What
A
Blast.
It started at 3am on a Thursday when Bastien and I woke up to catch our taxi to the airport in Callao. There, we met up with the majority of the group, checked in, and waited to go through security for our 6 & 630am flights. (The group was too big to fit on one plane to Arequipa.)
After landing in Arequipa, the 40 of us piled into a coach bus to start the looong, yet incredibly beautiful and sight-filled journey through the mountains to Colca Canyon, where we would visit some small towns and view the deepest canyon in the world.
Now, Arequipa and Colca area are at incredible heights (3500 meters) and that led to altitude sickness. One remedy we were given was chewing coca leaves (not cocoa, coca) and drinking coca tea. This has been practiced for thousands of years, and while I still questioned the effectiveness, it was a pretty cool experience. That first day of experiencing the altitude was the worst for most of us. We made a few stops on our way to our Colca Lodge, including some stops to view llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas, a few rest stations to drink coca tea, and a restaurant that nobody really ate at because of the altitude sickness.
after arriving at Colca lodge (finally) we were given some rest time, so many of us went to the thermal pools that the lodge offered, while others toured the Alpaca farm the lodge had. I personally chose the thermal baths because I wasn't feeling good enough for a hike, and they were SO nice to be in. Very relaxing.
The entirety of Colca lodge was very relaxing in fact, it seemed to be like more of a spa than anything, but we didn't spend much time there. At night, we took the bus into town for dinner at a restaurant that featured traditional dances and music. At one point, I stood up and danced too, and was given some traditional clothes to dance in. Pretty soon everyone was dancing in this little cramped room but it was so much fun.
When we returned to the hotel it was late and I was tired, but I couldn't help but notice something in the sky that we don't get in Lima-- stars. An entire sky of them, out in the country. That's one thing I really missed and it was nice to enjoy them again in their full glory.
Anyway that was day 1 of my journey.
Check back soon for the rest!
