Day 46 to 49 - Colca Canyon - An oasis of condors

After a full-cama overnight bus ride (Buses really do not get any better than this!) we arrived in Arequipa, a city surrounded by desert in the south of Peru. We were without plans for the next couple of days as this was just supposed to be a quick stop over on our way to Cusco, the centre if the Inca empire. However, as always happens with these things, it turned out to be some of the best few days of our trip!

So in order to make plans, we headed straight for Cusco Coffee (a starbucks rip off but good coffee and cake!) for lots of wifi research and after a morning of deliberation (and a lot of cake and coffee) decided that our best plan would be to head off into the colca canyon for a few days of trekking.

As all the tours left in the morning (and beacuse we are tour snobs) we decided to go it alone and got the first public bus to the end of the colca valley 4hrs of bump bump bump! Saw more Llamas, Alpacas and Vicunas (small Llama, quite rare) than we had seen all trip. Arrived in Chivay, then a short taxi ride took us to a gorgeous lodge in a small valley town called Yanke. Alpaca steaks and red wine and we were completely settled in!

The next day we were full of energy after a week of doing not much and headed straight out for a walk in the Colca Valley. The valley is full of pre-inca (pre-15thC) terracing which they used for cultivating crops. Amazingly sophisticated farming, and one of the few places in the world where efficient agriculture can take place about 2500m. The terraces provide flat land in a mountainous region, efficient water management with very little rain and the rocks they are constructed with provide a temperate climate where temperatures can drop below freezing every night. They also provide spectacular scenery! We walked over the Colca to the other side of the valley and explored a lovely spanish town, then got a combi (small minibus) to Chivay (sitting on piles of rice) and had the best sausage sandwich ever!

In the afternoon we met an American couple, Beth and Mike (who we were later to bump into a number of times in the Sacred Valley) and walked up to an abandoned Inca village on top of the valley. As one of the terrible atrocities carried out by the Spanish, they forced many of the highland people to move to purpose built Spanish villages in the bottom of the valley to make conversion to Christianity and collection of taxes easier. Then we finished up in a natural hot springs by the side of the river. Was so warm we couldnt get out and it was a freezing walk back to the lodge in the dark!

The next day, we couldn't avoid a 2 day tour to the Colca Canyon proper. Luckily we were in a group of 4 with two other English boys and no French! Some people say the Colca Canyon is the deepest in the world but there is some debate, it is definitely in the top 3 after canyons in Himalyas and China. Either way, it is DEEP! And we were to walk down and up in 2 days. First stop, Cruz del Condor (Condor Cross) at the point where the canyon turns 90 degrees South. Fabulous views, and as per the name, a lot of Andean Condors! Amazing birds, I believe they are the heaviest birds that can fly but they fly effortlessly, soaring in the currents coming up from the canyon. We took a lot of pictures and even with our rubbish camera they look pretty good.

After lots of oooing and ahhing, we set off down the canyon, and when I say down, I mean down, vertically! 1100m of decent and our knees were wobbling like mad. We reached our place to stay for the night, a tropical Oasis in the bend of the river, at around 5pm, just in time for a swim in the natural pools from a not so warm spring. There was no electricity and so after a candle lit spaghetti dinner, a beer and some chess we hit the sack.

Up at 4:30am on the pretence that we needed to get to the top before the sun hit the valley (but in reality so we could catch the public bus), we set off up the hill in the dark. 1300m vertical climb, was TOUGH! Luckily we were are now super fit so polished this off in 3 hrs solid climbing and even managed to pass a couple of other people! Breakfast at the top in the square was much needed and finished off an awesome few days, now just lots more buses to get us to Cuzco...