Sorry about the delay of blogs the past couple of days. Our last hotel didn't have internet and we've had a lot going on as you've been reading. Anyways...Every night in Peru, I think to myself, there is no way tomorrow can get any better than today...and you know what? I'm wrong every time. Now I know why Peru is called the land of extremes. We started off at the beach, moved to the desert, now we are high in the Andes at 12,500 feet...Lake Titicaca. Oh how I fail to recognize how extravagant God's creation really is...
Before we got to Puno/Lake Titicaca here's the summary of yesterday and today. We left Arequipa 2 days ago and drove straight up the Andes to 16,000 feet. It was a stuggle for me to get up the mountain even though we were on the bus. I got light headed for a couple of hours and felt as though my lungs were closing by the second. We first drove through the National Park full of Vicunas, Llamas, and Alpaca. Vicunas are my new favorite animal. They are a mix between a llama and a deer, except softer looking.
We stopped at the top of the National Reserve at 16,000 feet so we could get adjusted to the altitude and drink some specially made coca tea that helps with altitude sickness. I drank 2 cups..however, I added about 3 scoops of sugar to drain out the taste of the 20 actual coca leaves floating in my tea. I actually quite enjoyed it though. Next stop, the land of permafrost. It went on for miles. Large and small puddles of water from the ice capped mountains surrounded by beautiful patches of grass. A girl on my trip sprained her ankle jumping across one of the puddles. Elly has taught me well...I wrapped her ankle, made her do the ABC's, ice, elevate, and then I massaged the swelling out as best I could. It's all because of you Nor. By the way, 16,000 feet above sea level is cold...very cold.
Then we stopped in Chivay(Small town in the Andes) where we were droppped off by the bus so we could hike the most beautiful trail to our hotel down in the valley of Colca Canyon...Colca Lodge...the hotel I want to aspire to own one day. It's in at least the top 3 of my favorite hotels...and that's saying a lot coming from me. The hike made me feel like I was in Ireland times a hundred. Gorgeous green pastures with crops that go on for miles, Andeans transporting their crops to town by donkeys, and stoned walls lining every corner...unbelievable. We got to our hotel a couple of hours later and went straight to the hot springs until dinner. At dinner I tried alpaca for the first time...it was surprisingly awesome.
The next morning(today) we had a 5:20 a.m. wake up call and out the doors we went. We drove through multiple agricultural villages around colca canyon, on the side of the biggest mountains I've ever seen. The dirt roads don't have gurard rails so if you're afraid of heights I wouldn't recommend the window seat. Anyways, we drove 2 hours into the canyon to get to the Cruz del Condor...this is where we sat for hours, waiting for the 8 foot wing spanned condors...the birds of the Incas. I'm not a big fan of birds, but these are big and beautiful soaring high over the Andes..what a life. We then hiked a ways with our Colca Canyon guide Pedro...so cute. Then we ate lunch in Chivay and continued our trek to Puno, the town next to Lake Titicaca. Our hotel is right on the water. I can see the city lights glimmering across the way.
Tomorrow we have a native home stay with families on the Amantani island on Lake Titicaca. Hopefully will be able to write the day after tomorrow. I love you all. Sweet dreams from Puno.
No comments:
Post a Comment