Quick stop in Camaná . . .

Our way of keeping track of the distances traveled during our journey . . .

Cañ{on del Colca - del 28 al 30 marc - Per fer l'excursi{o del Cañ{on del Colca decideixo seguir la recomanaci{o d'una noia que vaig trobar a la Paz i em va recomanar que ho fes amb una ag{encia que era com 3 vegades m{s cara que la resta (tambñe recomenada per la lonelyplanet), peró bueno representa que hav{iem de veure m{es coses i ten{iem m{es comoditats. Bueno al final decideixo pagar-ho a veure que. Sortim d'Arequipa en direcci{o cap a Chivay i parem a un lloc que li diuen "El bosque de piedras de ..." que {es prou xulo, el vent ha polit les roques del voltan deixant-les d'una manera curiosa i está b{e de veure-ho.  Despr{es pel cam{i vem parar a dinar a Chivay, a un bufet lliure i vaig aprofitar i em vaig fotre les botes,  vem continuar amb alguna parada pel mig abans i despr{es de Chivay per veure les muntanyes i volcans, peró no veiem gaire res perque estava n{uvol. Al final es posa a ploure amb una tormenta de llams i trons que t'hi cagues, o sigui que ja no veim res i tampoc vem poder parar al mirador a veure el Condor passa. Hav{iem d'anar a dormir a Cabanaconde, hi vem arribar al vespre, peró com que plovia bastan tampoc vem poder voltar per veure el poble i a m{es a m{es per culpa d'un llamp no hi havia llum. Que mala sueerte, per una vegada que m'entrava una nit en un hotel aix{i guapo, va i no tinc llum :-(, vem sopar a la llum de les espelmes i au a dormir. L'endema vem tenir sort i va fer bon dia per baixar fins al fons del Cañon, deu n'hi d{o amb la baixada, bueno m{es que res pensant en la pujada. Arribem abaix a un lloc que li'n diuen l'oasis, una zona d'acampada amb algunes cabanes i tamb{e algunes piscines. Arribem al migdia i despres de montar la tenda teniem temps de banyar-nos a la piscina, peró com que havia plogut molt el dia abans estaven una mica guarrilles, i una altre estava buida perqué la pluja del dia abans havia fet una esllavissada que va tapar el canal que portava l'aigua a la piscina. L'aigua venia d'una font natural on surtia m{es o menys tébia, total que tampoc ens vem banyar massa, tot i que a la tarda ja ho havien arreglat. Vem dinar i sopar aqu{i, el sopar al costat d'un foc que vem fer, i tamb{e vem anar a dormir {es o menys d'hora, perque l'endemá ens hav{iem d'aixecar a les 3h30 per pujar cap adalt, (una mica abans del previst per poder  veure passar el Condor ja que el no el vem poder veure a l'anada). Vem comencar a pujar de nit i se'ns va fer de dia pel cami, la pujada tampoc va ser tan dura i cap a les 8 ja estavem esmorzant adalt. Desp{es vem anar a veure el condor, i bueno m{es o menys aquest cop vem tenir sort perqué almenys n'hi havien 4 voltan, tot i que deu fer m{es grácia veure'n molts. Despr{es vem anar a dutxar-nos i banyar-nos en unes piscines d'aigua calenta natural a Chivay i se'ns va tornar a posar a ploure, pero bueno com que l'aigua era calenta va ser igual. Despres vem dinar al mateix buffet on vaig arrassar un altre vegada i de tornada vem poder parar algun lloc m{es, pero vem acabar arribant 3 hores m{es tard del previst a Arequipa, perque n'haviem de deixar uns quants pel cam{i i no hi havia manera que els agafessin en cap bus. En resum, que va estar b{e peró amb tantes coses que van passar em va fer una mica de rábia haver pagat tan, crec que a mi ja m'hagu{es estat b{e anar amb transport local, caminar una mica m{es i menys comoditats, pero bueno ho vaig fer aix{{i. Bueno de fet, potser va ser una sort perque els que estaben caminant durant la tormenta diu que no ho van passar massa b{e.

I booked last minute with Colca Trek for a three day excursion into the canyon.  I had wanted to go for four but it's low season and none of the agencies had trekkers interested in the four day option.  So I joined onto a group that already had an Australian couple and an English couple booked.  For me, traveling solo, going on a trek with some other travelers is something I look forward to.  I appreciate the company and spending time with other people for a few days.  By the end of the trek you have gotten to know them well and made some travel friends for life. 

The taxi picked us up from our hostels at 5:30 AM and we were off on the three hour bus to Chivay, the main town at the beginning of the canyon.  We didn't stop long and soon were on our way to Cabanaconde, the town in the middle of the canyon that is the most common jumping off point for trails down into the canyon.  On the way, we passed disappointed the Condor Lookout point that was wreathed in swirling fog.  This time of year, the rainy season, is not a good time to see the condors, but there is always hope that the day will be clear and the condors can be spotted.  They coast up on thermals and pass quite near the lookout point (mirador), but obviously with fog and clouds there is nothing to be seen.  In Cabanaconde we had a lunch of sauteed beef strips tossed with onion, tomato and french fries (lomo saltado) that was nothing spectacular, but the cream of mushroom soup preceding it was very good.  Then we shouldered our daypacks and started walking east out of the village to the trail at the rim of the canyon where we would go down.  The Colca Canyon is about 70 miles long and is carved out by the Colca River.  Colca in Quechua language means "cave" and we saw plenty of those, both natural and man made, on our trip through the canyon.  The canyon is 3,280 meters at it's deepest point (over 9,000 feet) which makes it more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.  The part we were traversing is only about 1,000 meters deep, but if you've never climbed down or up that distance in a few hours, you can't appreciate how difficult it is and how tiring.  But the awe-inspiring views made up for the difficulty.  Our guide, Jaime, has been leading tours in the canyon for four years and he was very knowledgeable about many different aspects.  We stopped frequently to rest and he would point out some local plant or feature of the canyon and explain it thoroughly to us.  He talked about the local pre-Incan peoples, and how there are still vestiges of their languages extant in the valley.  He also explained how the centuries old way of life was so quickly disappearing because of the difficulty of transportation between the villages.  The villages we saw across the canyon on the north side, had tried to blast a trail through to Chivay to shorten their trip to markets by several hours, but the dynamite was disturbing the condors' nests and they had to stop.  Their trip each way can take up to five hours, and they walk up and down these steep hillsides sometimes several times a week.  They are as tough as nails, but the younger people see no future in this subsistence way of life and they have abandoned the villages to look for work in Arequipa or Lima.  Jaime predicted that within fifty years the villages would be ghosttowns.  We passed by many adobe houses in the canyon that were crumbling.  The tin or aluminum roofs were folded up and carried with the families to be used on their new house closer to the town.  The level of poverty is really hard to imagine unless you see it firsthand.  These people have next to nothing and have little means to earn more to improve their lives.  It's a crushing and depressing cycle. Then there are the forces of nature, such as the recent draught, which left some of the land scorched, that further contribute to the difficult odds these people face for survival. 

Jaime also talked about the mix of Andean and Catholic beliefs in the area.  We saw a cross on top of the canyon before we descended and Jaime told us that it was placed there to ward off evil spirits that they believe are close by.  The cross is decorated with marigold flowers every May 3rd (as are all crosses in the region) with great ceremony for the feast of the Holy Cross.  But a nod to the ancient pre-Christian practices is their bringing of offerings of food and objects on that day which are burned in honor of Pachamama, the mother earth goddess.  Jaime doesn't think that the people really believe that anymore, but that it's more of a vestige of old customs that it still practiced. 

We saw about ten condors on our way down.  None flew very close, but we felt fortunate to even see some.  The fog had blown away and it was overcast but pleasant as we descended.  The younger condors are brown all over but after their youth they develop the characteristic black and white coloration that makes them easy to identify when they are in flight, not to mention their great size.  In beauty they are no match for the mighty and majestic eagle, but they are larger than the eagle and they also live up to 80 years.  They are the king of the buzzard family and they cruise the canyon looking for carrion on which to feast.  I told the group about Hinckley, Ohio being the buzzard capital of the world and they got a laugh out of that. 

At the bottom of the canyon we crossed a new bridge and had a short, easy path into the small village of San Juan where we spent the night in simple, but comfortable and attractive cottages.  The family running the small B&B has a son of 14 years who is off in Arequipa studying.  They only see him twice a year.  I sat down in the kitchen and talked with the couple and Jaime while the others shared some beer outside and enjoyed the views.  Our dinner was very good but we didn't have the energy to stay up long afterwards.  We all headed to our cabins and fell asleep quickly. 

We left Cabanaconde in a dense fog, and I worried about the dangers of traffic on the road, with its steep dropoffs.  I tried not to think about that and just said a prayer to my guardian angel for protection.  I say a lot of those prayers here in South America!  We stopped at the Mirador but there was really no point because of the fog.  We wandered around a bit and even the local women selling blankets, sweaters, hats, souvenirs and the like were half-hearted in their attempts to sell.  There was nothing much to do and nothing at all to see so we got back on the next bus towards Chivay.  Less than an hour from the lookout point, the fog melted away and the sun emerged to illumine beautiful views of the canyon.  The bus gained passengers until there wasn´t even room to stand and after a claustraphobic last hour, we finally arrived in Chivay.  Jaime guided us into some taxis and we spent a luxurious hour at the hot springs in a pool all to ourselves.  The chill humid air was a great contrast to the hot steamy sulphuric water that magically revived our tired and aching muscles.  Even the sprinkling of rain didn´t matter while we were in the pool.  Hunger got the better of us and we headed back to Chivay for lunch.  Lunch was the best meal we´d had on the trek.  It was a large buffet with ceviche, salads, soups, guinea pig, chicken, fried quinoa balls (delicious!), fried sweet potato, stuffed mashed potato balls (papa rellena), fried trout, and many other things.  Even the pudding was delicious.  Contented and full, we got on the bus for the journey back to Arequipa.  We ascended to almost 5,000 meters, to the high altiplano and the rain striking the side of the bus seemed to be malicious.  I was surprised it didn´t turn to snow.  At this altitude, there was little but stones and mud and scrub.  How the llamas and vicunas can live at the altitude and even flourish, is beyond me.  There was even a small settlement that we passed and the utter misery and poverty of living so high up in wooden shacks with that extreme cold was hard to see.

On the outskirts of Arequipa we passed by more poverty.  It was the same scene of half-finished houses and shacks, trash being carried down dirty stinking rivulets by the road, often passing in front of the houses, gullies and rocks and mud and the terrible weight of extreme poverty hanging over everything.  I asked Jaime why every building seemed to be half finished, something I had wondered my last time in Peru, and he explained that it´s for two reasons.  The first is that the owner of a finished building has to pay the full tax whereas if it´s unfinished, they pay half that tax.  Oh, the law of unintended consequences!  Second, a family or business owner will often complete part of their house or building and then wait until they have more money to finish it.  So this is why all of Peru looks like a massive building project abandoned before completion.  In my opinion, this tax law is so short-sighted.  They should tax on square footage and that way there wouldn´t be this blight everywhere you look.  But the glacial way that things move in Peru, I doubt that reform will every take place.  Another depressing realization to add to the depressing slums on the outskirts of the cities. 

My sleep patterns have dramatically reversed since I´ve been traveling.  I was up at 5:30 in the morning ready to have some breakfast and get on the trail.  We were served a large lovely pancake with strawberry jam and hot mate de coca tea.  The fresh squeezed orange juice was excellent too, as it is all over South America.  After packing up and saying farewells to the nice couple we were on our way.  The first part of the hike took us up a small side valley where we walked parallel to an irrigation channel running with swift cold water to the village below.  The terraces on the hillside were bursting with fruits and vegetables.  Jaime pointed out prickly pear fruit, avocados, apples, mangos, papayas, passion fruit and pepper.  That was interesting to me, to see where pepper comes from.  He crushed some peppers in his palm and the air filled with the pungent scent and some of us sneezed.  We thought the prickly pear cacti were planted for their fruit, but Jaime showed us the chochinilla parasite that grows on them and again crushed some pods into his palm.  A dark red dye ran out and he told us that this is still the prefered dye for coloring textiles and that it´s very expensive and much more lucrative than the fruit that grows on the cacti.  It´s not worth it for the villagers to harvest the fruit for the small amount they would recieve for it.  So they sell the cochinilla instead. 

We crossed over the rushing stream on an old rickety bridge and then continued up the other side of the hill and eventually emerged on top and continued to the village we had seen from the opposite side of the canyon yesterday.  We met some old people and Jaime chatted with them in Quechua.  We asked how to say hello in Quechua and I practiced it until we encountered a very old woman walking towards us. When I greeted her in Quechua she responded, ¨Buenos dias.¨ Everyone had a laugh over that.  This village is half deserted as most of the young and middle aged people have left for Chivay or Arequipa for education or work.  Nevertheless, the government built a large plaza a couple years ago.  It´s only used three times a year for Christmas, Easter and the principle feast of the village.  Jaime lamented how the goverment does what it wants and doesn´t listen to what the villages really need.  He said that the money would have been put to much better use for a hospital or clinic, or for a school.  But those cost more money, and the plaza is an easily visible sign of something new. 

The last part of our hike took us further along until we came in sight of the oasis below us and we headed down towards it, ariving in time for lunch and a swim in the pool.  The sun came out long enough to give me a bit of sunburn, even though the air was cool.  Being up so much higher and in a thinner atmosphere, the sun is more powerful and can burn easily.  This is why the natives that live up in the mountains are so ruddy and dark in complexion, and why hats are a necessity.  Just before lunch, a young guy and two young girls arrived from the path down and he said hi with an American accent.  The blonde girls were certainly European I thought.  Sure enough, they were French sisters, and the guy was from Lakewood, on Kenilworth Ave.  We talked for awhile about Cleveland and it turns out that his brother used to be a barback for several years at the Fulton Bar.   I´m getting used to these coincidences thousands of miles from home!  The younger sister had on a Lacoste polo shirt, sneakers and a light sweater draped over her shoulders.  I remarked that she looked like she was going for a walk in the park, and not a three hour trek to the bottom of a canyon.  She said that a walk in the park is a ¨promenade de dimanche¨and that it was Sunday so she was dressed appropriately.  That made me laugh..touche!  When we met them later at the top, they told us that they had hired mules to take them back up.  I don´t blame them.  Going all the way down, and all the way up in one day is tough even for a native. 

After the mediocre lunch of cubed chicken tossed with onion and tomato and no seasonings, plain white rice and a couple slices of avocado (there was a nice dessert of sliced banana and passion fruit drizzled with yogurt), we set off for the top.  It rained a bit on the first hour, but then stopped and the sky remained mercifully cloudy as we sweated our way up the steep canyon wall.  I prefered to stop to rest and catch my breath more frequently, for a minute or so, before continuing on, than to stop less often for a long time.  So the group broke up a little bit, as Greg and Matt went on ahead, and then later I did too.  I took out my iPod and put on some music, Copeland´s Appalachian Spring, that I thought would be appropriate to the mountains we were in.  The music helped immensely by taking my mind off of the grueling work of putting ffoot in front of foot and trying not to look up to the top.  The view down was much better, as we could see how far we had come.  I prefered that view.  By the last hour, I had gotten a second wind and it seemed easier than before.  I needed fewer breaks and I had a spring in my step that wasn´t there before.  I´m sure the cookies and water helped to spike my energy.  By the time I reached the top I was exhilirated and immersed in the euphoria of the climber´s high that I was experiencing.  It felt amazing to look down to the canyon bottom and know that I had walked straight up the face of the canyon to the top.  The views were even more glorious knowing I had to work so hard for them.

The walk back to the village was very easy.  We traversed some fields of purple corn and hopped over some streams and we were there.  It had grown quite cold and the humidity made it seem even colder as the sweat cooled on our clothes.  All we wanted was a hot shower. Unfortunately, all we got was a lukewarm quick shower of a minute before the water started turning cold.  I wandered down the street and stopped in at a small pizza place where the young guys were outside talking.  They were starting the wood fired oven and I sat with them and chatted.  The younger brother of one of them, a kid of maybe 12 years old, brought out his notebook and began asking me questions about how to say this and that in English.  I humored him and sat there for a little while teaching him English.  Then I went back to the hotel for dinner, a bowl of soup and a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce.  The Oscars came on and we stayed up a bit watching and commenting before the exhaustion hit us and we went to bed.  I had to take an extra wool blanket off the bed next to me and sleep in my pants, socks and shirt just to stay nominally warm.  The cold, combined with the dampness, was bone-chilling.  When I awoke, my neck ached and my muscles were all sore.  Ahh, for a hot bath!!

Magical is the perfect word to describe the experience here! Honestly, I had no clue as to what would await us during this tour, but I was so very pleased with what we saw.

And even though at some stops, it did seem as though the community had planned everything especially for us visitors, it was still nice to be greeted with song and dance.

During this visit, we had the pleasure of stopping off at different lama reserves, one of which was that of the Vicuña - a finer and more petit sort of lama. Another kind we visited was the Alpaca, not as refined as the Vicuña, but then again not as ugly as your typical lama . . . not my words, that's what our guide said!!! Apparently, the lama, is the worst among the lama family. Poor thing, it's ugly and it's fur is of the worst quality!!

Then, quick stop-off to grab a cup of maté de coco, which is a hot beverage made with coco leaves - Don't worry, it's not a drug!! It's supposed to help with the altitude . . . supposed to anyways!! Me, I was completely unaffected!!! That's the Latin blood for ya!!! Fuerte fuerte!!! :)

Arnaud, on the other hand, poor baby, ended up getting sick because of the altitude again.  We got up to an altitude of approximately 4900 meters above sea level!! Now that's high!!! So, it gets sort of tough to breath when one is that high up!!! Luckily, though, he was able to get better just in time to enjoy the rest of our visit to Colca Canyon.

Like I've already said . . . MAGICAL!! Watching the Condors soar through the sky was absolutely amazing and to top it off the landscape in Colca Canyon was breathtaking!! We actually got lucky because supposedly the Condors only come out when the weather is at a particular temperature. And lucky us, that day, it was all sunshine, no rain for once!!!! It was an unforgettable experience for the both of us!!

¡¡¡El Condor Pasa!!!

Je vous parlais de mes limites quelques villes auparavant, et bien la, ca etait pire encore, l altitude 4900m, mon corps ne l a pas accepte, il a dit non, j ai ete malade pendant 2 jours, heureusement que ma petite femme s est bien occupee de moi, et j ai pu etre retabli pour voir les condors.

Je suis tres fier d avoir vu ces oiseaux planer, car ils ne volent pas, ils planent juste. C est tres impressionant de les voir, il y a 1 seul endroit ou on peut les admirer, et bien sur, on y etait.

Et de plus on a eu de la chance, ils ne sont la que 2 ou 3 mois dans l annee, car durant l hiver, ils migrent vers la plage!!

Les paysages sont magnifiques et diverses, des montagnes enneigees au canyons geants, avec les differentes facons de cultiver les pommes de terre et le maïs (unique dans cette region) avec les champs de differentes hauteures, comme des escaliers, et les pierres qui delimitent les champs.

Ces pierres si particulieres qui se chargent de la chaleur pendant la journee et se dechargent durant la nuit et de plus en utilisant ces niveaux, creent un micro climat, une qualite incomparable. 

well we had a nice couple of days in arequipa, really cool little town, then on our canyon trip, our guide was wicked, heaps of information and answered our biggest question so far, what is the difference between a llama and an alpaca? llama is bigger with longer neck,mouth and ears, a curly tail and coarser hair, alapacha is ther oposite with a straight tail. so so relieved to know!!! quite a bit of driving on the first day, went to some hot pools in the evening, an american girl was feeling sorry for us in our state of poverty so bought us pisco sours to drink in the pool, nice one :) then to dinner and a folkloric show, was cute and i think i have developed quite a taste for quinoa, (tasty little peruvian wheat thing) it was bloody freezing so after that it was into bed.
 
up at 5.30am had breakfast and started on our was to cruz del condor where the condors nest. a few stops on the way for view points of the colca canyon. our tour guide said we might not see any condors cause this is the time of year they take vacations to the coast to eat sea lion placentas (what a holiday! count me out!!) just as we got there one that had been perched for about half an hour took off and we only saw it from about 500m away, bummer.
 
stayed there for a bit then headed back along the canyon. stopped for our guide to explain to us that the canyon was used as a massive food storage unit, basically a refridgerator, as she was saying this a condor flew a couple of meters above us and in a few seconds there were 8 of them above us! it was amazing, they are huge!!! apparently can be 1.5m tall and 2.8 wingspan, thats nearly as tall as me!!
 
went back to chivay for lunch then had a three hour drive to arequipa, it was slow cause it is over a 5000m mountain pass and it had been snowing. got back to arequipa in time for some food and a shower then on a night bus to cusco.
 

Everywhere you look the tourist people are advertising Colca Canyon as the world´s deepest canyon, which is in fact not true. Personally, I dispute the fact that it is a canyon, but I´ll get to that later. The deepest canyon is actually Cotohausi Canyon, several hours north of Colca Canyon, which at its deepest point is about 150m deeper than Colca Canyon. If you believe the numbers, Colca Canyon is around 10,000 feet deep. The reason that I dispute its status as a canyon is that it is really more of a gradually sloping river valley than what you would traditionally think of as a canyon. Rising up from the river is a hillside of terraces which lead up to a bit of a plateau and then from that plateau the mountains rise up to the snow covered peaks, kind of a two-tiered geography. It is very pretty, with the numerous lush green terraced hillsides (courtesy of the rainy season) and snow covered peaks in the background. And maybe it isn´t as dramatic as it could be because the road along the canyon doesn´t go any where near the heights the snow covered mountains on either side, so you are forced to view the canyon from somewhere in the middle. Some of the photos that I saw of a really narrow canyon were actually taken much further downstream, in a place inaccessible from the road and where even the 2-3 day hiking trips into the canyon don´t go. One of the highlights of the canyon is the opportunity to see condors soaring above the valley. I was lucky to at least see a few of these, although it definitely wasn´t from the  Cruz del Condor viewpoint, which is famous for just such views. The entire 90 minutes that it took our bus to reach the viewpoint, the weather was perfect, crystal clear skies with clouds obscuring only the snow covered mountain peaks located behind the first row of mountains that rise up from the river. The second we started descending towards the viewpoint, we were enveloped in a thick shroud of fog and visibility dropped to twenty or thirty feet. I spent about 15 minutes there seeing nothing but people selling local crafts before catching the first passing bus back to Chivay for a short layover before heading to Arequipa, disappointed with the canyon as well as the steep 35 soles entry ticket just to travel along the road. The journey to and from Arequipa was very scenic heading over the altiplano and by snow covered peaks (if they weren´t covered in fog) at around 4500m. If you do go to the canyon, here is some free travel advice not in any guide book. See the canyon on Saturday and/or Sunday and then on Monday at 9:30am you can catch the once weekly bus (Andalucia - old and crappy) the makes a big loop from Chivay all the way along the canyon and then back to Arequipa along some back roads and remote villages past Cabanaconde; otherwise you have to return the exact same way you came from Arequipa which is somewhat dull after you have already done it.

Left Arequipa at 8.30am for our bus trip to Colca Canyon.  Worked our way through the suburbs until we once again hit the quite barren and dry looking countryside - not hard to image ancient Incan villages buried under the ash, like Pompeii, from the nearby volcanoes.  Close to Arequipa is a massive cement works, which apparently accounts for around 8% of the local economy. You can see the layers of ash in the ground when you drive through the cuts made in the hills for the roads.  The highest point we reached was 4,910 metres and you could definitely notice it -  generally OK while you´re sitting down, but as soon as we got off the bus to take photos it was noticeably more difficult to get your breath and get your limbs moving.  Had a coca tea stop on the way, and also a few quick photo opportunities with the llama, alpaca and vicuña herds wandering around the plains.  We´re staying at La Casa de Mamayacchi in Coporaque for two nights - it is lovely with fantastic view of the mountains - feels like real luxury.  There are nice cosy doonas on the beds, thick blankets and heaters for the cold nights.  Even an open fire in the evening, with heaps of books and games in the bar area.  We played dominoes for an hour or so, which was quite relaxing (Noel one 2-1).  We did our first walk in altitude, and suffice to say it was a major shock to all systems concerned.  Melissa took the low road while Noel took the high road, and both of us realised that we are very pleased NOT to be doing the Lares Trek.  Our one hour walk just about killed us all, to the extent that some of the group who are doing the trek are seriously thinking about pulling out.  Hopefully they´ll get used to it a bit more before that section of the trip comes around.  Dinner tonight was a buffet at the hotel - quite nice, got to try an alpaca stew which tasted very like lambs fry (liver).  Early start tomorrow, up at 5am for our visit to see the condors.
La Casa de Mamayacchi Hotel is at Pueblo de Coporaque, VAlle del Colca.  www.lacasademamayacchi.com

Early start today, left at 6am for Cruz de Condors to see the massive Indian Condors in flight.  Stopped at the little village of Yanque on the way where we saw plenty of traditionally attired ladies and a church in the process of restoration - it´s the oldest church in the Colca Canyon, built in the mid-1700´s.  Our drive spent a lot of time under the bus, fiddling with the front wheel, so here´s hoping we make it back in one piece!  Another bus definitely didn´t (arrive in one piece that is) and our driver stopped to help him change his tyre, so we arrived at Cruz de Condors at about 8.15am.  Didn´t matter, though, because as soon as we got to the lookout point, we saw an adult and a juvenile gliding around.  Later on we saw another couple of juveniles and one sat on a rock and looked at us all for awhile, too.  They´re not particularly attractive birds on the ground, but very impressive in flight with their massive wings and easy gliding.  WE bought a hand-sewn wall hanging with a condor and volcano on it, so will be a nice memento.  We drove a little further up the canyon and then went for a 50 minute hike along the irrigation pipe, so had fantastic views right along the valley.  Even had another couple of condors gliding above us for a short while, which was nice.  The hike was fine, until we had to climb the 10 metre hill to the bus, which nearly killed us!  Incredible how quickly any exertion affects you up here.  Stopped in a small village on the way back and we bought a gorgeous little doll, dressed like a local lady with a baby on her back and one on the front - so cute.
Went to a restaurant in Chivay for dinner, they put on a set meal and show, which was quite good, with a band and dancers.  We tried pan-fried alpaca this time - pretty good, this time it tasted more like pork.  One of the dances seemed to involve the man getting very drunk and having to be revived by the lady, who sits on him and waves her skirts about his face before hitting him with her handbag!  not sure if this is a cultural comment or simply life in general!  Didn´t get home too late, about 10pm, but went straight to bed to recover from our exertions!

And further to Cabanoconde. In the morning we saw some magnificent Condor's.

Hanner and I were awakened at 3 in the morning by a harsh BEEPING sound outside of our window. We leaped out of bed and rushed around the room like crazy people as the tour bus threatened to leave us if we didn't come out quickly. My friend's mom held them off for a while as we brushed our teeth and put on our shoes. As a result of the strike going on across Peru, the tour bus was forced to leave a mite earlier than they originally planned.

Hanner and I MADE it just in time:) We had bundled up in our fleeces, long sleeve shirts, warm winter jackets, gloves, scarves, and hats. It felt like we were in Iowa during the midst of a blizzard, for there was no heat on the bus and the windows had frozen over forming ice on the inside! We huddled together as close as we could, hoping for warmth.

As we neared the 1.5 hour mark, the bus was forced to pull over for a border patrol/bathroom break. What we encountered was unlike anything I've seen... well, seen could be a relative term since it was still dark and the only source of light was the moon overhead and the stars twinkling away. Rough shacks lined the road, and as the travelers entered, I noticed that it looked as if they were ice skating.. as they glided across the "floor" or as some slipped and fell. It turns out that it was so cold that the water had turned to ice and covered the floor... the stalls were covered in a slightly off colored ice as well.. quite the experience.. I tried my best NOT to slip and fall as I knew what lie beneath me:)

Arriving in Chivay and along the route we encountered beautiful landscape, brightly woven materials, amazing wildlife, etc. It was a scene from a book or what I pictured when I thought of indigineous people.. in the brightly colored clothes with their llamas and alpacas making their way through the mountains with their wares on their backs. Did you know that they sometimes travel for 2 hours just to make it to their particular spot to sell their items. Then they travel another 2 hours back to their homes. It is something that I cannot comprehend. It is how they make their living.. how they provide for their families, and it is a family affair.

Hannah and I finally reached the place where we would view the infamous condors. We bought some COCA candy to help with our altitude sickness and pretty much ate each and every piece in hopes that we would be able to climb up the steps without fainting. :) The condors were much more graceful than I imagined and much larger.. they were like eagles in flight.. gliding across the valley from side to side. You could hear the oooohs and awwwwws of the crowds of people as the condors made their way to and fro across the canyon. It really was a beautiful sight.

That night to warm up, we headed to the hot springs.. this, my friends, is HIGHLY recommended! I did have a little fun with my friend, though, as I convinced many of the gentlemen that she would like to go out with them:) My friend didn't speak Spanish, so it was quite funny to watch them making their advances and having her look shocked and confused as to their ardor and passion towards her. There were no love connections that night for her... I tried to find her just the right guy, but alas, there was no one. :)

Chivay is a town you stop when you go from Colca Canyon to Puno. It is so beautiful. It's a very small town, but amazingly beautiful. This is not as much as a sightseeing sput, it is more or less like a great town where you meet the locals. The people there are so down to earth and focused. They sleep very late and at 6 oclock they start working again. These people rely on support of tourists. The best you can do is get yourself involved with this people, they bring the best out of you. The town is situated in a very nice neigbourhood and the hotel we slept in was just out of the blue. There is no confrontation with the locals, they are just to nice for that. The way they live, is so different from the way I live and still I could relate myself in most of them. They are just amazingly nice people.

Hanner and I had been anticipating a long hike in the midst of the Colca Canyon for some time now. We chose this particular trip as a result of, yes, it's price:), but also being promised that we would be able to do some quality hiking. What we discovered along the way is that our guides had different views of hiking: 1. Hike to the bus from the hostel or hotel.

2. Hike to the bus from the main square (which was 50 meters away).

3. Hike to the bus from the mini market (which was even further.. 100 meters away).

So, if we had been paying close attention to the previous "hikes" we should have been able to guess the length of the ULTIMATE hike we were promised. Yes, it would be more than 50-100 meters... however, we did think that it would be longer than 15-20 minutes (in total walk time). The stoppage time ... waiting for the group... made the walk over 45 minutes, and made my friend question the sanity of our guide as well as those who had promised us an exceptional walk. It was a lovely walk. We were able to reinact scenes from The Sound of Music, entertaining ourselves as we waited for the tour group to climb up the hills:)

After our massive hike, we found ourselves on the bus once more heading towards Arequipa once again...wondering what we would encounter upon returning. Would the strike be enforced still? Would we run over the boulders? Or be stopped by the "border" patrol?

  We hop on another small bus and head to the vicinity of Colca Canyon (Colca Canyon)  click link for good description.  Was an interesting drive seeing many animals(Llama,Alpaca,Vicuna, sheep and working in the fields,Oxen.

We stopped at a crossroad on the way for a short while where locals sold handicrafts and many were dressed in ethnic clothing and posed for pictures for a small fee.  Certainly no high pressure and fee was very small.  The people were so nice and you could tell they needed the money so I took some pictures happily.  Had a soft drink and played with some baby Llamas and kittens--They did not charge.

 We got  to a very nice motel just out of Chivay in a little village and stay for two nights.  While here we do some hiking to start to get use to the higher elevations--Could certainly tell the difference by all that panting I was doing.  Say Oxen plowing the fields and a lot of terracing in the fields that date back to Inca and pre-Inca times.  The first night most of us went to some local hot springs which was great especially after our afternoon hike.  Someone put some money into the facilties at one time as there were showers and lockers for your clothes plus a very lage pool to swim in. Wish had some pictures but we were there at night and do not think they would have turn out that good anyway.

The next morning we drove up further in the mountais to Colca Canyon which was very impresive.  Were lucky to see a number of Condors,some quiet close but always seem to miss on the pictures of the close ones but did get some pictures of them.  Area was quite similar to high  country desert you see in western US and even had many of the same catus.  Was a great side trip but poor Ann did not go with us as she was feeling bad(probably altitude sickness) and stayed at the motel.  At least it was a very nice motel in a beautifull sitting and when we got back she was feeling much better but still did not feel like hiking with me.

 On the way back to our motel we stopped in a small village and visited a local family in their home.  Was very interesing in that the village has probably not changed much in the last 200 years besides now having limited electricity and what looked like a relitivity new school.  The local family took us into a small courtyard which was the kitchen,dining area and storage area all in one.  Certainly not plush.  They spoke some English and showed us their local food--mostly potatoes and their local home brew.  After finding out that they spit into the brew to aid in the fermantation we all passed on drinking any.  They dressed a few of us up in local clothing and I played like I drank some but could not get it past my lips.  Probably stayed with them about 1/2 hour and headed back to our motel.

The motel had very nice restaurant and I had a great Alpaca steak again plus a few Pisca sours and went to bed early as we were leaving early the next morning for Puno/Lake Titicaca