Memoirs of a Loner Traveler: Arequipa/Chivay, Peru

4903m! I´m pretty sure that´s the highest I´ve ever been without the use of an airplane. I was actually more than relieved after arriving in Arequipa - never again, I had thought to myself, would I ever go 3000m above sea level. My days in Cuzco and Puno were fun and great, but my goodness, the altitude! It simply drains the energy right out of you. In any case, little did I know that I would be achieveing my all-time record after Puno´s 3800m, in Arequipa.

But before we get into that: Arequipa. Probably one of the most modern cities I`´ve been to, even compared to Lima. Allegedly Arequipans pride themselves to be slightly different from the rest of the Peruvian population, and their provincial pride can be seen from as small as a beer brand, "Arequipeña" to as grandiose as their own city-festival - held unfortunately after my departure, on 15 August - totally devoted to the celebration of Arequipa. I suppose they do have much to celebrate, as they are 467 years old, and I´ve found Arequipa to be probably one of my favorites.

Part of the reason why my stay in Arequipa is longer than any of the other cities I´m visiting is because of my planned visit to the Colca Canyon. I had booked a tour online, through the hostel I´m staying in, and I expected teh tour to be one of this trip´s highlights. Things brings us back to the earlier number, 4903m. About three hours into the drive from Arequipa to Chivay, our guide gets on the micorphone, and enthusiastically claimed, "We will now be stopping at a rest stop. We are at 3800m above sea level, and I highly encourage you to drink some coca tea because we will be reaching 4800m within the next two hours." Not only was I shocked to hear the numerical value of "4800" (and I even stopped teh guide to confirm), I was surprised that we were already at 3800m and nothing had happened to my well-being. But here I was anyway, relieved to be out of altitude´s way after Puno; my body doesn´t like extreme altitudes, I know, but Altitude apparently likes me.

It turned out that we were oat 4903m for about half an hour, during which we stopped to do touristy things like take pictures and buy more alpaca commodities. I myself bought a small coin purse for 5 soles to celebrate my newly achieved record. And then after that, we gradually began to descend, towards Chivay.

Chivay is a small town, but it fed me well. The meals I had at Chivay were probably some of the best I´ve had all trip. I also tried alpaca meat, which was very tasty and very similar to beef; as well as cactus fruit, which was sweet and juicy but you had to swallow all the seeds. In any case, lunch was at a buffet, and dinner in a local restaurant (probably serving tourists only) where a local group performed some dances with Andean live music.

The next day began bright and early. We loaded our buses at 6am to head towards Cruz del Condor, a look-out spot located inside the Colca Canyon, from where giant condors can be observed in the early hours of the day. With good weather and clear views, the condors were uplifting to watch as they freely soared through the valleys, which, by the way, are 2500m+ deep. Pictures to come later.

When we got back to Arequipa, the city was in total chaos, albeit it may have been pseudo-organized. Its people had started celebrating Arequipa´s 467th anniversary, and certain roads in the city - especially around the Plaza de Armas - were blocked. Our tour bus let us off, therefore, a few blocks from the Plaza, and I exchnaged email addresses with a German couple whom I had met on teh trip. Hopefully I can visit them when I get to Germany in April.

I walked back to the hostel, avoiding the super-crowded Plaza as much as possible, although in hindsight I probably should have paid the celebrations a visit, if only for a moment. In any case I took the 20:45 bus out of Arequipa for Ica and Ica is where I am now. Unfortunately the weather is somewhat gray, but I´m hoping it will clear up soon so I can surf through some of its famous sand dunes.