Days 37-39: Arequipa

The main plaza on our first night

This past weekend, I really wanted to go to Arequipa, which is the second largest city in Peru (behind Lima, the capital). It’s a very Spanish-influenced, colonial city, and outside the city is Colca Canyon, which is the third deepest canyon in the world. With about 40 volunteers in the hostel, you would think it’d be easy to find a group to go. For one reason or another, though, everyone already had plans (Phoebe went to the desert this weekend) or had already been. After almost giving up hope of finding a companion, Edda, who also goes to Michigan and is here for two weeks said she’d be interested in going. I was both relieved and really excited, and we bought tickets and booked a hostel that night.

The bus to Arequipa was an overnight, 10-hour trip. That’s technically not ideal as far as sleeping goes (although we were in very nice, fully reclining seats), but it’s very ideal as far as efficiency goes. We left Cusco at 8:30 pm Friday night, and arrived in Arequipa at 6:30 the next morning.

The bus terminal was really crowded and kinda stressed me out

Edda and I had to take this selfie to document the high-tech accommodations (the guy behind us wasn’t nearly excited enough)

Being in Arequipa that early in the morning on a Saturday was an eerie experience. It’s not nearly as flooded with tourists as Cusco, so no one was awake and everything was closed. Edda and I wandered around a bit, and got great pictures of the Plaza de Armas (every city here seems to have one) without anyone in it.

The empty plaza at 7am

A gorgeous church that we wandered into

The beauty of arriving so early was that we got to the Santa Catalina Monastery the second it opened. It’s a giant convent that once hosted 175 nuns and nuns-in-training within its walls; literally a city within a city. There was a family of three from Hong Kong that was also there when it opened (they explained that with jet lag it was just impossible to sleep any longer) so the five of us ended up getting an entirely private tour of the place- just us, our tour guide and a few janitors. Our guide was incredibly patient while we took pictures and explored the rooms and asked every question that popped into our heads. (If you hover your mouse over the groups of pictures, you can read captions.)

The layout of the convent- literally a city within the city

The main entrance

Streets lined with flowers

Gorgeous mountain view

There were streets within the convent

Typical bed setup

Nuns-in-training could spend 3 hours in this courtyard a day-the rest in their rooms

Photo of Ana, a nun who previously lived in Santa Catalina and is one miracle away from sainthood

Loved the doors in this place

A lookout within the convent (look at those mountains!)

Afterwards, Edda and I had some really interesting conversations about Catholicism versus Islam. She grew up in Malaysia, and knows very little about Catholicism; I grew up in the U.S., and I know very little about Islam. Throughout our time in Arequipa, people would ask about her hijab- not in a rude way, just a confused way. A man in a convenience store asked her if she was cold; another person asked if she wore it to protect from the sun. She said it doesn’t bother her, it’s just very strange for her that she hasn’t seen a single other Muslim since she’s been here.

After Santa Catalina, we walked around the city, taking pictures of the incredible architecture and admiring all the chocolate cakes in the bakeries (I got a piece every night). We ran into the family from Hong Kong again while we were sitting in a courtyard, and they highly recommended a museum where we could see the mummy Juanita. We took their advice and headed to the museum, and it was well worth it.

This kind of architecture can be seen throughout the city center

A giant market that we wandered into

Fruit is so cheap and accessible here

I wasn’t allowed to take pictures in the museum, but the story of Juanita is unbelievable. The Incas used to sacrifice the most beautiful and healthy children to appease the gods in times of need (i.e. in after a drought or an earthquake). It was considered an immense honor to be chosen, and once these children were sacrificed they were essentially deified within their culture. Juanita made a trek all the way from Cusco to Arequipa (recall that’s a 10-hour bus ride), then up a volcano to an elevation of 21,000 feet, where she was sacrificed. The incredible thing, though, was that she was frozen within days of her death, due to the high elevation. She remained frozen for 500 years, until she was discovered by archaeologists. She still has blood, muscle and skin on her body, and from this researchers have been able to discover a lot about how the Incas performed sacrifices. At the end of the museum tour, I was able to see her body, and it was incredible- you would think she had died no more than a month ago.

That evening, Edda and I walked around a bit more before getting an early dinner (and cake) and heading to bed. We were exhausted from the day and had an early wake-up ahead of us!

I had to take a picture with all the crazy pigeons in the plaza

Our alarms woke us at 2:30am the next morning (is that even morning? I never know anymore) and we left at 3 for our tour of Colca Canyon, which is the third deepest canyon in the world.

View of the mountains rising up out of the canyon

One of our first stops on the bus ride was a lookout point over the Colca Valley, where you could see towns and farms cut into the sides of the mountains. It was this point in the day where things stopped feeling real, and reality didn’t set in again until I was safely back in Arequipa (the mountains seem to have that effect on me).

This looks like a wood carving

After the view, we had breakfast and stopped at a town to see a church that represented a mix between the Inca and Catholic faith. In that same town, there was a man holding an eagle on his arm and looking interested in the tourists passing by. As I walked past, he moved to put the eagle on my arm. I decided it was probably safe, and went for it. Edda was snapping pictures of me the whole time, so she captured the moment when he put his hat on my head and the eagle jumped up on top. I was completely shocked, but came out in one piece.

An altar decorated with saints (Catholic influence) and mirrors (Inca influence- to capture the light from Inti, the sun god)

Initially, I did not get along well with the eagle

Luckily, we became fast friends

The look of a girl who was not expecting to have an eagle on her head that morning

Finally, we went to the place we had all come to see: Cruz del Condor (the Cross of the Condor). We stood on the edge of the cliffs and had a beautiful view of not only the canyon and the mountains behind, but also the condors flying overhead. Andean Condors are the world’s largest bird, and watching them circle overhead was an awesome experience. When they landed nearby, you could see that they were absolutely massive (wingspan ranging from 8’10” to 10’6″; weighing 15-33 pounds), and we watched in awe as they effortlessly lifted their giant bodies from the ground. We got lucky, because shortly after getting off the bus there were about 15 condors shooting the breeze, soaring out of the canyon and circling back over our heads. If they came close enough, you could hear the sound of the wind buzzing through their wings. The canyon was too deep to get a really good picture of it (if that gives you an idea of how incredible it was to see).

Looking out over the gray mountains (and the canyon below)

A condor soaring through the canyon

A whole group about to fly over our heads and return to the canyon

After seeing the condors, we stopped for a snack: cactus fruit (here called “sancayo”) ice cream. I’ve never enjoyed ice cream with a more beautiful view.

Sancayo over the Colca Valley

We then had the option to either go to some hot springs, go ziplining, or hike a bit. I chose hiking, because I’ve been to a lot of hot springs and ziplining was expensive (and also I just really, really love to hike). I climbed up a road on the side of a mountain with a couple from Ohio, and got to chat with them while enjoying the views.

This river is over three times this size during the rainy season

Finally, we started to head back to the city- but not without a couple stops in some of my favorite spots. After about an hour of driving, we stopped at the highest point of the day, at 16,100 feet above sea level. We could see volcanoes in the distance, one of which is active and another of which is Ampato, where the mummy Juanita was found.

Ampato is to the left of the active volcano

People stack these rocks with coca leaves in between for good luck

I was running around taking pictures and taking in the view when I looked around and realized that I was the only one not back on the bus. When I got on, my tour guide said that we couldn’t stay long because it was cold and the altitude makes people feel sick. I was on such a high from being in the mountains that I hadn’t noticed- I really, really love mountains.

Our next stop was to let some alpacas cross the road. We drove through a national park, where the llamas, alpacas and vicuñas (similar species to llama and alpaca but protected due to risk of extinction- their fur is incredibly soft) are all protected and run free. We sat for about 10 minutes while herds of them passed in front of us.

Why did the alpacas cross the road? (To humor the tourists)

After the alpaca event, we all fell fast asleep until we got back to Arequipa. Edda and I spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out how to get to Sogay Falls the next day, a hike to a waterfall that another group of volunteers recommended. After being told several times that we probably shouldn’t go alone and they would give us a “special price” of about $100 per person for a private guide, we were a bit discouraged. We messaged the other group to ask how they did it, and they gave us a few tips, the largest of which was to just ask people for help and we’d eventually get there. This was a little daunting (especially because Edda doesn’t speak any Spanish, so I was entirely in charge of getting us there), but we decided to just go for it.

We woke up at 7 and packed up all of our stuff, then stored it at the front desk for when we got back. We then ate some breakfast at the hostel (which was pretty good) and set off in search of a taxi. I talked to one taxi driver who told us that it would be very far and he’d have to charge us a lot of money, so I let him move on and then hailed another. The next guy gave me a better deal and a better feeling overall, so we went with him.

After about a half hour of driving, we arrived in a small town. Our taxi driver rolled down his window, and I could hear him asking someone if something was safe. He rolled the window back up and turned to me, explaining that the safest combi stop that would take us to Sogay was farther back, so he was going to turn around (A combi is like a mix between a bus and a taxi- it’s a van, and they usually have the same stops and the same route every day). I was both shocked and extremely appreciative that he had asked someone and that he was going out of his way to take us to the safest place. When we got to the combi stop, he took out his card and wrote down the name of the city we needed to go to and pointed us to the combi stop. He went on to write down his name and number, saying that we should give him a call if we needed anything. Needless to say, I gave him a hefty tip and thanked him repeatedly.

Edda and I then walked cautiously over to the combi, and asked if they were going to the town that our taxi driver had written down. The driver nodded yes, and we climbed in. I was extremely relieved to see a whole group of older Peruvian women filling the combi- that was a good sign that it was trustworthy.

Our view from the backseat of the combi

Every time the combi stopped, we asked if this was the place we should get off to hike to Sogay Falls. Finally, one of the women turned around and smiled, telling us that we should get off when she does (and that if we got off here we’d be really, really tired by the time we got to the falls). That was another good sign- that someone was going the same place we were.

When we finally got to the town of Sogay, we could not believe it. We had made it! We still had a hike ahead of us, but we knew that we had done the hardest part. The nice woman explained to us that we should stay to the left and follow the trail, then hugged us and said the Spanish version of “bless your little hearts.” We set off, feeling a lot of love.

The sign that showed us we were in the right place

Luckily, the trail was really easy to follow, and had signs scattered throughout to guide us. The signs were a little humorous, because we’d pass a sign that said “500 meters until the falls!” and then we’d walk another half mile and see another that told us we only had 200 meters to go. The hike ended up being about 4.5 miles total, with a lot of climbing towards the end.

Beautiful views of the farms below at the beginning of the hike

Arguably the best part about the hike, though, was our “guide.” Within the first couple minutes, a dog started trotting along in front of us, checking back every now and then to make sure we were still there. At first, we joked that he was our guide, but it started to really feel that way when we would come up to a turn in the trail and see him panting in the shade, hopping up again to lead the way when he saw us. He did the whole hike with us, only venturing away from the trail to wade in the stream and cool off. I know I’m crazy, but he felt a little like a human to me.

Just a couple bffs enjoying a snack along the stream

We thought that this was the end of the trail (we were wrong)

After getting to the point in the last picture, we thought that was the highest we’d go. We then saw a group of Peruvians coming up behind us (this was the first time we’d seen other people the entire time), and watched them pass us, wading across a pool of water and climbing up the rocks. I asked one of them if it was safe and if the trail continued, and they said yes and gave us advice about the best way to cross the pool (Nice People #3).

Another photo of me wading in freezing cold water

Intense climbing pic (I ended up going around the cacti to the left)

We finally got to a point where you couldn’t climb any higher, and just sat and watched the waterfall, accompanied by its beautiful white noise. We chatted a bit with the people that helped us along, and they took a couple photos of us to document the moment.

The falls at the end of the trail

Edda gesturing grandly towards the falls in the background

After sitting at the top of the falls for a while, we realized we had a long trip back and would eventually be very, very hungry. We headed back down to Sogay, ending up at the same plaza where we started. We looked around, realizing that we weren’t entirely sure how we’d get back to Arequipa. I spotted a family waiting on a bench with some luggage, and I asked where they were headed. They responded that they were waiting for a taxi to Arequipa, so I cautiously responded by asking if there was room for two more. They said, “of course, there’s always room!” and that was how we met Nice People #4. We all squeezed into the tiny taxi and chatted the whole way. It was a mom and her two adult kids, and they were from Lima, visiting family in Sogay. The son is studying to be a lawyer, and the daughter is studying hospitality and spoke English really well, which was great because it made it much easier to include Edda in the conversation.

From the taxi, we took a bus, and then another taxi from that bus into the city. The family from Lima paid for the second taxi, which was incredibly generous and again, unbelievably kind. By the time we got back to Arequipa, I was hangry (we hadn’t eaten lunch) and totally exhausted from speaking so much Spanish all day, so we said goodbye to the family (very appreciatively) and hit the road in search of food. We ended up going to a crepe place that was highly recommended by other volunteers, and I ate two giant, meal-sized crepes. I was very content.

I was really squished against the window during the bus ride back

We went back to the hostel to pay for some showers, then took a taxi back to the bus station. Our bus back to Cusco left a little late, and we must have hit traffic or something because we didn’t arrive until 7:30am. I tiredly haggled with a taxi driver for the price back to the hostel (they were trying to charge me 10 soles for a trip that was clearly only worth 7!), and we got back at 7:50, giving me 10 minutes to get ready to leave for work. I reminded myself all day that I was so glad I went to Arequipa and I was barely even tired, and it kind of worked. I did take a nice, long nap when I got home.

Overall, this trip really showed me that I can venture out on my own. My other trips have been largely organized by tour companies, so I haven’t had to do a lot of thinking or coordinating. Not only did I learn to trust myself, but I learned to trust others. I obviously won’t be naive and trusting of every person on the street, but I was amazed and delighted at how trustworthy and helpful (and generous) random strangers were to us on our quest to find Sogay Falls. There wasn’t a huge difference in my conversations with the two taxi drivers, but I think my instinct told me to go with the second, and instinct is a pretty powerful thing. The only way that we were able to get to the falls was by completely handing the reins over to different people along the way, and they went above and beyond every time. It was an empowering experience. I returned from this trip with pictures, stories, and an overall positive feeling about humanity.

Spanish Word of the Day: “cataratas,” meaning “waterfalls.” It’s a really important word to know when you’re asking directions to waterfalls, so I’m glad I learned it.