Cotahuasi

We came to Cotahuasi in order to get off the beaten track to some degree, and also to see what is apparently the deepest canyon in the world, Cañon del Cotahuasi.

The bus ride there was pretty incredible. At 5 PM in Arequipa, we embarked on a 12 hour journey over rocky roads and through a 15,000 foot mountain pass in a bus that was absolutely stuffed with people. Some had apparently bought standing room tickets and were standing/sitting/sleeping in the aisle. One man opted to use my shoulder as a head cushion for most of the night in the sweltering bus, despite my frequent squirming in the opposite direction. At least they played Legionnaire, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. It was dubbed in Spanish.

At any rate, the ride was beautiful. Before it got dark, we rode through rolling desert hills and martian landscapes of red rock partially buried in white sand. There was an amazing sunset of vibrant, hot-pink hues.

We came to Cotahuasi around 6 in the morning and stumbled into a 3 dollar/night hostel. Alojamiento Chávez. The town was beautiful. We didn’t see any other foreigners for several days, and the Andes towered up all around us. You can buy the ingredients for several meals for about 2 dollars in one of the many small shops that line the main street.

I went on several walks down to the edge of the river gorge outside of town. The road wound through thatch-roofed buildings, fields, and pastures full of sheep and cows. Everyone I passed seemed to say hello, and though I got some negative gringo-oriented attention, the people were for the most part extremely kind and polite. Anyway, the rude ones were drunk 15 year olds wandering around on Año Nuevo-eve trying to impress girls, so I suppose they can be forgiven.

It rained every day in the afternoon, and rivers of cloud flowed over the tops of the mountains. The thunder echoed between mountain slopes in the distance and sounded to me like the rumble of coal cars running into one another on the train tracks in Dagsboro.

One day we took a walk past the bullfighting arena and cemetery down to the riverbank. There was a suspended cable bridge there from which I could see the rushing river below and throw rocks in an immature manner. The walk there was very interesting. We passed many people on the way who carried large bunches of mint and water containers. Part of the path was a tunnel carved through the side of the hill, which was made up of some sort of ancient conglomerate of rocks and mud. It evened out into a plane of boulders and cacti.

In Quechua, Cotahuasi means: “Star House.” When the clouds of the rainy season did not obscure my view of the sky, I could see why they gave Cotahuasi its name. The stars were amazingly beautiful.

Our next destination is Tacna, via Arequipa, to cross into Chile. There is an antique train that goes across the border for $1.50. I am very excited.