Hello friends and family!
We’ve just returned to Cusco after our week of free travel. After weeks of discussing and some planning, we chose to take the 10 hour overnight bus to Arequipa, and have the city be our home base for the week. We spent the first couple days hanging around the city, going to museums, markets, and eating far too much gelato.
Our second stop was the small beach town of Mollendo. For two days, we had the hectic schedule of laying on the beach, getting in the ocean, and sitting on the beach again. Somehow we managed to squeeze in some time for eating meals ranging from ceviche to pizza; trying emoliente, a herbal tea concoction, and queso helado, cold creamy cubes native to Arequipa; and wondering around the market and panderías. Some explored the abandoned El Castillo de Forga and went a little crazy with our cameras. In all seriousness, our time in Mollenda was a nice, slower change of pace.
We then came back to Arequipa just for enough time for a couple hours of sleep before we were woken up at 3 a.m. to head to to Colca Canyon for our two day trek extravaganza. Some people chose to take the 3 hour hike down to the bungalos we were staying in for the night, where others of us hike through the canyon for about 7 hours. Our exhaustion was worth it, for the cayon was unbelievable. The next morning, we were very aware that the hike back would be arriba, arriba, arriba (up, up, up) and that it would be another early morning. Some of us took mules which was an experience in its own. They brought us up to the top of the canyon, and after a bus ride back to Arequipa we took yet another night bus back to Cusco. With the amount of unknown plans we had at the beginning of this trip, our free travel week turned out awesome. Never the less, we’re glad to be back in Cusco and back to our spanish teachers.
Much love
Ciao, Ivy and Seth
