Colca: Friday

My stomach jolted me awake bright and early Friday morning. After a literal run to the bathroom, I fell back into bed. Just I pulled my covers up to my chin, I turned to check the time. Shoot. It was 6:30. Time to get up.

Friday started on a bad note. And it didn't really get better anytime soon. I was to leave on a charter bus for Colca Canyon at 8, and I was already feeling bad. A cold, headache and a weird stomach...wonderful.

The group (all the Davidson people, some UNSA professors and the program director) met at Dr. Mangan's house. We ended up leaving about an hour late. This would become the trip's theme.

As soon as we got on the bus, Dr. Mangan and I said at the same time, "Crap. There's no bathroom!" You see, she had brought her two little children, Nicholas and Caroline. This was a huge inconvenience for her. And MY stomach was not settling down anytime soon.

The first hour was full of beautiful views. We left Arequipa for the first time in a month, seeing the three volcanoes from a different side and then the desert-like mountains and valleys outside the city. We also saw TONS of vicunas! (Google Image that if you have no idea what I'm talking about) Then we got to a sort of rest stop with bathrooms and snacks. Little did I realize this would be the last stop for several hours. And we had been given instructions to drink 2x our normal amount. Oh, and for added fun, we would be on dirt roads the rest of the way. (Imagine the path to my house for HOURS) Catch my drift?

So, about an hour later, between my stomach and full bladder, I felt SICK. Most of the bus by this point was desperate for the bathroom too. On top of the bouncy ride with no stops, we were around 16,000 ft above sea level. This equals heavy drowsiness, a bad headache and, guess what?, a weird stomach. And NO BATHROOM!

Finally, we got to town so small, "you could throw a rock from end to end". Seriously. Our guide informed our miserable bunch that there were bathrooms just around the corner. I shouted, "Thank you, Jesus!" and jumped off the bus with the others. What he forgot to tell us was that these "bathrooms" were actually two rows, facing each other, of three-walled rooms, without doors, with a hole in the middle of the floor. Yes, a hole. Surrounded by I-don't-want-to-know-what. So, when the girls (about 13 of us) saw the "bathrooms", we just laughed. But we were desperate, so we did what we had to do. Dr. Mangan had an especially good time with her daughter, who insisted on guards and a loud "pssssss" noise.

Back on the bus, I felt better. So I started to appreciate the view again. We were in a mountainous region like I had never seen before. Mountains so high you could crane your neck all the way back in your bus seat and barely see the tops. There was terraced farmland everywhere, and the sun finally decided to come out and stay out. With my iPod playing some favorite classical music, I was on a "mountain high".

We later stopped (waaay later...like 3p) for lunch and a photo op. Afterwards, more driving. And more. AND MORE. What should've taken 4 hours took us all day. After a stop at some awesome thermal baths, we drove for 3 hours in the dark to our hotel an hour away. I don't know why we were so behind schedule, but this was the longest day of my time here in Peru.

What saved the day were the amazing views. Especially that night. I couldn't see the canyon as we drove past it to our hotel, but I had never seen so many stars in my life! Look up at the North Carolina sky then double or triple the amount of stars and you are close to what the sky was like. As always, I could see Scorpio and the Southern Cross, but there were so many stars, familiar constellations were hard to find! You could even see the Milky Way, it was such a clear night and the air so thin. If it hadn't been for the view, Friday would have been quite a rough day indeed.

PS - see Facebook for all the pics from this trip! Coming soon!