Arequipa and Colca Canyon

Hola amigos!

We had a great couple of weeks in Arequipa and the Colca Canyon. We spent 3 days in the Colca area, hiking between towns in the canyon and seeing lots of condors! We took a bus to the small town of Cabanaconde, on the upper plateau of the Colca Canyon. In the morning we went to the Cruz del Condor lookout to watch condors ride the thermals of the giant canyon.

Cruz del Condor

The lookout and the Colca Canyon

Condors are the biggest flying birds in the world! They have a wingspan of 2 to 3 meters (9-10 ft)! and weigh 20-35 lbs. Basically a small dog with enormous wings. Condors are scavengers, feeding mainly on dead animals, like vultures. They are endangered and are very special to the Andean people. The Incas believed the condors took the spirits of the dead up to the gods, and into their next life.

A condor coasting along the edge of the canyon

A condor soaring past the tourists at the lookout

A condor flying over us - you can see it's white neck and splayed wing tips

After our exciting condor watching, we packed up and started hiking down into the 1.2km deep canyon. We stayed one night in a town near the bottom of the canyon called San Juan de Chuccho, at 'Casa de Roy'. The lady who owned it was a real sweetheart and cooked us a wonderful dinner. The cabanas we stayed in were lovely, with a stunning view of the canyon.

Day 2 we walked up through a few small towns, about midway up the canyon and then back down to the bottom to a river oasis in the town of Sangalle. Here there were swimming pools and gardens to relax in. We arrived for lunch and a bit of RnR in the hot sun and then it was a long steep climb back up the near vertical 1.2km wall of the canyon. The best part of the climb up was the condors! There were about 6 or 7 of them flying around us as we hiked. We arrived back in Cabanaconde at sunset, with a gorgeous pink light over the corn fields. What a day!

The next day we took the tourist bus back to Arequipa. We stopped a few times along the way at viewpoints, towns, and the best hot springs yet! All in all, a fantastic trip to Colca Canyon - highly recommended!

The view from the start of our hike. You can see the towns we were walking to on the other side of the canyon.

The river oasis at the bottom of the canyon

The view from the bottom of the canyon on our way to San Juan de Chuccho

Shaina relaxing at our cabanas in beautiful San Juan de Chuccho

Marsh at the oasis in Sangalle

The pool in the oasis

Arriving in Cabanaconde at sunset

A view of the Colca Canyon on the drive back

Back in Arequipa, we took a cooking class at the same place we took Spanish lessons. We started with a short trip to the local market, buying a few new fruits to try and some cooking ingredients. Our menu consisted of 3 typical Peruvian dishes: (1) causa rellena - a cold appetizer dish with layers of mashed potatoes, tuna with tomato and onion, avocado, and more mashed potatoes; (2) ceviche - fish marinated in lime, chili and onion, served with sweet potatoes and corn; (3) lomo saltado - a classic dish of stir fried steak with tomato and onion served with french fries and rice. We ended the meal with the local drink of choice - the pisco sour - pisco (grape brandy), lemon juice, sugar and egg white. A delicious and fun afternoon!

In the evening, we checked out the museum with the frozen body of a girl ("Juanita") sacrificed by the Incas to the mountain gods, and saw a very interesting National Geographic documentary on it. Then we had a glass of wine overlooking the cathedral in the main plaza.

Cooking class - Shaina with ceviche (fish marinated with lime, chili and onion) and causa rellena (layers of mashed potato, tuna salad and avocado)

The cathedral at the Plaza de Armas in Arequipa

We arrived in Puno, on Lake Titicaca, yesterday afternoon. The lake straddles Peru and Bolivia and is the highest navigable lake in the world. It's also freezing cold! This week happens to be Puno Week, with festivities such as parades, concerts and fireworks going on all week. Today there was a huge parade with all kinds of different traditional costumes and music from the local indigenous groups.

Costumes during a parade for Puno Week

We're hanging out here for a couple days and visiting some islands on the lake and then crossing over into Bolivia.

Happy halloween!

love M&S

xoxo

in the desert

Hello Everyone!

Since our last update, we've spent our time in the desert of Southern Peru. Our first stop was in Nazca, which is famous for the mysterious lines and figures drawn in the desert just outside of the city. These gigantic figures and lines (the figures are often greater than 200m long, and the lines can go on for miles) can be best seen from the air. They were constructed by the Nazca people (a Pre-Incan culture) from 900 BC - 600 AD but their purpose is still unknown. There are many theories out there regarding their existence/function such as: the lines being used as celestial calenders, offerings to the gods, paths leading to sources of water or even for communication with extra-terrestrials! We were curious enough about the lines and what they would look like that we hopped into a tiny 4-seater plane and took a 30 minute (and extremely nauseating) flight over the lines.

The Plane: 4 Passengers and 2 Pilots

The view from the plane on the way to the lines - sandy and rocky mountains with irrigated valleys

A few of the figures from the air:

The "frog" or set of hands with 9 fingers. You can see the lookout tower just off the highway (a 10m tower) and the highway for scale. They built the highway before they discovered some of the lines - it goes right through one.

The "Astronaut" or "Owl" on the side of a mountain

The spider (in the center) and a bunch of lines

We also went and saw a movie and planetarium show about the Nazca lines. They had a telescope setup on the full moon as well as Jupiter with its 4 moons! Very cool!

After Nazca, we headed north towards Ica, to Hacachina, a little desert oasis. Although the oasis itself was extremely touristy, the surrounding sand dunes were stunning and mesmerizing. We took a dune buggy tour where you go flying over the dunes at full speed (its like real-life Mariocart!) and then you stop a few times to go sand boarding! Shaina's dream come true - snowboarding in a t-shirt and shorts! it was awesome! The sand slows you down a lot more than snow, but it was loads of fun and we are excited to do it again in Chile.

This is Huacachina - a real desert oasis!

Beautiful sand dunes as far as the eye can see

Shaina and Marsh with our sandboards at the top of one of the dunes

From Huacachina, we took an overnight bus (12 hrs) south to the city of Arequipa in Southern Peru. Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru with a population just less 1 million. In Arequipa, we have been taking Spanish classes again (only for 1 week this time) and staying with a Peruvian family. The Spanish is coming along well - we can understand pretty much everything when conversing with a local, and our speaking is becoming more grammatically correct with each day. The home-stay (which was set up through the spanish school) is also going well. We live with a mother and her four sons (ages 12 through 23) and being surrounded by spanish forces us to practice!

After our spanish is done, we will head to the Colca Canyon (about a 6 hr bus into the mountains) to see the world's second deepest canyon (its more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon!) and hopefully we'll see some condors.

Hope everyone is doing well at home. We miss you all!

Love Marsh & Shaina

The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu

Hola amigos!

We just finished an epic journey on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu! It was an unforgettable experience. We did the 4-day / 3-night trek along the original trail used and built by the Incas.

The three of us (Shaina, Marshall and Barry) met the rest of our group at 5:30am Friday morning in Cuzco. There were 15 of us tourists, plus 2 guides. From there we took the bus to the Sacred Valley, back to the town of Ollantaytambo for breakfast, and then to the start of the Inca Trail. Here we met up with the rest of our team: 13 porters (they’re called chaskis or runners), a chef and assistant chef (his son), a waiter, and a coordinator! It was a big group, but very well organized.

The start of the trail was a bit too touristy and populated for our liking; however, once we were about halfway through the first day, we were more isolated and spaced out between other trekking groups. The scenery throughout the trek was absolutely stunning. The Andes in the Sacred Valley are so beautiful and mesmerizing, we could have walked forever! Our guide was outstanding. He had a real passion for his country and culture, and that made our whole experience so much richer. We stopped at 7 Inca archaeological sites along the way, where he taught us all about the Incas and their exceptional ways. This also gave us a nice break from hiking!

Every day we would wake up to a cup of hot tea at our tent and a bowl of hot water for washing. Then we ate a huge hot breakfast with everyone in the communal tent. We would do a small warm up and a few stretches and then we were off on the trail. We would hike all morning (sometimes stopping at ruins). The chaskis/runners would zoom past us on the trail, each carrying 25 kg on the backs! It was very humbling. The crew would have a huge family style lunch ready when we arrived at our lunch spot! Lunch was always a delicious soup, followed by at least 3 or 4 other dishes (and always a special gluten-free version for Shaina). It was incredible! We were definitely not roughing it! After lunch we would hike to our camp site, where again the chaskis would be waiting with our tents set up, and hot teas and a snack for ‘happy hour’ until dinner was ready. It was by far the best camping food we’ve ever had!

The hiking itself was a good mix of challenging sections and easier parts. It was also at a lower elevation than we’d been trekking at in Huaraz and Ecuador, so the altitude wasn't a problem. The trail is built of stones, with steep stairs in many sections (both up and down).

A brief overview of the trek: Day 1 was a fairly gradual ascent of 14 km. Day 2 was by far the hardest day, we climbed 16 km and 2 steep mountain passes. Day 3 was about 10 km, all downhill. Day 4 we got up at 3:45am (that’s right!) so that the chaskis could make the local train back to the start of the trail. We waited in line at a check point that opened at 5:30am; and then it was a short 6 km walk to the Sun Gate and Machu Picchu! Arriving at Machu Picchu the way the Incas built it – through the Sun Gate - was such a rewarding experience. We stepped through the rock walls of the Sun Gate with an outstanding view of (nearly empty) Machu Picchu. Our guide gave us a 2-hour tour of the archaeological site and then had about 2 hours afterwards on our own. From there we headed into the town of Aguas Calientes for a final farewell lunch and take the train+bus back to Cusco. This was definitely a highlight of our trip and an experience we’ll never forget!

Introductions of the group: the chaskis (runners or porters) in blue, the coordinator, the chefs, the guides and the tourists

Andean peaks in the clouds at our first camp

Our sweet rain ponchos about halfway up the second mountain pass on rainy Day 2

It may look like holes in a rock, but it's actually the Southern Cross constellation! Many of the archaeological sites we saw on the Inca Trail were used as astronomical observatories. The Incas would use a pool of water to look at the reflection of the stars and then carve the constellations into large rocks. So cool!

Us at the impressive ruins of Intipata on Day 3 with an amazing view of the Sacred Valley and Urubamba River. We had just seen a toucan in the jungle before arriving here, while three baby condors were soaring in this valley!

The Winay Wayna ruins (meaning 'Forever Young') - there is a palace in the lower section and a temple at the top (you can just see the corner of it in this picture). These terraces were used for gardens, as they are narrower than the agricultural terraces. This was the most spectacular place along the Inca Trail. From inside the ruins, you have a majestic view of the valley and the Veronica Glacier (below).

The moon rising over the Veronica Glacier at sunset on Day 3 at Winay Wayna ruins. We then had a special traditional ceremony offering thanks to Pachamama (mother earth) and making 3 wishes.

Our first glimpse of Machu Picchu as we entered the Sun Gate (Intipunku) just after sunrise on Day 4.

Marsh, Shaina and Barry at Machu Picchu

Looking up at the Sun Temple (the only curved tower and finest stonework) in Machu Picchu. The rocks are perfectly fit together like Lego - no mortar - in special and religious places (like Temples or for the royal Inca family). In the more common and urban areas, they used a mortar made from clay, hair of people and llamas, straw, etc. and then covered the walls with llama fat to protect from the rain.

A great view of Machu Picchu from the top terraces. This was taken from the trail to the Inca Bridge. The big peak behind the city is Wayna Picchu, which has a trail up but we didn't have tickets to climb up.

After a night of celebrating back in Cusco, we visited the gorgeous ruins of Sacsayhuaman (sounds likes ‘sexy woman’) and had to say bye to Barry as he headed back into the Sacred Valley for a few days before flying home.

The walls at Sacsayhuaman are some of the Incas most impressive stonework. The rocks are HUGE and carved with such perfection. There are even built in drainage tunnels within the walls. Although 80% of the site was destroyed by the Spaniards, you can still see parts of the 3 levels of zig-zagged walls. The city of Cuzco was built in the shape of a puma, with Sacsayhuaman as the head, and the zig-zag structures were the teeth.

A view of the three levels of zig-zagged walls

That is a big arse rock!

Before leaving Cuzco, we watched a heated Peru vs. Chile soccer game (a qualifying game for the 2014 world cup) at a restaurant, which they unfortunately lost. Then we took the night bus to Nazca where we're spending a couple days checking out the Nazca lines... but that's for the next post!

Hope everyone is doing well! Send us some updates J

xoxo

Marsh and Shaina

Huaraz, Lima, and the Sacred Valley

Hello Everyone!

It has been a while since our last update so we have lots to tell! Last time we wrote we were about to embark on a 4 day trek through the Cordillera Blanca (the highest and most scenic mountain range in Peru). The trek was amazing and it was a great trial run for the Inca Trail (which we start tomorrow!) as it was similar in time (4 days) and distance (about 43km).

On day one, we woke up early and made our way to the tour company office for 6:30am where we met the other 4 tourists we would be trekking with, as well as our Peruvian guide. We all hopped in a van along with our gear and made the 6 hour drive to the trailhead. The drive was beautiful as we climbed to 4800 meters above sea level (masl) before descending to 3700 masl at the trail head. The 6 hours went by quickly as we stopped at a few scenic spots along the way.

Us at a lake on the way to the trail-head

We began walking around 1pm and day one of the trek was fairly easy. The walk was relatively short (about 4 hrs) and flat, and we had the luxury of donkeys carrying all of our heavy gear (tents, food, etc). We arrived at our campsite about an hour before dark and set up camp while our guide cooked us a delish dinner (chicken-pumpkin-carrot soup and Peruvian chicken stirfry).

Day two was another shorter day as we walked from 8:30am until just before noon. However, we made some gains in altitude going from 3700 masl to the second campsite at 4400 masl. The second campsite had some breathtaking views and we spent the afternoon relaxing and getting used to the altitude in preparation for making a pass at 4750 masl the next day. We also spent the afternoon putting out a grass fire that had started about 50 meters from our campsite! We noticed some smoke coming from the other side of the trekking path and went to check it out.... and we found a full blown grass fire! So the 8 of us combined our efforts: some people retrieving water and some people trying to smother the fire and 20 minutes later we had prevented a potentially devastating fire! (Our theory is that the fire started from the cigarette butt of a group of hikers going the opposite direction that had passed about an hour before).

Campsite #2

The firefighters after the fire was extinguished!

Unlike day 1 and 2 of the trek, day 3 was a serious challenge! Our group decided that instead of breaking up the remaining 30km of the hike into two days of walking, that we would tackle the entire distance on day three so that we could enjoy the final day relaxing in some local hot springs. So we started walking around 8:15 heading straight up to the mountain pass at 4750 masl where the views were amazing!

Us at the top of the mountain!

We then proceeded down into the valley for a LONG way and some beautiful scenery. Along the way we passed the Paramount mountain (the mountain they use as their logo in movies)! Unfortunately the peak was covered in cloud. When we finally made it to the end of the trail it was sunset and we were exhausted! However, the long walk on day three was well worth the early morning trip on day 4 to the natural hot springs in the mountains which eased all of our muscle aches. After the hot springs it was back into a van and back to Huaraz where we killed some time with our new friends from the trek, until taking the night bus to Lima at 10:30pm.

We arrived in Lima at 5:00am and took a taxi to the MARRIOTT HOTEL! After sleeping for 3 nights in a tent and one night on a bus, the luxury hotel almost brought tears of joy!

The Marriott Hotel in Lima

We spent our two days in Lima enjoying the luxury of the hotel (breakfast in bed, gym & steam room, etc) and eating some great food (Lima is renowned for its cuisine....especially ceviche). On Sunday, we left Lima on a flight for Cuzco (we had found a flight for $15 more than the bus ride costs and saved ourselves from a 20hr bus ride!). Cuzco is pretty touristy as it is the home base for everyone going to see Machu Picchu. So we met up with our friend Barry (from Shaina's work) and headed into the Sacred Valley for 3 days. First stop was Pisac where we spent an afternoon shopping for Alpaca (amazingly soft wool) products. The next morning we explored some Incan ruins just outside of town.

One of the stalls filled with Alpaca at the Pisac Market

Marsh walking in the Incan Ruins

We then headed to Ollantaytambo to check out more ruins and enjoy the scenery in the sacred valley before heading back to Cuzco this morning. Tomorrow morning we head out on our trek on the Inca Trail ending at Machu Picchu on Monday! We are very excited!

Hi to everyone at home! We miss you all!

Love Marsh & Shaina