than I imagined to throw the net properly and also to keep it from getting stuck on rocks on the bottom.

The last day, we started our hike back up the canyon wall in the dark at 5AM to avoid the heat of the day. I had been told that locals could hike the wall, a vertical ascension of nearly 1200m, in 45 minutes, mules in and hour and a half, and tourists in three hours. I, of course, took that as a challenge and went full throttle the whole way, never stopping to rest or take a drink. My goal was to do it faster than the mules. I was making good time for the first two thirds and then my legs gave out and went wobbly. My pace slowed considerably and by the time I made it to the top an hour and forty five minutes had passed, fifteen minutes longer than my goal. I haven't been that tired in quite awhile. I have trouble believing the locals do in in 45 minutes because that would literally require sprinting the entire distance, but I suppose it's possible.