Peru Day 3: Canon del Colca

From Arequipa, we took a day trip to Colca Canyon, which required waking up at 3:00 am to catch the tourist bus. We slept during the long drive until we got too cold to sleep. The road to the canyon goes over a 16,000 foot pass so by dawn, the bus windows were completely frozen over and we were shivering, even with coats and blankets. We stopped at the volcano viewpoint and I had my first truly high-altitude experience. The tour guide warned us to take it easy and not to hurry as we took pictures at the viewpoint but I foolishly did not heed the warning. Suddenly I was light-headed, I couldn’t breathe, and my arms and legs felt like they were floating detached next to me. I think Hendrik fared even worse because he seemed incoherent and was very slow. Fortunately after the viewpoint, the bus descended to a much more manageable 11,000 feet.

Hendrik, Nancy, and Amy at the volcano viewpoint at 4910 meters above sea level

As we were leaving the viewpoint, the volcano Sabancaya released a puff off ash into the air. The guide nonchalantly said, look Sabancaya is erupting again. They have 408 volcanoes in Peru, 16 of which are active so I guess a little ash isn’t very exciting.

We stopped for a simple breakfast of bread, coca tea (to help with altitude sickness), and warm pineapple-guava juice before continuing to Condor Point at Canon del Colca. We were extremely lucky and saw dozens of condors soaring on the thermals. We saw adults (black and white) and adolescent condors (brown) circling overhead. With a wingspan of around 9 feet, they can fly 70 kmh going to the Pacific ocean to feed and back to the canyon in one day.

Amy and Nancy with condors soaring overhead

At it’s deepest point Colca Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon! We didn’t get to see that part but it was still impressive. The climate is very dry and several types of cactus grow there. One of them, the Sancayo cactus produces a fruit that looks and feels like a kiwi on the inside but tastes sour like a lime. We bought one and it was yummy!

Amy purchasing a Sancayo cactus fruit in Colca valley

We visited several villages and viewpoints in Colca valley (above the canyon) before driving back over the pass where we saw many alpacas and even some vicuñas!

For dinner, we continued our venture into Peruvian fusion food by trying the new Thai restaurant, Kao, in Arequipa. The quinoa curry and tropical fried rice were delicious.

Peru Days 1 & 2: Arequipa

Day 1 consisted of waking up early and flying from Portland to LA to Lima to Arequipa. LAX continues to be the worst airport ever. We arrived in Arequipa Sunday morning about 22 hours after leaving our house, checked in to the hotel, and took a 2 hour nap before starting Day 2.

Amy and Hendrik in front of the cathedral at Plaza de las Armas in Arequipa

Day 2 was a lot more enjoyable. We breakfasted in the hotel courtyard before venturing out to see the city of Arequipa, which has a beautiful central square from when it was the Spanish colonial era capital. Arequipa is at the foot of El Misti, a 19,101 foot volcano and is surrounded by several other volcanoes. The city is at about 7600 ft and is our first step in acclimatizing for our higher elevation adventures yet to come. The climate was described as Pacific desert and “winter” is the dry season so it was warm and extremely dry, even by my standards for a desert. Our first stop was to see Juanita, the ice maiden, in the Museo Santuarios Andinos. She is the frozen mummy of a teenage girl who was an Incan sacrifice to the volcano. She was found on Ampato and is the best preserved mummy of her kind. We learned about the artifacts found with her and how the Incan religion required her sacrifice to appease the gods.

For lunch we tried a local specialty, chifa cuisine, which is Peruvian-Cantonese fusion. It was delicious! Then we went on a very informative but very long tour of the city center. We learned about the Spanish settlement in Arequipa, the combining of Catholic and Incan symbols in the architecture for the purpose of conversion of the native population, the volcanoes and geography of southern Peru, and Peruvian Independence. In fact, the tour was on July 28th, Peruvian Independence day. However, the residents of Arequipa did not seem so excited about celebrating it; they told us it is the Independence Day for Lima but the real day for Independence in Arequipa isn’t until August.

Nancy and Amy at a Jesuit Church featuring an elaborately carved facade combining Catholic and Incan symbols

I was also excited to finally understand the difference between llamas and alpacas. Both are related to camels and are the domesticated versions of the wild guanacos and vicuñas, respectively. Llamas (pronounced with the double-l making a “y” sound) are typically beasts of burden and have coarse hair. Alpacas are smaller and fluffier. They have soft, fine hair used for making clothes and Peruvians also eat alpaca meat. Apparently baby alpaca hair is softer than the adults and is also hypoallergenic. Vicuñas, their wild ancestors, have the softest and most expensive hair of all, even softer than cashmere and mohair.

Rafting the Salmon

The day after the wedding, a large group of us went rafting on the Salmon River from Yankee Fork to Torrey’s Hole. We had a great time and I even got to row the oar raft through a few small rapids. It was a great workout! Rafting guides always make it look so effortless.

The rafting crew.

After rafting, we stopped by the Sunbeam Hot Springs for a soak. It was a little crowded but we managed to squeeze in.

Getting into hot water.

Sawtooth Wedding Weekend

Our friends, Michelle and Luke, invited us out to the Sawtooth Mountains in central Idaho last weekend to celebrate their November elopement. Of course we could never pass up the opportunity to travel to one of the most beautiful places in the world, or you know, to see old friends. The drive wasn’t even that bad, just 10ish hours.

We stayed at the Sawtooth Hotel in Stanley, Idaho, which has modest but cozy rooms, outstanding food, and stellar views of the mountains.

View from our balcony.

The bride and groom started the weekend by backpacking in to Alice Lake with their photographer so they could have the most epic wedding photos ever taken. They had to carry in the camping gear, dress clothes, and photography equipment. They hiked about 18 miles round-trip. I saw a sneak-preview of one of the photos and I would say it was worth the slightly insane effort. Fortunately, Hendrik and I were fast asleep in a soft, warm bed for that whole saga so that’s easy for me to say.

Next up was photos with family and friends and a small ceremony, again with the amazing backdrop of the Sawtooth Mountains. Luckily for us this part was much more accessible and didn’t require any hiking in dress shoes.

Jessica, Michelle, and Nancy looking sharper than a Sawtooth!

Also, I am in love with those old-fashioned central Idaho log fences! They are the perfect rustic accent to the mountainous backdrop. Amazing! Now I need to go research the history of wild west fence architecture.

Brahms’ Requiem at the Oregon Music Festival

This weekend we had a small lull in our travel schedule so we took the opportunity to enjoy some music. The Oregon Music Festival featured Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, a piece that Hendrik loves. My coworker sings in the Portland Symphonic Choir so as a bonus we got to hear her too.

A Lutheran requiem in a Methodist Church?

My favorite parts were the timpani and harp in the second movement and the solo baritone in the third movement. The program had the lyrics printed in German and English so I got to practice my translation skills too! I did an ok job but I guess my vocabulary for slightly archaic religious texts isn’t up to scratch. I was fascinated that Brahms used “du” (informal you) to refer to God because I’ve always seen “Sie” (formal you) in everything else I’ve read. From Googling around, it seems to be a Lutheran thing started by Martin Luther in the Reformation!

Rogue River

One of the many striking things around Crater Lake was an unusual stretch of the Rogue River.

At the point pictured, the river falls into an underground lava tube produced by the volcanic activity of Mt. Mazama. The river just disappears. Then it rockets out of a the other end of the lava tube, 100 feet down the canyon. The area seems full of improbable, stunning nature.

-Hendrik

Crater Lake

For the long weekend we went camping near Crater Lake with my parents and Bacardi. We stayed at the Union Creek Campground which is quite a bit bigger than I typically prefer (we had site #79) but the sites were spaced out pretty well and we got a campsite right on the Rogue River. Although Hendrik and I slept in a tent, we got a fairly luxury experience for meals since my parents cooked for us using their Roadtrek van. They sure are making the most out of traveling during retirement!

I highly recommend visiting Crater Lake but I strongly recommend against doing so on a holiday weekend. We waited in a line of cars on the highway for 1.5 hours just to get into the National Park and then everything was crowded and there was almost nowhere to park. Nonetheless, my first view of the lake at Discovery Point was magical. In addition to being deep and blue, the water was perfectly still, giving an impression of infinite distance. I couldn’t tell where the lake surface started or where the bottom was. It was like looking down into a beautiful, expansive, dark blue sky inside a volcano caldera. I have seen many gorgeous pictures of Crater Lake but none of them has ever captured this effect. I also learned that the mountain that contains the lake is called Mount Mazama.

Enjoying the view with mom.

Dad at Crater Lake with Bacardi.

We drove as far around the rim road as we could but it was still partially closed due to snow. The rim of the lake is at 7000-8000 ft and they got 35 ft of snow there last winter (less than usual). At Cleetwood Cove, we hiked down to the water where I went for a swim. At 53 degrees F, it was cold but certainly not the coldest water I’ve ever jumped into.

A polar bear in Crater Lake?

We also did a bit of hiking, attended some Ranger talks, one on the importance of forest fires for forest health and one on the ecology of the lake, and battled the mosquitoes. We had a great time but next 4th of July weekend I will pick a much more obscure destination with no tourists.