Blogs from Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Peru, South America - page 34

Following our Inca experience we said farewell to Cusco and headed south for the City of Arequipa. After a tiring overnight bus journey we arrived in Peru's second largest city, and got straight into planning our next adventures. Arequipa as a city felt much less touristic than Cusco and without the constant hassle of street vendors allowed us to drop our guard a little. If you visit the likes of Cusco and Arequipa, you will notice that there are about twice as many taxis as residents and they all drive around in tiny yellow Daewoo´s that you can just about fit a suitcase in!! We were highly amused to run into "El Bad Boy!" (pictured). After familiarising ourselves with what the Arequipa had to offer we headed for one of the cities main attractions 'The Ice ... read more

Hallo ihr Lieben in der Grossen weiten Welt, hier ein paar Bilder fuer Euch aus dem Colca Tal in dem die Kondore leben und auf Terrassen Landwirtschaft betrieben wird. Saludos, Raphael... read more

A five hour coach ride ahead, we left Arequipa in the morning and past through several small towns where half built houses were spawling in the apparently tax free suburbs. Soon after the landscape immediately changed from parched rock to scrubland scattered with tall cacti. On our left in the distance was the beautiful snow capped peak of Ampato, the peak on which the mummy of "Juanita" was discovered having been sacrificed by the incas as an offering to the gods. In the foreground the rippled moutains were engraved with perfect contour lines like those found on OS maps. Our guide explained that the lines were part of the Sierra Verde Project set up by the president of Peru as an irrigation project to utilise the land but neither he nor the following two presidents have ... read more

Visited the Colca Canyon, one of the deepest canyon in the world, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. But the highlight of the trip was to spot condors at Cruz del Condor. The canyon is home to the Andean condors. From the viewpoint, we could admire the majestic condors soaring over the canyon. Each condor can spread their wings to around 2m wide. So like National Geographic! There was one that even soar right above our heads. Was really an jaw dropping sight! Somehow, condors reminds me of Jin Yong Xiao Shuo. Guess it´s the novels that ¨majestify¨ these birds in my impression. And now that the condors soared right in front of my own eyes, it makes the experience even more unforgettable. ... read more

One of the trips from Arequipa was a guided hike in the Colca-Canyon, apparently the deepest canyon in the world (for 100 kms averages 3400 meters deep), so obviously Mel wanted us to walk down it. The trip took us from Arequipa at 6am on a local bus to a town called Cabanaconde, we crossed over the mountain tops at 4500m. We had a quick lunch at local restaurant and we were off. The walk was 4 hours down into the canyon on day one, 5 hours hiking along the bottom of the canyon on day two, and a 4 hour accent at 2am on day three so you can catch a bus to a town called mirador condor to, you guessed it see the condors. All started well enough, we walked through the town after ... read more