And quickly out of Arequipa

On the recommendation of the our friends, the Neaderlanders, we decided to approach the Nazca Lines by way of Ica. Ica looked to be a smaller city with access to the Lines (giant semi-permanent pre Inca glyphs viewable by plane), as well as access to a giant sand dune-y desert perfect for sandboarding and tearing around in dune buggies. We ended up passing on the Nazca Lines, as they were super expensive and the Cesnas sounded shady-style dangerous, but we did not miss out on the dune buggies and boarding. We actually grabbed a taxi and split right out of Ica just as soon as we arrived at the Plaza and got a look around. We opted to stay just outside of the city in Huacachina, a fittingly self described oasis in the middle of the dunes.

After looking around at the limited selection of ho(s)tels--Huacachina was pretty much a pond with two streets following the lake's circumference--we settled into the Casa de Arena on the outside street. As far a hostels go, I give it 5 stars. Private bath, double bed, free towel service, swimming pool, and cheap ice cold cervezas at the pool bar, all for $20 USD per night.

More Colca

On the third day, after we hiked up and out of the canyon, we still had a bit of day to kill on the tour. So, of course, we stopped at some wicked buena vistas, and soaked in some natural mineral hot springs.

A few worthy pics of parts of the canyon we did not hike:

Colca: Day 3

Ok, day three, this was kind of the biggie. 5am, we drank water, brushed our teeth, knocked the sleep out of our eyes and prepared to hike from apx 6,500 ft to over 10,000 ft, and the sun had not made a wink at us yet. The pack on my back had never weighed more, or so I thought then, that theory abruptly changed that with every step. It was AWESOME!!! We made it up--passed only by asses and the mules they rode up on--in less than two and a half hours.

Day one pictures--the descent: 82
Day three pictures--the ascent: 2 (at the top)

Colca: Day 2

We spent the first part of the second day hiking up and down the side of the canyon visiting different villages populated by four to twenty families each. Our trek that day ended at the base of our next day's hike in a little alcove of blue painted pools filled and refreshed constantly with naturally warm water from waterfalls that poured out of the side of one of the mountains that formed the canyon. The pools were surrounded by huts, which contained straw beds that under normal conditions might be uncomfortable, but we slept like wood and snored like chainsaws after a long day of hiking and a short afternoon of soaking.