Colca Trekking Mayhem!!! Part 1

Hello true believers.

Yes its me, the lovable and yet, amazingly awesome, John. I have escaped the clutches of the Colca Canyon after a death defying 5 hour trek today, after an 8 hour trek the day before.

But I shall begin from the start.

Only Sean and I went on the trek. We left our hostel around 12ish, and got on a bus to Cabanaconde at 2pm. We arrived in Cabanaconde by 8pm I believe. Our choices of hostels incuded the VALLEY OF FIRE and Valla. We chose the non death sounding one.

For dinner, I had Apaca steak with chips after whooping Sean in a game of Chess two times. This was followed by a huge debate of whether Sean ate my Apaca or not. We literally could not tell the difference between a beef steak and an apaca steak. This issue was resolved later on however.

We left for trekking at 7am, and by Jeebus did we get lost. It is extremely fortunate we decided not to go to the Cruz del Condor, or we be stuck in the town for much longer than we would have liked.

The start of the trek was fairly easy. Sun scorching, rocky paths filled with mule poop...yep, it was the trekker life. Until the blisters appeared. Then the horror started. Every step was filled with foot numbing pain, severely delaying my progress whilst Sean whizzed ahead, leaving me behind. To suffer. In the canyon....

We eventually reached a river after 3 hours of downhill marching, where we soaked our feet in the freezing cold, most likely, glacial melt water. It was divine and worked wonders for my blisters. Until they started hurting again of course.

Throughout the day, we became lost many times as there are no directions at all. I am also positive I came to death several times due to my fear of heights combined with the possibility of falling down to my death. We kept trekking higher and higher, crossing bridges, tiny paths, aqueducts, and passing by villages and trespassing in gardens we wern´t aware off (Due to Sean´s terrible sense of directions). I also had to fight off a few wild evil dogs that tried to kill us. I do recommend the apaca stir fried with vegetables and chips in Cosni something village. Good value, as it was only 10 soles. But do not buy the cold drinks, as it is a rip off.

 

Now, the perils I experienced was terrible indeed. I had to fight off fire ants, stalking tree branches, mule poop, wild rabid dogs and the possibility of falling to my death. It was not a fun time. But I believe it was easier than Mount Cerro Torco due to the many rest points along the way. 

After reaching the highest point, Malata, we then had to bloody descend the Canyon again. This resulted in more mind numbing pain for me as we descended to the Oasis. I eventually arrived, after Sean took the wrong direction (lol). We quickly paid for our beds, I took a swim in the pool, had dinner and went to sleep. 

Battered, Bruised and Bleeding

Hey everyone.

Its Sunday, and I am going to spend my time wisely recovering from my injuries that I obtained from the Chachani mountain bike ride.

It was fun, no doubt about it. Just painful. The tankers met up at the Casa for 8am, then we took a 2 - 3 hour van ride to the top of the Chachani volcano. Then we strapped on our geeky helmets, protective pads, sat our asses on our bikes and rode down the mountain.

I look rough after my tumble

I tackled sand pits, rocky paths and such. Most of the way it was a down slope ride, which was extremely exilerating. I hated the sand parts though, because whenever I dropped in speed, my bike would sink. If I go too fast, I would drift out of control, resulting in me eating sand and dirt. Unfortuantly, this occured several times. 8 to be exact.

The wounds I suffered are the following:

- Bleeding left elbow
- Majorly bruised right palm
- Muscle fatique along the hips, stomache, upper legs and my balls.
- Yes, my balls

Unfortuantly during the trip, Carielle, one of the tankers, lost her Camera lens cover. This resulted in a further 1 hour of driving around looking for it. It amazes me what the tour guides did to help, but to no luck. I´m sure it can be replaced however.

Getting back to the hostel, I dropped out faster than a falling turtle. That means I slept like a baby.

Its been so long

Hey fellow believers!

Sorry its been such a long time since my last post. After finding out Sean´s amazing view count, I realized my blog is far inferior to his, therefore I must make it better. So expect to see pictures and the sort.

So what have I done since my arrival in Arequipa?

- I didn't do much until Sean arrived.

Not really surprising is it? I did watch alot of episodes of Spartacus. So violent and features alot of sex scenes, so young and strict minded people, beware. Funny thing, Sean's voice really has changed. Its really gruff now, partly due to his crazy antics in Bolivia.

With Sean´s arrival, I finally left the hostel and computer. I explored more of Arequipa, went into a few museums, visited a church thing and the artisans market.

Old helmet

Maiden of seven sorrows

When the time came, we left the hostel we were at. Surprisingly, I kinda miss the hostel, mainly due to Sean and I dominating the computers. Also, the manager offered a pretty sweet deal for us; write a positive review and we get one night free! No point arguing in that.


Meeting the other members of GVI on a Friday barbecue was very interesting. But it seemed we were the only "tankers" at the time. But we did get to meet the project coordinators and managers and other staff members. Plus the barbecue was pretty decent, as well as the bar we went to.

Black Russian and White Russian for 12 soles. That's less than 3 pounds people!

As the weekend went by, the ranks of the Tankers swelled. Our numbers now include Michael, Carielle, Joanh and Claire. But honestly, Sean and I did most of the work. We moved mountains, destroyed rocks and just dominated nature overall.

Patrick (Project manager), Joanh, Michael, Carielle, Claire, Me, Sean

First day of work didn´t go too well though. Our taxi driver managed to get lost, therefore we were lost. Luckily Sean had Patrick´s number, so we quickly joined up with Patrick and Carielle. Claire and Michael were sick unfortuantly. But like I said, Sean and I did most of the work. 

Call for help!

Pic of the site