Cotahuasi Canyon (Peru), the deepest on earth?

      @euskara        @hispano

                                                                         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdoi--j7z-w

Cotahuasi Canyon is a stunning cut on the earth that the river has eroded between two enormous mountain ranges: the Coropuna of 6.425m and Solimana of 6.093m. They say it's the deepest in the world (3535 meters deep), in the area of Ninancocha, although Tsangpo Canyon in Tibet or the Kali Gandaki Canyon in Nepal may be deeper... The depth is measured from the level of the river to the peaks on both sides, and these two peaks must be within a maximum distance, which does not mean they are vertical walls. For years it was thought that the Colca Canyon (Arequipa, Peru) was the deepest, but the Cotahuasi Canyon beats by 163m.

     The canyon is located within a protected area in the region of Arequipa in southern Peru, and is part of the Pacific Ocean watershed.

      In late August 2011 Silvio Gurrieri and I (Eneko Yarza) arrived from Arequipa city to Cotahuasi town at 3 am, after 12 hours of bus bouncing trip.

     We load the kayaks in a taxi and went down the valley past the waterfall Sipia, a point where the river abruptly reduced to only 5 m wide and rushes violently 150m crashing against the rocks. The following possible entry into the river after Sipia is in the village of Chaupo, where we had to walk more than an hour to reach the river. We changed, dry clothes, sleeping bag and food inside the kayak, and ready to paddle. The river seemed to have an average flow.

     Then there is the "Flat Water Canyon", but has nothing flat. 5 km class IV-V to Velinga (1750m altitude). In Velinga the best known and longest "Lower Canyon" section begins with some class 5 rapids: Metro Canyon, Centimeter Canyon, High side for your life, and so on. Good whitewater quality and continuous, no time to bored.

Happy in the Centimeter Canyon

     But that's not all, great man-made pre-Inca works of architecture are also found: set of "platforms" or "andenes" are seen on the banks of the river throughout all the descent. We also explored burial niches from where we camped. In the past this valley was well populated, but now almost nobody lives, and we only saw gold miners. Desert environment and cloudless blue sky.

     After the confluence of the Cotahuasi and Maran rivers, it takes the name of Ocoña river. It has more volume of water, but is flatter, and from noon the wind blows hard against, and must paddle strong to go downstream. Where we saw that there was a car road we went out, and a 4x4 Hylux took us to the town of Barreras, where there was one hostel and one restaurant, enough to delight us with crackling shrimp of the same river, relax and travel to Arequipa city the next day.


     Neither Silvio nor myself knew the river, and we were told it would take at least 4 days. This same August another group kayaked from Velinga in six days. But Silvio had plane ticket and could not be more than 4 days on the river, so that with good communication we paddled hard no losing time, launching at a view almost without scouting, and running all the rapids without portaging. Suddenly, without knowing it, the second day we were at the end and we had time and food left.

     Silvio went back to Argentina and after the expedition to the Colca Canyon (this will be the next video and blog post) I went back to Cotahuasi Canyon to make a second expedition with the Arequipans Diego Ibañez and Santiago Ibañez. This time we wait in the town of Cotahuasi until 6 am and went on local bus to Chaupo, better and cheaper. Already knew the river and paddling hard we did the expedition again in 2 days. We returned to Arequipa city without resting, starting the trip as you see in the picture: in the cold sunset and uncomfortable, but happy.

     You get in good physical and mental condition after these marathon days, and then brief falls short, hehe

6 days on the Paucartambo-Mapacho-Yavero River (PERU)

         @euskara                @hispano

Video-youtube

At 3 am, on August 3 2011, we were waiting the taxi driver Timoteo with whom I had spoken the day before to go from Cusco to Paucartambo, about 5 hours travel. He wasn't coming, so I called him and he told me slept that he was not coming. It has become very common in Peru, almost daily thing, to not meet what agreed, and being Basque myself, the adaptation was hard, but with daily training anybody adapts himself.

     Al 5am we went where the bus leaves. We load the 4 kayaks on the roof quick but there were no seats free. We volunteered to travel uncomfortable in the hallway at the same price and they accepted. In Paucartambo town we hired a "mobility" to avoid about 35 km of flat water until Chimur.


     The team consisted of Peruvians Diego Ibañez and Leo Gonzales, Argentinian Silvio Gurrieri and I Eneko Yarza. We represented the Team Avalancha, awesome lifejackets made by Silvio himself. He made me one with the colors of the Ikurriña, the Basque flag, and the message "Non gogoa, han zangoa" which means "Where my thoughts are my steps are". Viva Silvio y arriba Avalancha!

    We distributed the food that everyone had to bring for about 6 days, and there we were on the river shore in front of everything we needed to get into the kayak: sleeping bag, mattress, dry clothes, awning, pot, spare paddle, video cameras, mate, etc. After playing the puzzle-kayak game we embarked at 2500m altitude.



     Self support trip with all in the kayaks, in 6 river days we didn't see almost anyone. We navigated about 200 km starting in Paucartambo river, that later changes its name to Mapacho river and last to Yavero river, until the confluence with the Urubamba river in the Amazon jungle, down to 480 m altitude. Continuous class IV rapids with several fifths, so continuous that there was almost no flat water in 5 days, what a joy!



     The day used to begin lighting a wood fire, heating water for mate tea and oatmeal breakfast. Puzzle-kayak game, faster each day, dress and ducks to the water! After 3 hours kayaking, stop for lunch, which consisted of tortillas, ham, cheese, tomato and onion. Peruvian Sublime chocolate, and paddle for another 2-3 hours.
 
     Around 16:30 time to look on the bank for a beach camp because it is dark at 18:00. We undressed and played the tent-mounting game as engineers and workers. It consisted of putting a tent roof above the plot of sand using rescue ropes, stones, sticks and paddles. There was humidity and it rained the first night. Now firewood, light the fire, water filtration, tea, cook, dinner and with smokes and fires we slept in a canyoned hotel with hundreds of stars.


     The sixth day we boarded a motorboat to go up the Urubamba River to the first village with road, Ivochote. Here we got in the back of a truck with other natives coming up and down. Chewing coca leaves because of the altitude, we travelled for 27 hours in the same truck to get to Cusco, such a trip!




     These multiday kayak expeditions can be compared to big wall climbing or mountaineering. Or like a meditation retreat, or ashram. Knowing that you're away from shops, roads or toilets.

Without privileges, just being is the privilege.

The journey through the veins of MotherEarth is the aim.