Maybe the deepest canyon in the world?

We gave our legs a pre-inca trail test by joining a 2 day trek into the Colca Canyon. The trip began in Arequipa, where we had to take a local bus to Cabana Conde. The 6 hour ride started unremarkably, although I´m convinced the driver was Norris. Three and a half hours in, at a 1 llama town called Chivay, things started getting interesting. Without knowing it we were attempting to enter the Guiness Book of Records for cramming the most people onto 1 bus. By the time we got to our destination I had a red-cheeked highland kid on my head, and a boiled egg and garlic smelling local woman sitting on my lap. After waking both my legs up, I managed to negotiate my exit from the bus.

The afternoon walk, of around 4 hours, took us down 1000m to a village called San Juan. A magnificient walk, with a stray Jack Russel for company, a condor overhead, and a late afternoon sun painting both sand and sky.

If it´s not the deepest canyon in the world it must be in the top 3, and besides that, the area of Peruvian land it covers is immense. What amazed me, possibly even more than the sublime landscape, was the people of the villages at the bottom of the canyon, who´s culture seems to have been perfectly preserved by their absolute isolation. Some of the oldest people I have ever seen, living off the land, growing apples, oranges and avocado´s.

After a wholesome alpaca stew and a good rest, we spent our second morning passing through 2 villages, and then walking down to an oasis at the bottom of the canyon. With a couple of swimming pools, a restaurant, and a few bathrooms, it was the perfect spot to hide from the heat of the day. The afternoon shinny took us all the way back up to Cabana Conde, a steep climb of around 1100m which took Jackie and myself just over 2 hours. It seems that some of our group have rarely ventured off of their carpeted lounge floors, and watching them negotiate this sort of terrain was both amusing and infuriating. A few of the girls even rented donkeys to carry their little daypacks out. I am really hoping that they improve their game for the Inca Trail in a few days time. I might have to strap a chocolate cake to my backpack to keep them motivated.