Adventures in Peru

i made it back from the canyon, ALIVE. some people had the concern that it would be dangerous for me to trek there alone, in the ‘rainy season.’

the worst two things to happen to me were:

  1. i got a sun burn in the scorching hot sun.

  2. i stubbed my toe (taking the skin off the tip) after having a swim in the oasis pool.

the trip went a little like this… arrive in cabanaconde on the evening of the 16th. i went for dinner at the hostel restaurant, i got alpaca ‘bistec’. (people often like to translate bistec to steak. that is wrong. bistec is meat cut as thinly as possible and fried, or deep fried. not steak.) i went to bed early, about 7:30. i was awoken when 3 americans were being admitted into my dorm. i had hopes that it would be all to myself. i was told that it would be to myself. they had no idea what they wanted to do, other then trek the canyon without a guide. i joined them as they eat dinner and we formed a plan that would take us all around the canyon. why not trek with other people? then i went to bed, again, around 9.

up at 5:45. started the day with a walk to the lookout. i wanted an early morning view of the canyon. it turns out that all i could see was fog/cloud. it was epic. back for breakfast. started the 4-5 hour treck at 8. the trek was good. it was walking down hill on switchbacks, on the canyon wall. the fog had lifted by this point and i got a good view of the canyon. the trip took 4 hours, arriving in a little paradise. it had been cloudy, as expected, for the walk. after arriving the sun broke and it became hot. t-shirt weather. normally it starts raining before 1 during the rainy season. it stayed sunny until 4 or 5. didn’t start raining till about 5:30. had another early night, and another early morning.

8 o’clock early, eating pancakes for breakfast, and off. another 3 hour walk to the oasis. another paradise. who would have thought, 2 paradisesóand only 3 hours apart. the sun shone all day. from before i woke until 6ish. then the rain came in like a ravenous beast. the rain quickly lightened. it was in this oasis that i stubbed my toe. i was swimming in a man made pool. it had fresh water piped from the aqueducts. on the edge of the pool was a small piece of rebar. i managed to stick my toe into it. missing the tip skin. another early night; when you live by candle light it is really easy to sleep shortly after dark.

up at 5:30, again. we wanted to complete the trek out of the canyon before the sun was to high or hot. breakfast, packing and a start around 7. the uphill, out of the canyon, climb was rough. it only took 3 hours. not bad, 4 hours into the canyon and 3 out.

the place was 100 times more impressive than machu picchu. i took more photos. i filled a memory card with photos. after being on the salt flat tour i was not sure what kind of place would be able to inspire that kind of aw into me. the canyon did it. i want to buy a plot of land in the bottom of the canyon.

pictures coming.

you know that you have been in peru for too long when…
http://www.thepointhostels.com/noticias.php?id=49

i have a flu, or some other such unpleasantry. i am so sleepy, i could not sleep a wink last night. the fact that someone had a cough, another kept sneezing didn’t help. 2 people woke up at 5 in the morning to go on a treck. one person woke at 8 for a treck. i make the 6th in the 6 bed dorm. what a night. at least if i was alone i could have read, put on some music, something with my time.
i also needed to run to the w.c. ever couple hours. that must have drove people crazy.

woke up early for some beaching. the beach is 2+ hours from arequipa, the hostel had rented a private bus. the bus got a flat: rear right inside tire. the driver jacked up the bus, removed the outside tire, bus came tumbling down. the few people on the bus when it happened jump and exited, white faced. i get wise and crack a joke about how the bus can’t fall any lower, until the driver removes the flat. he jacks up the bus, the jack slips, bus falls back onto the flat. he jacks up the bus, with me attempting to explain to the bus driver that the jack needs to be vertical, he has it wedged on off to one side. he had the jack on this ‘/’ angle. he did succed at making the top of the jack perpendicular with the suspension. he popped off the flat tire, went to pick up the spare tire, and a semi passed by. the shakes slightly and falls. this time onto the part that i will call the ‘hub.’ it’s at the end of the axel, makes the wheel spin, has the breaks on it.
that fall was big. and funny. scared the hell out of a couple of the girls. one of them swears that the bus almost tipped onto its side.
the beach was what you would expect.
coming home was drinking on the bus.
the after party was what you would expect, plus more. i got drunk enough to dance — and enjoy it (i think i was drunk enough to enjoy anything.)

IT’S OVER!!!!
i missed midnight mass. they do in on midnight on 24, not 25. on midnight 25 is when xmas dinner is. the big meal with the entire family. then they sleep and wake up and have a family day for the rest of 25. i do not understand mass in an english church, it would have been fun.
xmas day here was a riot. spent the afternoon drinking and reading in the sun, lying in a hammock. after that i played some cards and headed into town. more shops were open on xmas than are open on any sunday.
the 4 course dinner with cheese and wine between coarses was a bit off. it was supposed to start at 7:30 and go for many hours. we would have time to become hungry between meals. instead it all came at once, at 9:45. 1. soup, 2. sweet stirfied veggies, 3. lemon herb chicken with steamed veggies, chips, mash, stuffing, gravy, and more, 4. christmas cake.
we eat one two three with as few minutes between as was possible to take away dishes and bring out the new food. then we had platters of cheese and crackers left around for a few hours and finaly we recieved four. one two three took until 11:30.
the night was good. we had 10 bottles of wine for 20 people, plus 6 litres of mulled wine. most people drank beer with there meals as well. over the hours of dinner i drank more then my share of wine. none of the beer drinkers cared. they had one glass, i had 7. everyone wins!
we played extreme jenga. shots of pisco all around.
we played beer pong. shots of beer all around.
they played throw joseph in the pool. wet hugs all around.
and sometime after 9 it was time for bed.

my lung friends is back for the third time in 6 months.
no pain.
the tickle in my chest makes me cough.
i would most like to cough him out forever and ever.

in other news, last night was daquari night. that is ‘the best way to get your daily recommended intake of fruits.’ strawberrys, peachs, mangos.

since the mountain.

i spent a few days recovering. a few days drinking. and the whole time socializing. met another pack of irish/english. it is good to have days that are almost normal. spending time with new found friends, do nothing related to tourism.

went to some chalita wrestling. it started out as terrible wwf style wresting. the main event was tag team wresting. 1 traditionaly dressed andean woman (chalita) and one spanish wrestler per team. it was a mix of fake and real. the throws, real; the injuries, real. but there was a lot of over exageration to make the even more enteraining.

i am in arequipa now. i stopped off in puno on route. i visited the floating islands. if i had known that one of them had a hotel i would have spent the night. the “main” island had some restaurants, a mini mart, “hotel,” school, and seventh day eventest church.

i went go-karting today. with regular go-karts we raced around the track playing high-speed bumber cars. my back is wrecked. i got hit hard enough that my had went flying, i spun out into the wall, and developed a massive scratch/bruise on my back. the best part was that helmets and sobriety were optional.

i raced with a mullet.