Cabanaconde

Upon finding out that we completely missed the fiesta of Arequipa we decided to board another bus for another adventure. Liz, Jeremy, and I woke up at 5 am and got on a bus to Cabanaconde. This is a small village high in the Andes - elevation 3191 meters. We had a lovely lunch in the town and decided to head out for a trek. We noticed that we were the only gringos with out a guide. Did this worry us? Yeah, for a minute. Then we decided we had the brains and brawn to make it on our own. We choose the 5 hour trek from our rudimentary map and headed out. We didn´t get very far before we realized we made a grave mistake and we should try an easier route. In the mean time we saw amazing breathtaking views. We headed back towards the town to start a new route. We choose a 2 hour route the second time. Not before long we were lost again. We found ourselves walking through the local's farms. All of a sudden we were being waved over by a family that was in the middle of a celebration of sorts. The kept waving us over and invited us to join their humble party. One woman, Tania, told us that this was her family´s plot of land and they were having an annual party to bring good luck as they planted their maiz (corn) called Sembrillo de Maiz. This was to ensure a good harvest. They had offerings of all sorts, bread, candy, soda, and CHICHA! This was my first experience with Chicha. Chicha is a traditional drink made from fermented corn. The had a big jug of it that they mixed with a power. I was convinced this powder was dirt, but Jeremy insists that it is ground corn. They pour a huge glass of it and pass it to me. I take it graciously, but slightly hesitant. I take a sip. I get a big chink of un mixed dirt/ground corn and have to choke it down. I pass the glass to Liz for her sip, but no. They begin to yell that it´s mine. All mine. Liz will get hers next! So I just chug the stuff to get it down. Jeremy and Liz keep asking how it is and of course I reply that it´s good. You should have seen the look on Liz´s face when she took her first sip! Priceless. She didn´t want to, but she choked it down too. It took her a little longer and I kept prompting her under my breath. It would be rude to not accept a offering like this - she attributed my ability to drink it so fast to my working in a bar and ability to chug anything!

Eventually we left the family after watching them plant the corn and headed on our way. They sent a 10 year old to be our guide for the first 15 minutes so we wouldn´t get lost again. We made our ever so painful trek down this mountain. We could see at the very bottom of the canyon what looked to be paradise. There were palm trees and green grass and even a pool. As it turns out it was paradise, Paraiso - the place we would be lodging at for the next two nights. It took us about 2 and a half hours to reach our destination. I can´t even explain the sights we saw on our way down. The Andes are so beautiful and more massive then anything I´ve ever seen. It was awesome. Going down hill wasn´t easy, but we knew we had a reward waiting at the bottom.

We were greeted near the end by a small woman and her baby that is wrapped in a blanket around her back. She walked us to our hut. A small hut put together by what looked like bamboo shoots, or maybe sticks. It had palm tree leaves as a roof. It was perfect. They made us a terrific dinner of Alpaca with veggies and rice - very common dish around here. We spent that night around the dinner table with a couple from Germany on a 14 month journey drinking our not so cold Arequipena beers. We went to bed at the dark hour of 8:30pm. We were exhausted!

The next day we enjoyed the views and relaxed. Jeremy and I went on a mini-hike to find a way to the river while Liz rested from her new found intestinal problems. We never made it down to the rio, but we came back and joined Liz in a refreshing swim in our pool. The rest of the afternoon consisted of lunch, cards, another swim in the pool and a quick(cold outdoor) shower before the sun went down behind the mountains and it started getting cold. We chatted with other travelers by a bonfire and Liz got a special tea made from leaves picked by our hosts. Dinner was spaghetti and you guessed it, Alpaca! Pretty chewy, but thankfully Jeremy didn´t mind finishing ours.

We were pretty tired after the long couple days and it was dark by 830p so we decided to go to bed. Also, our wake up call was at 6a as we had to start our trek out of the canyon before the sun made it to hot. Pity for the other travellers who were going to start their hike at 3a! We were smarter than that :)

In the middle of the night, Liz got up for a quick bathroom run. The stars and the moon were so bright where we were, you could almost make it without a flashlight, but due to rocks and ditches for water and a random wheelbarrow the kids of the owners played with as obstacles, a light was necessary. As she comes back in a hurry, and breathing heavy all she says is ¨there´s something out there and I don´t know what it is.¨

We decided to share a bed as we were both freaked out by whatever it was walking around outside our hut and we were freezing! We got some sleep but would wake anytime something made a noise. We'll never know just what was stalking Liz and I'm glad for that. (I forgot to tell you this little story that prompted our paranoia). The jail in Ica crumbled to the ground after the quake and set 700 convicts free. They've recaptured a staggering 27 prisoners!

Liz and I decided to take the journey back up on Monday morning by mule. Our muscles hurt and we were not prepared for the thin Andian air. Jeremy hustled up in under an hour and a half. I was scared out of my mind on the rocky ride up the mountain on a mule that wasn´t so sure footed as they claim. But we made it.

We are back in Arequipa and plan to spend a few days here getting the lay of the land. We are also learning quickly how to navigate the streets. When crossing the street we´ve found its in our best interest to get behind Peruvians and run across when they do. Otherwise we never seem to find the right time to go. There is a constant stream of cars 98% taxis that are very impatient and very daring. We´ve seen many almost accidents with in a few days!

Liz still needs some rest to recuperate from the intestinal parasites. But we are planning a white water rafting journey for tomorrow. We'll keep you posted as always! PS We´re trying to post pics but it is SLOW to upload. We´ll try again later.