I want to begin this blog by typing out the sound of my alarm but I’m really struggling, perhaps imagination would be better. My alarm is that really annoying iPhone one that sends shivers down most people! Well 2:50am it went off, collected at 3:30am and off we went ready for the hike. The altitude here is so high so we were under instructions to tell our guide if we felt dizzy, sick etc. on our drive up the mountains. One girl had to get out and be sick which sort of made me nervous, I suppose you don’t know when it will hit! But kate and I were prepared and had bought some altitude pills before and were already taking them for symptom prevention. I can’t remember what time exactly but we arrived at our breakfast stop and I couldn’t have been happier. HAM AND CHEESE. I haven’t had either for ages so I was ecstatic and I got to eat more because the sick girl didn’t want to eat hehehe. Oh I forgot to say! William from Huachina was on our bus and doing the same hike as us, so he basically becomes our brother for the next 3 days.

It was all going well however the weather was definitely a sign of the pathetic fallacy that was to come… All of a sudden we came to a stop due to a traffic jam and our guide rushed out. Turns out there was a landslide and these huge boulders had fallen onto the road blocking our way. Local Peruvians were running over, emergency services came from both directions with sirens blurting and then of course you and some stupid tourists taking pictures. Again, suddenly everyone is running because more rocks are falling and honestly I was shitting myself. Kate was lucky she couldn’t see anything so was blissfully unaware. To the van’s left was the mountain which had some contentious rocks and to our right a huge drop off a cliff. 30 guys later they managed to make room for cars to drive through and VROOM we went quickly. Honestly, it was such a relief I had to wipe my forehead of sweat.

Not sure what time exactly but we set off on our hike and thank god the weather was so much better. Earlier, we did a quick stop at this beautiful viewpoint to see the condors. Unfortunately, the weather was so bad that the guide told us they had gone to la playa…

The first day of the hike was pretty much just downhill until we reached the bridge and it was uphill from there to the hostel for about 15minutes. Our trusty friend William was leading the way with kate and I carefully treading behind. This was because our guide Armando (aka Rambo) let us go at whatever pace we wanted. I was thinking the whole time though that it would be really easy to die hiking, one wrong step and off you go down the cliff. So I was very weary the whole time. Finally, we arrived at our beautiful hostel overlooking the mountains. One group (the 2D/1N) had stormed ahead of us and were just finishing their food when we arrived. This was because they had a lot more land to cross and at a quicker pace. We chose to do the 3D/2N which was a lot more relaxed and we could take our time. Lunch was like always soup, lomo soltado and then tea. But it was the best lomo soltado I have had yet! After this William, kate and I were all shown our room and all fell asleep until dinner. Dinner was very romantic and candle lit- quite fitting considering it was Valentine’s Day. We also had a German couple in our group who were very friendly. I wouldn’t have put them together so I have a hunch they were young loves.

The following morning was a slow start and we left around 8:30am, so we all caught up on our sleep. The hike was beautiful as we crossed streams, learnt about different fruits, went to the local museum and befriended the cutest dog. The local museum was amazing as it literally was a shack in the middle of a tiny village of 5 families but it was filled with so much history and knowledge. I was very inspired by the passion and pride Armando had about the indigenous, not being so himself. We then arrived at the Oasis at 1:30, the sun was shining and it was like paradise. Armando also mentioned there was happy hour on cocktails which excited us but quickly the weather changed and the sky’s went grey. I felt more like a hot chocolate rather than a pisco sours. Although, there was light rain it didn’t stop me from reading in the hammock. It was at this moment that I felt super peaceful and was ready for 4 months of relaxation. I imagined myself sitting in Costa Rica beer in hand. It was time for dinner which again was a quinoa soup and then pasta Bolognesi which was a lovely surprise. It also seemed we had made another good friend on the trip (apart from William) which was the dog. The dog made its way into our room and wouldn’t move I had to lear him out with the pestrami I had bought with me. Initially I thought this was a good snack (source of iron) but after trying I was more than happy for the dog to have. At dinner the five of us were joined by another group. This group were doing 1N/2D so had caught up with us and oh I felt bad for them. They arrived in the evening soaked from the rain and had to get up at 4am the next day with us but we were well rested. They have had a 2am and a 4am start in the last 2 days, I would be exhausted.

4:30 DING DING, ready to go and off we went on our 3 hour all uphill hike that I had been dreading. I thought Armando was over exaggerating but no it really was all uphill and it was tough at bits especially due to the altitude and catching your breathe. We were told the bin was our half way point so you can imagine the joy when I saw it. William stormed off up the hill but it turns out we were only 10minutes after him so I was overjoyed. I was very impressed with myself as I really didn’t know my fitness level before this hike and as pacemaker I think I did a pretty good job. The weather was pretty grim but I think this helped a lot, I couldn’t imagine doing the day in the scorching sun! When we reached the top the feeling was great and the whole team gave great morale as we were cheered to our finish. I could here William day “Go faster Liv” and I do think I replied “Fuck off”.

At the top we met Jamie and his friend. Jamie was from Camden and we had briefly spoken to him the day before in our hostel. If you were to imagine a backpacker it would have been Jamie, long strawberry blonde curly hair, woman beater vest and tattoos up his leg. He was really sweet and we enjoyed his company for the rest of the day. Armando then brought our group for breakfast where we had the traditional scrambled eggs and bread. Then it was time to go to the hot springs where we got into a car with Jamie and co. Honestly, I think this was the highlight of my trip so far. Everyone was laughing, wind blowing through people’s hair, Armando blurred out some music and the scenery was breathtaking. Like the hammock experience I felt so relaxed and just so happy.

The hot springs were lovely but my swimming costume was not very supportive so I was more concentrating on making sure I didn’t flash. The pools were great for muscle pains and kate treated me to a little massage which was fantastic! Once we all dried off it was back in the van for lunch. Lunch was back were we had breakfast the first day and they had a buffet or a menu del dia. We went for the 15sol menu del dia which I’m sure I didn’t even need. Again, soup and then we chose lomo soltado as our main but it was so oniony. Thank Goodness kate had gum. We made two more stops on our way back, one was in the reserve park where we saw wild vicunas. The next stop was at an active volcanos which was amazing! Then it was sleep and back to the hostel!

That evening Kate and I went for a drink in one of the roof top bars surrounding the plaza de Armas, which was lovely! I had a beer and she had a cocktail. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever deserved alcohol more. I was just so pleased with us. The best thing is everyone has said that the last day of the colca canyon is harder than any on the salkantay trail so hopefully fingers crossed we will be okay. We then went for some dinner at one of the Chifas but I don’t want to talk about it as it makes me feel sick remembering.

All in all the hike was amazing and I would recommend to anyone. I’m so glad we took our time and did the three days it is peaceful and you can appreciate the sublime much more.