Misti days in Arequippa
Arequippa (in the south of Peru) is one of my favourite towns so far, even if only because it is warm. For being so close to the equator I think I am spending far too much time in scarves and beanies!
Once my folks left, I found myself once again let loose on this unsuspecting continent and very quickly caught up with Bec to share
some more adventures. Our idea for Arequippa was to head out on a 3-day hike down the Colca Canyon, apparently one of the deepest canyons in the world. This we did and were very impressed with it´s views and magnificence, complete with condors and an oasis with a swimming pool! We stayed in a little village overnight and Bec proved her ability to overcome her fears by walking up the canyon in the dark, in a thunderstorm without so much as a jump! I proved my artistic abilities to fall down the mountain in the dark and make one knee look like the other that had been badly abused in a soccer match a couple of weeks earlier.
After hiking up out of the canyon and having a day in the bus to recover, we decided, almost out of the blue really, to give Volcano Misti a go. The next day. It´s a pretty big volcano, 5827m high, and I don´t think I can say that we weren’t incredibly daunted by it! Our first day, with all our stuff and 8 litres of water on our backs, was a real uphill, 5 hour slog. In fact I was so knackered by the time we got to base camp that all I could do was lie in the tent eating! Bu
t we were treated to a fantastic sunset over Areqippa below us and soon we were huddled in our tents, shivering once again until the wee hours of the following morning. I have discovered that while I can quite easily pass out in a bus for hours at a time in the most awkward positions, I am completely unable to sleep when I am cold, or at high altitude.
At 2am the next day we started our 5 and a half hour climb to the summit. It was a clear night with about a gazillion stars and the lights of Arequippa twinkling below us made us feel like we were flying over the little town. It was really tough though. I kept being hit by waves of nausea as we climbed higher and higher and had to fight off the urge to
just sit down and go to sleep. It was so cold that Bec´s hair literally froze – zoom in on the fotos! We couldn´t stop for longer than a few minutes before we were shivering uncontrollably and had numb fingers and toes. Just when I was wondering what I was even thinking being up there, I started feeling better and the last part seemed a little easier, perhaps because I knew the end was close by. The sun never did make it´s way out to warm our way and so once again, the view from the top was pretty much just cloud. We only spent about 5 minutes at the top to take a few pictures and entertain thoughts of going back down victorious to hot cups of anything and a warm shower.
Gong down was really fun! None of the toe-squashing, knee-crunching usual downhill. This was jumping dow
n lovely soft volcanic ash! We even went right into the old crater, which was like being on another planet. Five and a half hours up and only 40 minutes to get down! Fun, fun fun!
And that was Misti, we did it, yay! Almost more impressive was that we went dancing that night until getting on a bus at 3am to take us up to La Paz, where we finally collapsed for a while.
*As I was writing this, I was sitting in the sun at the high camp of Huayna Potosi, an impressive mountain just outside La Paz, preparing to climb it´s snowy, 6033m peak. It seems these peaks are addictive. They are awe-inspiring. To be up so high, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and vast valleys, with thin but fresh air all around you is something that is difficult to really describe in words. It´s also amazing how quickly you forget the pain of the peak before!
Once my folks left, I found myself once again let loose on this unsuspecting continent and very quickly caught up with Bec to share
some more adventures. Our idea for Arequippa was to head out on a 3-day hike down the Colca Canyon, apparently one of the deepest canyons in the world. This we did and were very impressed with it´s views and magnificence, complete with condors and an oasis with a swimming pool! We stayed in a little village overnight and Bec proved her ability to overcome her fears by walking up the canyon in the dark, in a thunderstorm without so much as a jump! I proved my artistic abilities to fall down the mountain in the dark and make one knee look like the other that had been badly abused in a soccer match a couple of weeks earlier.
After hiking up out of the canyon and having a day in the bus to recover, we decided, almost out of the blue really, to give Volcano Misti a go. The next day. It´s a pretty big volcano, 5827m high, and I don´t think I can say that we weren’t incredibly daunted by it! Our first day, with all our stuff and 8 litres of water on our backs, was a real uphill, 5 hour slog. In fact I was so knackered by the time we got to base camp that all I could do was lie in the tent eating! Bu
t we were treated to a fantastic sunset over Areqippa below us and soon we were huddled in our tents, shivering once again until the wee hours of the following morning. I have discovered that while I can quite easily pass out in a bus for hours at a time in the most awkward positions, I am completely unable to sleep when I am cold, or at high altitude.At 2am the next day we started our 5 and a half hour climb to the summit. It was a clear night with about a gazillion stars and the lights of Arequippa twinkling below us made us feel like we were flying over the little town. It was really tough though. I kept being hit by waves of nausea as we climbed higher and higher and had to fight off the urge to
just sit down and go to sleep. It was so cold that Bec´s hair literally froze – zoom in on the fotos! We couldn´t stop for longer than a few minutes before we were shivering uncontrollably and had numb fingers and toes. Just when I was wondering what I was even thinking being up there, I started feeling better and the last part seemed a little easier, perhaps because I knew the end was close by. The sun never did make it´s way out to warm our way and so once again, the view from the top was pretty much just cloud. We only spent about 5 minutes at the top to take a few pictures and entertain thoughts of going back down victorious to hot cups of anything and a warm shower.Gong down was really fun! None of the toe-squashing, knee-crunching usual downhill. This was jumping dow
n lovely soft volcanic ash! We even went right into the old crater, which was like being on another planet. Five and a half hours up and only 40 minutes to get down! Fun, fun fun!And that was Misti, we did it, yay! Almost more impressive was that we went dancing that night until getting on a bus at 3am to take us up to La Paz, where we finally collapsed for a while.
*As I was writing this, I was sitting in the sun at the high camp of Huayna Potosi, an impressive mountain just outside La Paz, preparing to climb it´s snowy, 6033m peak. It seems these peaks are addictive. They are awe-inspiring. To be up so high, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and vast valleys, with thin but fresh air all around you is something that is difficult to really describe in words. It´s also amazing how quickly you forget the pain of the peak before!
posted by ph @ 8:33 PM
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