On the way to Arequipa Christelle and I wondered if there were any interesting sites along the way that we could visit. On the map we found the Reserva Nacional de Salinas y Aguadas Blancas. So we took a detour through there. It was mostly a high altitude desert but with great panoramas and lots of alpacas and vicunas. At one point we got out and walked around a bit but there was not much interesting stuff to be found.
Towards Arequipa we picked up a hitchhiking local woman that needed to go back to Arequipa too. We chatted a bit but were silent for most of the drive.
Arequipa
In Arequipa Christelle had to get a flight back home. We talked a bit about what we missed from home and we agreed that we missed the good cheese in Europe. Luckily there is a swiss-peruvian-fusion restaurant in Arequipa called ZigZag and they serve swiss fondue. It was a delicious mix of 4 different Andean cheeses that worked excellently in fondue.
Onwards
The next day, I went to the supermarket (yes they have supermarkets in Peru!) and stocked up on some supplies and started my journey north to Cusco.
I needed 3 days to navigate the windy roads through the Andes to get Cusco. The first night I found a lonely side road off the road. There was someone living further down the road and their dogs came visiting when I was cooking dinner.
The next morning I was awaken by the local shepherd who lived there. He did not appreciate me staying on his property without asking at all. So he more or less chased me away. I was going to be a bit more careful with my sleeping spots from then on.
Rainbow Mountain
A couple of hours from Cusco is the famous rainbow mountain (Vinicunca in Quechua).
Initially I parked my car too early at a parking lot and started walking. Luckily one of the locals told me to drive further up and walk from there. I still took some nice pictures of the alpacas along that initial part of the hike.
Most people that come from Cusco come from the north and walk up the last 4km to the 5100m high ridge but I came from the south so I only had a short 15min climb to the top. It was still exhausting as heck due to the altitude but worth it. The drive up the valley took me longer than expected so it was already sunset when I made it to the top. Surprisingly, I was completely alone up there and had the amazing view all to myself.
I hurried up there to still have light so I was exhilarating when I was up there and got to enjoy that great view. Sadly, because no one was there anymore I could not get the stamp in my passport. But I was up there; that’s what counts.
Back at the car I decided that I would just stay the night at the parking lot at the trailhead but when I wanted to get back into the car, I discovered that I had lost my car keys somewhere. Without them I could not get back into my car and it was getting really really cold. My initial thought was that I had lost them at the top and I would have to retrace my steps back up the mountain and look for them but luckily I saw a glint in the light of my headlamp in the gravel – it was the keys. I must have missed my leg pocket when I locked the cars when leaving.
Relieved, I got into the car and played some Metroid Prime on my switch while using the car’s stereo system for audio. The next day I discovered that that had drained my car’s battery too much and I couldn’t start the car. Before waiting for some car to come by I connected my (very slow 70W) battery charger to the car battery. While that was going I watched the shepherds shepherd their alpacas up the mountain.
After an hour my battery was charged and I drove to Cusco.
