As Ali sees it: Colca Canyon Trek - Was I feeling too fit?

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

Colca Canyon Trek - Was I feeling too fit?

13-14 March 2010
Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Peru

    Go to Arequipa, and the must do thing is a to go and take a look at the Colca Canyon... the 2nd biggest Canyon in the world (another, not so far away is the biggest, and I am told that the Grand Canyon is the 3rd). But some crazy idea got into my head that looking would not big enough. No, I would take a trek. The options were a 2 day or 3 day trek. Both cover the same ground, 3 days is easier because you take more time.... I booked the 2 day trek.
   Remember it is only the 2nd biggest canyon in the world, and just a few days earlier my knees and ankles had been sore (I broke my ankle at 18 and usually it is good, but it doen not like changing altitude). By the time we got half way down, my knees were not happy.
   But I survived, I rode a mule back up! The mule ride was a lot of fun. And the scenery was spectacular. But if I knew then what I know now.... I would do the 1 day sightseeing trip.

Happy people, at the start of the trek. My group: John (England), Sebastian (France), me, Anna & Mas (Denmark), Christian and Pauline (Australia/Portugal).

Colca Canyon

Having now ridden a mule up the Canyon I now think I understand the difference between stubborn as a mule and stubborn as a ass (donkey). This is a donkey, the woman was having trouble getting it to continue the steep climb. My mule, on the other hand, kept going and going, like it was on energiser batteries, it hardly stopped. Occassionally it took a brief breather, then put its head down and, stubbornly, kept going.