into the world: High Desert Peru: The Volcano and the Canyon

Peru

We hit the ground running in Peru. First day here (in a city called Arequipa) we got our first taste of hummus and then Thai food in three months. Then, to top it all off we saw Indiana Jones on opening day!

After that, we went directly into the mountains. We climbed Arequipa´s Mount Rainier, a Volcano called Misti that looms over the city at 19,000 feet. This was the coldest we had been on our trip so far and by far the coldest mountain I´ve ever experienced that is snow free. The mountain only has snow for a few months throughout the year, mainly because there are a number of local volcanoes that spew hot ash onto its slopes, melting the snow. Three fully intact Incan sacrifices have been found near the crater. We didn´t find any mummies, but we did have a great climb. Kori stopped at the crater rim, a few hundred feet below the summit because she hadn´t eaten much more than crackers for the past 3 days. In true Kori style, she climbed until she didn´t want to go anymore, then sat in the sun and relaxed while we went the short distance to the top. Climbing to 5,800m is not easy, but its next to impossible with no food. She definitely showed her meddle up there.

We got back to Arequipa in the afternoon, ate as much as we could and turned around at 5am the next morning for Canyon de Colca. This canyon is supposedly much deeper than the Grand Canyon. The views were enormous, looking down 2000m to the bottom and up another 2000m to the surrounding glaciated peaks. On the trail, we passed 80 year old women carrying loads and pulling donkeys. There were dozens of various cactus species and villages spread out along the way. We spent the night in bamboo huts and ate river caught trout for dinner.There was even a hot spring on our 2nd night...a perfect warm up for the climb out of the canyon that awaited us in the morning.

We are in Cuzco now, gearing up for the crowded Inca Trail. Thanks for checking in...

Volcan Misti above Arequipa, Peru