We got a hotel room near Plaza de Aramas which is one of the nicest plazas we have yet to see, it is huge and has a great big Catholic Church there with two large towers and is all lit up at night. We walked around the town looking for a place to eat and finally found a crepe place where I had a steak crepe and a nice IPA, one of the better ones so far. The following day we did the normal 3 hour walking tour around Arequipa with two German girls and one Spanish guy that were real nice folks.
The reason for coming to Arequipa was that I had heard that Cõlca Canyon was a spectacular area and they had the Andean Condors that came up from the bottom of the canyon using the thermals to rise way up above.
So I went into a tour shop to see what it would be like to hike the canyon because I wanted to do a 3-day hike but the lady told me that there was no way I could do it on my own as it was very difficult and dangerous which I did not quite believe. The following day I went back to quiz her more about the hike and she had said that she had just done the hike and actually had to rope a a guy in to cross the river and that if I went on my own I would get lost so that was enough for me to go on my own.
I got a bus Cõlca Canyon and they picked me up at 3 a.m. and we arrived there at 9:30 after stopping to see the Condors which were not doing what they were meant to do.
As I was getting off the bus the bus driver asked me what route I was going to take and I told him and then he said to me no I wouldn't do that if I were you, very dangerous so now I was really a little apprehensive as to if I had made the right choice by doing it on my own but these guys had hadn't even hiked in the canyon and they hardly even know the area, so it was too late anyhow so I put on my backpack and headed out of town for the 5-hour trek. From Cabanaconde which is at 3280 metres, it was a downhill hike the whole way through spectacular canyons and across the Rio Cõlca to the Llahuar Hostela which is at 2020 metres. When I got there I had a nice ice cold Coke and then in walked the Spanish guy that was on the tour yesterday, he must have done about 10,000 steps less than me looking at the length of his legs but he was also so tired and my knees were killing me.I got a bungalow overlooking the river which consists of one bed in a 10 x 10 wooden shack. We went down to the hot springs where we spent about 2 hours sitting in the lukewarm water with a couple of Frenchie's and two American girls until the rain and thunder came they all left and we just hung out there till dinner-time. The room costs 25 Soles which is about $8 and the dinner was 15 Soles which is $5 which was wasn't bad at all with a soup and then some Pollo and rice with a brewsky.
The following day I had to leave early at 6 a.m. because it was going to be at 10 hour day of hiking. I hiked to the waterfall which was a brutal hike for me but I guess worth it as it was at full flow and quote a sight. Hiked back to Furie (2760 m) and then on to Sangalle (2180m). My legs were like jelly and my knees aching from going down the steep mountainside to Sangalle.
Got a bungalow, layer down and fell asleep and then went for dinner and into bed.
Departed at 4:45 am for the 1200m hike straight up to Cabanaconde which took me two hours and thirty five minutes.
Got the bus back to Arequipa and savored a shower and shave after not having showered for three days it felt really good.
We went back for crepes and an IPA to celebrate my solo hike and saving $400 for a guide that was totally not needed, I would have been livid had I had a guide, it was an easy route to follow and the water crossing was a joke, six steps over some rocks and I was across the river.
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