Colca Canyon

---

Friday morning saw us all up bright and early in our ironically-named hostal "Home Sweet Home" (it´s not going to be our list of Top 100 Hotels of Peru) for a two-day trip to Colca Canyon, primarily to see the condors that fly through and over the canyon on the thermals looking for food.

As you can see (hopefully) from the pictures the scenery in the Colca Valley and the Canyon was spectacular.


It was a long minibus ride to a town called Chivay where we stayed on Friday night. Before dinner we went to a thermal springs where the water comes out of the ground at 85 Celsius before being mixed with cold water, resulting in a luxurious water temperature of 39 Celsius in the outdoor baths. Bridget rushed off to the bar to get a round of Pisco Sours in, looking resplendant in her rainbow-coloured hired swimsuit. Sorry, no photos of the thermal baths because the air temperature was too cold for any of us to be bothered to get out to get the camera.



Entertainment was laid-on in the evening by a local band featuring a drummer, guitar, miniature guitar, and double-pronged lead pan pipes (how rock n roll is that !?). There was a dancing duo to accompany the band, and all were dressed in traditional clothes.

During the meal the female dancer came to our table and collared Stuart into going up to join the dancers. Despite his protestations "No, no, I can´t dance" he joined in and showed what a gringo can do after a Pisco Sour and half a bottle of lager.

Jez enjoyed this treat and happily snapped away and even got some video footage.


But worse was to come...

Half-way through his alpaca and chips (tastes a bit like pork if you´re interested) Jez was asked to dance. He knew something fishy was going on when he was led into a small room at the side of the stage where a large pile of traditional Peruvian clothing lay waiting.

After being clad in a male-miniskirt, waistcoat, and woolly hat (complete with ear-muffs), and being given a woolly whip, he (and another unfortunate member of the audience, a girl from Portugal) were led on stage to partake in the "Malaria Dance" - a traditional dance about catching Malaria!

He was forced into whipping the female Peruvian dancer with the woolly whip, and at one point he had to lie on the floor shaking while she walked over him shaking her dress. Beats a night in the Beacon Pub I can tell you.

Apart from the photo Stuart also took a two-minute video clip of this dazzling spectacle which unfortunately is too large to upload to the blog. But we will be selling tickets for 20p each when we return.



On Saturday morning we were up at 5.30 a.m. to get to the Canyon to watch for Condors. We saw about five or six and managed to get a few photos. They really did look majestic as they soared through the air, riding on the warm thermals that rise up from the canyon floor 1200 metres below.

We walked along the canyon edge (Health and Safety rules were being observed meticulously) for about an hour; the views across the canyon and down into it were fantastic (see photos).


Next stop Cusco for the Inca Trail! (We fly to Cusco on Monday morning and start the Inca Trail on Thursday).

Lots of love
Bridget, Jez and Stuart.

---

Photos

Colca Canyon
It´s the world´s deepest you know!

A couple of lovely birds of prey.
Bridget balances a black-and-white eagle on her head during a stop on the way to the canyon.

Jez Travolta
Calm down ladies.

Condor
One of the fellas soaring above the canyon on the early morning thermals.

Comments

[Amy]

Jealousy!
Hi Guys, hope you got my email! Your blog is really entertaining, I see the possibility of new career options of Travel Writers!!! Wish I could be there exploring the Inca trail with you! See you when you get back, let's go out for a meal! Amy x

[Dawn]

Just to let you know, that Leanne has emailed us to say she is having a great time on her travels and hopes that you are having a great time on yours!