D's mail from Colca canion
Hola everybody! In Arequipa in south Peru at the mo,
lovely city and really nice central plaza plus nice
weather. Arrived in Arequipa last Saturday and
ventured into the Colca Canyon on Monday for a three
day trek. However on Saturday nite ate bad food and
felt like shit leaving for the canyon on Monday. Could
not leave Tuesday with the others for the canyon cos
was too ill and a lot of time was spent running to the
banos all day Tuesday. However felt better that night
and the following morning i headed into the canyon
with 2 really cool Canadians on the 3 day hike. The
first day, oh my good god, i dont think i have ever
felt closer to dying, 10 times worse than the second
day of the Inca Trail. Had to walk steep zig zag
dangerously slippy downhill for 3 hours from
Cabanaconde only to walk continually in the same way
uphill for 4 hours, on empty stomach and severe heat.
I actually nearly passed out. But it was character
building i suppose. The scenery was also pretty
amazing. The second day was ok in comparison cos i had
a bit more energy and the trek itself was less
difficult and actually managed to appreciate the
sights. We walked to the beginning of the canyon
(still debate as to whether it is the deepest canyon
in the world) in the morning and saw a few waterfalls
and also Inca tombs where the Inca skeletons are in
full view, kinda eerie. Then walked 3 hours to Oasis,
which is really really beautiful. Met up with the 2
amigos there and at 3 am the following morning walked
in the dark for 3 hours continually uphill back to
base, Cabanaconde. No surprises why they call this
part the "death hike". I felt much better the last day
but poor Clare and an English girl in the group were
both puking before and on the hike. Eventually we all
made it alive to base and from there in a bus (thank
god) to the Cruz del Condor, also part of the Colca
Canyon, to see the famous condors. Supposedly there
was a record number of condors there at once, 18, and
were very impressive, especially with binoculars. Hung
out there for an hour and caught the bus to Chivay,
amazing scenery en route, and from there back to
Arequipa. When we reached the hostal, little Dee was
sickie number three and had to hit the hay. We were a
sight for sore eyes. Today after much needed sleep, we
r in fighting form again. Went to see real "Juanita"
the ice or Ampata maiden in the museum just a while
ago. I defo recommend anyone to visit this museum,
fascinating stuff. Juanita is a young Inca girl about
12 or 13 years of age, who was sacrificed by the Incas
to the gods about 550 years ago. She was found in 1995
in the Ampata volcano after a nearby volcano (forget
the name) errupted and the ashes melted the ice which
covered Ampata. An expedition at the time of this
erruption uncovered her body which was preserved by
the ice over the 550 years. Supposedly all her
internal organs are perfectly preserved. Anyway before
i bore u all, she and another 10 year old girl mummie,
Sarita, can be seen in the museum for half of the
year, i think, January to June, so we were lucky we
got to see her. Sorry folks just realised i have to
run cos meeting people for beers, very very important,
so chau or adios for now, d. (Will write again soon).

Beaumont birds, i want all the scandal from last night
at that ball!!