A slightly subdued Patto checking in today, but I'll get to that in a minute.
The bike ride was every bit as fun as I thought it would be - about 40-50kms of downhill, with plenty of switchbacks and curves. Had a hard time keeping my eyes on the road, with some amazing scenery to take in on the way down.
That afternoon, we stopped off for a bit of rest and relaxation at the hot springs, and successfully managed to scare away most of the locals (and tourists) when our group decided to perform some impromptu synchronised swimming. But the 40 degree water was the perfect way to wash away the aches and pains from a 4 hour bus trip, and then the ride.
Speaking of bus trips, the buses have been pretty comfortable, and most play movies to break things up a bit. Although there was one film about a small Mexican boy, whose singing was... well, you can see for yourself...
The next day, we headed up to the Colca Canyon, the 2nd largest canyon in the world. Although the area we went to was only about 1,200m deep, there are areas that are over 4,000m deep. We went for a walk along to top edge of the canyon, and were lucky enough to have some condors fly directly overhead, not more than 3m above us!
This was our first real outdoor adventure at altitude, and it started to take its toll. One of the girls in the group collapsed at the top of the canyon, while my roommate's lips turned blue as soon as he got off the bus. I myself was extremely short of breath and very dizzy. Partially as a result of this, our group retreated back down to Arequipa so that we could regroup before continuing.
Today we're in Puno, and tomorrow we´ll be heading out to the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca before spending the night on one of the islands with local families. I'm looking forward to it, but I've got a case of Bali belly, and combined with the altitude sickness, it's really knocking me around a bit. Still, I've drugged myself up, so hopefully with a good night's sleep I should be good to go again tomorrow. I'm trying to think of this as a positive though - at least it's happening now, and not while I'm on the Inca trail!
Anyway, time for a shower (with hot water - bliss!) and bed.
Catch you next time,
Patto
Will you be going much higher? Sounds like you’re having a great time, good luck with the stomach.
Patto! Just discovered your blog. Top stuff! Sounds like heaps of fun. Im insanely jealous of the downhill mountain biking bit. Keep up the good work, and hope you kick the Bali belly in the balls.
Only Patto could contract Bali belly in South America.
I don’t know what you mean about the little boys singing 😉 – he must have loved his mother very much. Did it put you to sleep?