It hurt.
The grin etched across my face in the first picture, was before our gruelling two day undertaking down the slope of the world’s deepest canyon, and then back up again. For those of you who have been following our capers, you may recall an entry we wrote about painful-yet-rewarding ‘W Trek’ in Chile. Well this was similar; like a ‘mini-W’ (or 'V' if you like).
Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru. Peru's third most-visited tourist destination with about 160,000 visitors annually, it's located about 100 miles (160 kilometres) northwest of Arequipa. It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States at 13,650' (4,160 m.) depth, and it is promoted as the "world's deepest canyon," although the canyon's walls are not as vertical as those of the Grand Canyon.
Along with our German friend Katarin , we woke at 3:00am to take a transfer to the canyon, which is famous for its Condors and Incan period terracing. The mirador at the pinnacle of the canyon was a little disappointing, only because of the thin cloud cover which obscured any potential condor sightings. Thankfully, these clouds soon dissipated and we were graced with fabulous views of the gorge as we began our descent. It was an hour into this descent that Emma interestingly pointed out that steep descent can sometimes be as taxing on the body as the opposed ascent (especially on the knees). 7 hours later we found ourselves on the other side of Colca, at a lovely riverside oasis, complete with palm trees and small bamboo shack which, for one night, we would call our home.
The next morning meant another early start, although this time we were graced with an extra two hours in bed. Nevertheless, at 05:00am, we began what would come to be, a watershed moment in Emma’s short hiking career.
It was murder.
8 kilometres walking straight up, ascending an extra 1500m over 3 hours. As you can see below, the views were truly spectacular, as some of the Incan-period routes were still clearly visible. This however, was no salve for the deep burn felt in every muscle, joint and crevice! The altitude (an elevation of approximately 3200m) was also a major factor in making this 3 hour trek a real hard and harsh climb. As we reached the top, Emma uttered the immortal words… ‘That’s it. I’m done. That is my last hike ever – from hereon it’s high heels and dresses’ So ended the hiking chapter in Emma’s life…
Enjoy the pics guys and our next post will be about… Macchu Picchu!
I had no idea what was coming
The metaphor ‘strong as an ox’ should also be extedned to mules as well – they are the lifeblood of this canyon.
The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) an endangered species with the largest wing-span of any land bird -3.2m (the Albatross has a larger span but is classed as a marine bird)
Now she's smiling! (N.B you can see in the bottom right, clear examples of Incan period terracing)
HEY YO ADRIAN!
We ate prickly pears for breakfast, the fruit of some of the canyon’s cacti, although the pictured species do not yield this particular fruit.
A baby alpaca poses for soles.
Peruvian finery. The different designs are akin to the medieval coats of arms.
A rather splendid eagle sits unhooded at his masters arms
Emma is really starting to experiment with her camera – I love this pic.
Night-night Arequipa.
The grin etched across my face in the first picture, was before our gruelling two day undertaking down the slope of the world’s deepest canyon, and then back up again. For those of you who have been following our capers, you may recall an entry we wrote about painful-yet-rewarding ‘W Trek’ in Chile. Well this was similar; like a ‘mini-W’ (or 'V' if you like).
Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru. Peru's third most-visited tourist destination with about 160,000 visitors annually, it's located about 100 miles (160 kilometres) northwest of Arequipa. It is more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States at 13,650' (4,160 m.) depth, and it is promoted as the "world's deepest canyon," although the canyon's walls are not as vertical as those of the Grand Canyon.
Along with our German friend Katarin , we woke at 3:00am to take a transfer to the canyon, which is famous for its Condors and Incan period terracing. The mirador at the pinnacle of the canyon was a little disappointing, only because of the thin cloud cover which obscured any potential condor sightings. Thankfully, these clouds soon dissipated and we were graced with fabulous views of the gorge as we began our descent. It was an hour into this descent that Emma interestingly pointed out that steep descent can sometimes be as taxing on the body as the opposed ascent (especially on the knees). 7 hours later we found ourselves on the other side of Colca, at a lovely riverside oasis, complete with palm trees and small bamboo shack which, for one night, we would call our home.
The next morning meant another early start, although this time we were graced with an extra two hours in bed. Nevertheless, at 05:00am, we began what would come to be, a watershed moment in Emma’s short hiking career.
It was murder.
8 kilometres walking straight up, ascending an extra 1500m over 3 hours. As you can see below, the views were truly spectacular, as some of the Incan-period routes were still clearly visible. This however, was no salve for the deep burn felt in every muscle, joint and crevice! The altitude (an elevation of approximately 3200m) was also a major factor in making this 3 hour trek a real hard and harsh climb. As we reached the top, Emma uttered the immortal words… ‘That’s it. I’m done. That is my last hike ever – from hereon it’s high heels and dresses’ So ended the hiking chapter in Emma’s life…
Enjoy the pics guys and our next post will be about… Macchu Picchu!
I had no idea what was coming
The metaphor ‘strong as an ox’ should also be extedned to mules as well – they are the lifeblood of this canyon.
The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) an endangered species with the largest wing-span of any land bird -3.2m (the Albatross has a larger span but is classed as a marine bird)
Now she's smiling! (N.B you can see in the bottom right, clear examples of Incan period terracing)
HEY YO ADRIAN!
We ate prickly pears for breakfast, the fruit of some of the canyon’s cacti, although the pictured species do not yield this particular fruit.
A baby alpaca poses for soles.
Peruvian finery. The different designs are akin to the medieval coats of arms.
A rather splendid eagle sits unhooded at his masters arms
Emma is really starting to experiment with her camera – I love this pic.
Night-night Arequipa.
