That’s how I officially met Chris. We finally introduced ourselves and queued together to check in our luggage before getting on the bus. Like a flight, there was a weight limit for luggage for a bus ride in Peru. A big guy from the bus company grabbed each suitcase or backpacker to the scale and then passed us a luggage ticket. When it was my turn, the guy tried twice to be able to put my suitcase on the scale and it was 5 kg above the limit. The Peruvian didn’t make a big deal of it and simply lifted my luggage a little bit on the scale to try again. This time I passed. Chris stood behind me and witnessed this chivalry act, “Geez, how long will you travel this time?” “Around one month.” I replied. Chris continued, “I only travel with 15 kg for six months and you travel with 30 kg for one month!” I ignored his mockery, “Well, I’m a girl.” I think both of us had learned this in a hard way in the coming days.
My seat was at the first row on the upper deck while Chris’ was on the lower deck. We said good night and see you in Arequipa. I climbed into my seat. The plan was to have a great view along the way but the road from Cusco to Arequipa was following zigzag lines in a very hilly area. Sitting on the upper deck even made the journey more bumpy. I would have a car sick if I didn’t make myself close my eyes all the time.
The bus arrived in Arequipa at 7 am the next morning. Chris enjoyed a comfortable ride at the lower deck, “How was your sleep last night?” I tied up my hair, “Great. This bus is great. So clean and so much space.” Except every time I tried to look through the window, I felt sick.
Chris was also travelling solo. He worked as a physio in London. For the past six years, he devoted all his spare time to his start-up — a physio-related app. After the business got on track and he can afford to hire two people to work for him, he decided to take a big holiday. “I didn’t take any single day off in six years. Now I’ll travel for half a year.” He definitely deserved it.
We shared an Uber to the city centre. I usually just hired a random taxi on the street in Cusco, but it was not safe to do so in Arequipa. Before I came, I was recommended to use Uber in Arequipa and Lima. Our Uber driver claimed mine and Chris’ hotels were in totally different directions. We almost paid him double for his original asking price. We laughed it off when later we found out it’s only a 10 minutes walk.
“You want to grab breakfast together?” Chris asked.
“That would be lovely, but I signed up for a free city tour at 10 am. Do you want to come?” A running buddy from Hong Kong gave me this piece of advice before I set off to Peru.
“Yes sure. Then I’ll work a bit on my laptop first. Shall we meet directly at the tour?” Chris grabbed his stuff and got off the taxi.
“Great, see you then!” The taxi continued and dropped me at a quiet and pretty neighborhood.
I brushed off myself and then made my way to the starting point of the tour.
Arequipa was a beautiful city. It was surrounded by several volcanoes. Walking on the street, you can see those volcanoes with snow on their caps in the background. Besides Arequipa was the city to set off for Colca Canyon, there were also multiple trekking routes around nearby volcanoes. The city itself was much bigger than Cusco. In fact, it’s the second largest city in Peru after Lima. You would feel less touristic and more connected with the daily life here.
The gather point for this walking tour was at a cafe beside a cathedral. When I got there, there was already a small group of people chatting under the sun. Chris joined me not long after. Most of people there were young people. We then had been divided into Spanish and non-Spanish speaking groups. Our guide was a bubbly young lady. I always liked a walking tour when I first arrived in a city — great way to make new friends and meet travelling buddies.
Like most solo travelers, Chris and I were social animals. It was no joke to be by yourself for months on the road. I remembered in my gap year at New Zealand when I made to Abel Tasman National Park and Waimangu Volcanic Valley following my schedule, it’s already in May and was the low season for those destinations. I was hiking by myself for hours without seeing a human being. When I finally saw a person, regardless old or young, attractive or disappointing, I was genuinely interested to know him or her. I was firmly certain Chris and I combined had talked to everyone in the group.
At the end of the walking tour, we grabbed a coffee at a street stall claiming “the best coffee in the world”. A few of us discussed our following traveling plans. Inevitably, Colca Canyon had been the centre of this discussion. Most people who could travel to Arequipa were for Colca Canyon, one of the world’s deepest canyons and deeper than Grand Canyon of USA. Besides the beautiful and unique landscape, it was also home to the giant Andean condor. I spent the last few days to research online about different tour operators. I was not interested to join some boring groups being transferred by a tour van from point to point. I wanted to do some proper trekking. Some people who had just been back from the canyon shared their experience, “You can just do it by yourself. No need to join a tour. It’s not like Inca Trail that you have to hire a local guide. You can simply get a map and navigate by yourself.” “Yeah. That’s exactly what I thought. I will go there by myself.” A guy who had been quiet for the most time spoke up. I noticed him anyway because he was the obviously good looking one in the group.
“Count me in.” Chris followed.
“Me too!” No hesitation from me neither.
The third member in our Arequipa Trio was Theo, a young man from France. We made fun of his name as “Tio” (it means dude in Spanish) in Spanish. Like Chris and me, Theo was also traveling solo. He worked in corporate finance back in Paris and recently changed his job. He will travel in Peru for a month before starting his new job.
Somehow three people from London, Paris and Hong Kong met in Arequipa for the first time and decided to travel together. After the walking tour, Three Musketeers was assembled.