Painful Steps

From Colca Canyon

I'm walking with slightly achy legs from yesterday's final day of a 3-day hike in Colca Canyon. The "Canyon" is more of a cross between a valley and a canyon, but suffice it to say it's steep. And deep - about 3200m, versus 1600m for the Grand Canyon. The first day was the toughest - we descended 1.4km in altitude and followed that by a 400m climb. By the end of the day we didn't have the energy to eat dinner, just crawl into our tent and sleep.

The hike took us through some small villages where the only access is by foot or donkey on steep rocky paths. One of the more amazing parts of the hike was being passed by locals literally jogging down these paths in nothing more than sandals. Even without a backpack there's no way my legs would be strong enough, nor my feet accurate enough, to do that.


The second day ended in Oasis, a small tourist spot where entrepreneurs set up channels fed by nearby waterfalls to irrigate grass and fill swimming pools. No need for chlorine - with an unlimited supply of water they could empty, clean, and refill the pools every day.

The last day was a nearly 4 hour straight climb, ascending approximately 1km in the hot sun. The 7 hour bus ride back to Arequipa was uneventful, though for some reason it was missing a salesman, an inseparable part of most bus journeys (along with reggaeton music and Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" - a song I can't wait to never hear again). They stand at the front in the aisle and talk for 20 minutes, extolling the virtues of the fantastic product they're selling. Then they hand out samples to everyone on the bus, finish with a round-up of all the benefits, and see if anyone is interested in buying. At first, I was baffled as to what they could talk about for so long. Now, with limited Spanish, I know that most of the time they have in their hand seeds of an amazing medicinal plant that can reduce ulcers improve your sight help aching joints stop runny noses soothe sore throats cure cancer! Although one man managed to talk for 20 minutes about the Jolly Rancher sweets he was selling.

Joking aside, it seems like a tough job and has raised questions, like who decides which salesman gets to take which bus? Do they have to pay fare? After riding for half an hour, how do they get back home?

Tonight we'll take an overnight bus to Cusco. It used to be a central Incan city - I hear now it's gringo central. Machu Picchu and other Incan ruins are next on the agenda.