I woke up this morning in my own apartment! Finally, able to unpack my backpack and hang up my clothes, place my toiletries on a shelf and my food in a cupboard. Ahhh, the little luxuries of life!
I made it to Peru 10 days ago. My first stop was Arequipa, a beautiful colonial city in Southern Peru. It was full of gorgeous 15th century buildings, plazas and the oldest, largest convent in the world. It is literally a city within the city that housed 450 nuns, measuring approximately 20,000 square meters. It was still furnished with their bedding, kitchen utensils and pottery. The architecture was mind blowing!
From Arequipa, I took a 6 hour dusty and smelly bus ride to Canon del Colca (which was once voted one of the seven natural wonders of the world). I have hiked all throughout Chile and Argentina and this was by far the most beautiful place I have ever been to! What drew me there was the fact that it is almost twice as deep as the Grand Canyon at 13, 650 feet! It’s very hard to describe how far out this place is. The closest city was Arequipa, 6 hours away. When I arrived to the canyon, there were little villages with mostly local people living there. It was a time travel back to the Indigenous days. They farmed llamas, pigs, goats and sheep. They wore sandals and handwoven dresses. The kids played soccer in the streets and there were very little restaurants in the town. This was truly a town with little tourism, but the 3rd most common tourist place to visit in Peru, but not all commercialized, which is rare. The views were literally out of this world stunning! I found a “yoga” friend at my hostel. When I heard her speaking Spanish, I recognized the word “yoga” and she had me from there...we instantly became friends. We spent the first day practicing yoga over a mirador of the valley, laying in hammocks, making lunch and reading. With the altitude, I wanted to rest and drink as much water as possible before hiking the 7 hour trek down to the bottom of the canyon. The second day, we descended with 3 cute French girls. It was just the 5 of us. The descent was intense, not only from the terrain, but also from the blazing sun beating down on us with no shade to protect our bodies. By the time we got to the bottom, crossed the river, we had to trek back up the other side, go through little villages (100 inhabitants, max), up another hill, cross over another river and back down to the “oasis”. This was the stopping point for the night. It was a patch of green valley in the middle of dry desert and heat, with palm trees, pools and fresh produce. It was heaven when I got there. My feet were killing me and I was starving as I didn’t have lunch, but just a bunch of fruit and nuts for snacks. I had descended over 7000 feet with a climb of 2300 feet in one hot day! We slept in a basic hut with a bed overlooking the millions of stars in the sky. With no electricity, I could see the Milky Way. It was so surreal.
The next day, we awoke at 5:30am to eat and start the massive climb up before the sun killed us. One foot in front of the other, we slowly but surely made the vertical climb up in 3 hours! We were so proud of ourselves by the time we made it! It was an accomplishment, for sure! I couldn’t walk straight for 4 days after, but worth every ache and pain. The crazy thing is the people who live in the canyon, don’t have cars, as it’s just a walking path to their villages. So once a week, they climb up to the main village, buy products and take a donkey down carrying the goods. Sometimes they have to go all the way to Arequipa for supplies. It was amazing to see how these people lived, and with such beauty.
The next stop was Cusco, Peru, the arriving point for many Inca ruins, including Machu Picchu (one of the current seven wonders of the world). Cusco is a big city in the mountains, approximately 11,000 feet in elevation, with San Francisco type hills dispersed in the city. An extra workout just walking to the store! It’s surrounded by numerous Inca ruins, hikes, waterfalls and spirituality. Many shamans live here to treat ailments the Easternized way. It’s full of yoga, mediation, hiking and energy. A perfect city for me! I instantly found a “yoga house” in the city. It’s group housing with a communal kitchen, garden and yoga studio. They practice yoga every morning at 9am and host different workshops every night at 5:30, including dancing, chakra workshops, reiki trainings, yoga for kids and Spanish yoga. It’s a great place for me to practice and learn. I have spoken with the owner (from USA) and she wants me to audition to teach this Wednesday. I’m really excited! There’s a teacher training going on, as well. The teacher asked me to help assist the training and teach a chakras workshop in a couple of weeks. I think this is a great place for me to chill out for a bit. I also will start my Spanish lessons (2 hours/day) today, as well as volunteering with kids in Kindergarden. I found a cute apartment in a great neighborhood, close to yoga with fun bars, live music, cafes, bookshops and boutiques. It’s a great place to be settled for a while! There are hikes that I can walk to from my place, as well.
I have a couple of friends coming to visit this weekend and next. I have a 2 bedroom place for only $15/day! Includes full bath, hot water, cable, internet and a fully stocked kitchen. Everything is clean and modern. I only have this place for 2 weeks, then will move into the yoga house for a couple of weeks, while I help out the owner. I’m excited for my Cusco experience!
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