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Published: December 14th 2005
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As life seems to start very early in Peru (something to do with Peru behing 2 hours behind Chile despite being on approx. the same longitude and therefore it getings light very early here) we woke early to the now familiar sound of car horn´s tooting at regular intervals. Our intention was to spend a day in Arriquipe followed by a couple of days walking in the ´nearby´ Colca Canyon which is claimed to be the deepest canyon in the world.
Unfortunately the only 2 day trekking option in the canyon involved a 01.30am start on the first day (as the canyon was actually 6hrs away) and a 03.00am start the following day (to get to a condor viewing point for the best viewing time of 7-9am). Funnily enough this itinerary didn´t seem too appealing so we opted to travel up that afternoon to avoid the first early start. So it was back on a local bus again. This time we were the only ´gringos´on board and the journey was suitably hot and uncomfortable due to overcrowding and a resulting lack of any sense of personal space. It was on this journey that I totted up the number of hours
spent travelling in South America on buses/jeeps alone and realised that we had already exceeded 100 hours. By the time we arrived at our destination (Cabanaconde) it was dark so we grabbed a snack from streetside vendor (our first such venture although it was reasonably safe as an Irish girl we met there had eaten from there the night before with no ill effects), had a quick drink and then headed to our beds for an early night.
We headed into to the canyon the following morning accompanied by our guide (Pablo) and his son (Pablo secunda). 2 hours later we reached the valley floor some 1100m below Cabanaconde and the first of several villages located in the bottom of this valley. The only access to these villages are the path we walked down and the path we were due to leave the canyon by. On route we passed a discarded wheelbarrow (used to carry items until the path became too steep/rough) and six men resting from the exertion of carrying a transformer down the path (to be used for the electricity supply that is in the process of being put in to the valley). All the equipment and
materials used to build the new bridge accross the river were been brought in via the same backbreaking method.
After crossing the river we headed down river along the far side of the canyon through a series of villlages, each with their own football pitch! Not for the first time on this trip, we found ourselves walking faster than the suggested time and so we arrived at our intended overnight stop in time for lunch. Amid all the dust in the canyon, this place was justifiably called the ´Oasis´ as it had a least 3 outdoor swimming pools fed from a nearby spring. A dip in the cool water before lunch felt fantastically refreshing amid the heat and dust. However the presence of biting insects and the prospect of a 3am start the following morning meant that a return to Cabanaconde that afternoon seemed the better option. This did entail an 1100m ascent but 2 hours later we were back in the village and enjoying a well earned rest. It was a great day´s walk and certainly very spectacular. However we shared the scepticism surrounding whether this is really the world´s deepest canyon. In our opinion it is more ´very big steep valley´ than canyon.
We were up early (yet again) the following day to catch the bus to Cruce del Condor, a renowned condor viewing point (although our hopes weren´t that high after hearing stories from a few other travellers of them seeing few/no condors here). As usual for a tourist spot in Peru, there were numerous local women in local dress all selling much the same souveniers. We initially ignored them as we scoured the adjacent mountainside for condors. After a fruitless search we returned to look at the stuff for sale but saw nothing of interest there either. Suitably disappointed we got on our (local) bus when it arrived and prepared to leave only to be told that condors had been spotted. We were initially unsure about leaving the bus as we didn´t want it to go with our rucksacks and without us but were assured that this wouldn´t happen.
At first the condors were very low in the canyon and therefore at least 1000m below us but even at that distance they were clearly visible with the naked eye. Watching 3 of these massive birds gradually get closer as they circled and climbed towards us was incredible and seeing one shoot past very close to the watching crowd was truly breath taking. Before long the birds were soaring way above our heads at which point the bus driver revved the engine and we scurried back to the bus, unwilling to test his goodwill any further. As we left we were happy in the knowledge that once again we´d been very lucky! Even another puncture delay and an exploding can of corn beer that sprayed the dutch couple in front of us and left the bus smelling worse than normal did little to dampen our spirits. Several hours later we were back in Arriquipe with just enough time for a quick meal before (you guessed it) getting on another bus. This time a 12 hour overnight bus to Cusco...
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