The day after

After the short night, we still have to carry on, even if every movement hurts and is difficult - staying here is not an option. So I drag myself with Michelle to the main square in Yanque, where our group picks us up. Apparently my situation is already obvious, because our guide takes my things from me and puts me in the bus - apparently he has something that helps me. He takes a plastic bottle with an alcohol mixture in it, wets his hands and holds them around my nose. I am now supposed to breathe in the alcohol deeply several times, which makes my eyes start to water, and then he rubs the liquid on my temples and my whole head. I can't say exactly what that was, but I am glad that I can sleep like a knocked out person for the first two hours on the bus. We pass some Inca terraces in the Colca Valley, where I get out briefly to get some fresh air and take a photo. After that, I go back to sleep. When we finally get to the condor viewing point, I still feel weak, but I stand at the viewing point anyway and we wait. At first we only see two condors flying through the valley in the distance, but just a few minutes later three gather on a rock nearby and there are at least eight condors circling close to and above us. It is amazing how big the "birds of the Andes" are and how calmly and peacefully they float through the air.

After this win, I try my luck at eating something for the first time and I manage to eat half a banana. I even manage a few sips of warm water.

I use the rest of the journey to sleep until we get to lunch. Here I eat the second part of my banana and use the WiFi to plan further. In this state, it just doesn't make sense to sit on a bus for eight hours tomorrow, to take a three-hour boat ride on Lake Titicaca, and then take a night bus for another eight hours to Cusco. As hard as it is for me, I'll have to travel to Lake Titicaca from Bolivia - that's life. So I cancel the bus rides, the boat tour, book more accommodation in Arequipa and a flight to Cusco.

After another nap on the bus, I wake up in Maca, a small town in the Colca Valley, where we are supposed to try a variation of the Pisco Sour: the Colca Sour. This is of course made with Pisco from the Colca Valley and instead of lemon, Sancayo, a local type of prickly pear, is used. After last night, I definitely don't dare try the cocktail, but I try the juice of the Sancayo - sour, but still sweet and very refreshing. Then, in the small market square in Maca, I see my cure: the baby alpaca Michaela. She is two weeks old and brightly decorated. I am allowed to take her on my lap, touch her soft fur and suddenly all my worries are blown away.

Unfortunately, that wasn't entirely true - I slept throughout the entire journey back to Arequipa - but I'm still happy and very surprised that I got through the day without any relapses.

In the evening in Arequipa, I take a short walk with Michelle before we say goodbye and I rest in the hostel.