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Published: November 1st 2005
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Colca Canyon
Huge Canyon. Stunning landscape Hello again peeps who maybe interested in our travelling blog. Thanks for all the quality comments, all very amusing. Wish we were so funny on the blog but experincing amazing things can be a bit on the monotonous side!!!
Here is some more travel blurb if you find time from your busy days on your computers at work or home, hope you all appreciate, especially when we try to get them to arrive for you Monday morning!
Here is Becky´s fascinating and rather factual synopsis from our current travels or is it travails:
Condor watching: Colca Canyon, Peru
Got up and left Arequipa at 3am to do a long, and very cold drive (road was at 4900 metres) to Colca Canyon to see condors. Lots of people were getting alttitude sickness which boded well for the Inca trail, but happily we were ok. We saw about 6 condors which apparently is quite lucky as they sometimes don't play ball, which would have been v.v. annoying after such an early start!.
Some things you may not have known about condors and please skip this bit unless you are really bored!!!:
Andean condors are some of the
Condor
Doesnt transfer very well to picture but got some amazing video footage. largest birds in the world, weigh from 9-12 kg and have a wingspan of up to 3 metres
They are carrion eaters so only do dead stuff
They don't actually flap their wings to fly, they just catch thermal currents in the air and float around. Quite lazy really
They mate for life and are very loyal
Once a condor gets old and crappy (they live about 80 years) they commit suicide by flying higher and higher, higher than they would ever fly usually, to about 8000 metres, then stop flying and plummet to their death. Nice.
We finished our Inca trek!
It was probably the hardest walk we have ever done, but such an amazing challenge and we are very proud of our little selves now!
We did a slightly different trek to the classic Inca trail, as the Inca trail is so over commercial man, and is basically a big path with loads of people on it and locals selling you Coca Cola on the way etc. So our truck tour operator does an alternative trek, which still takes Inca paths but which also visits some communities of Andean locals and donates trees, school
Pisaq
Inca Ruins up in mountains at beginnning of Sacred Valley equipment etc and gives the opportunity to speak to the kids and play footy with them etc. All very worthy. Also the trek is higher than the Inca trail as we never went below 3600 metres. Lots of altitude sickness amongst the group I can tell you. Anyway, what we did was this:
Day 1:
Visited Inca ruins of Sachsaywamman (you say it sexy woman so easy to remember!) which are just above Cuzco. V impressive. See good pic of Cuzco from above it. Then drove to start of the Sacred Valley, where we saw the remains of the Incan town of Pisac. We saw how the Incans used to build plateaus on the mountains to farm them, and climbed down a mountain through these plantations. Also saw an Incan cemetery in the side of the mountain where all the mummies were slotted into little holes so that the rock looks like a sponge, it is a mystery how they actually carried the mummies up the sheer rock face though. Then drove to start of the trek along the most hair-raising road I have ever seen. We went above the clouds at one point to go over the top
Base Camp
Day1. Camp. Freezing me nuts off of a mountain and could barely see the sheer drop on the other side of the bus. Gulp. Then down into a valley where we met our first community of Andean folk. V cute kids.
Day 2:
After a very cold night (we wore thermals, v attractive, trousers, socks, t shirt, 2 jumpers, silk sleeping bag liner, sleeping bag and blankey and were still cold) we realised why, since we were about 200 metres below a snow capped mountain! Planted trees with cute kids then set off. Had lowest point of trek after about 2 hours when I doubted I could make it! The incline was sooooo steep it was bonkers. Got thru it though and reached first mountain pass (about 3,900 metres). Descended through cloud and saw lovely lakes etc.
Camped for night at second community and Rick managed to muster strenght to get beaten by Andean first eleven team 1-0 (It was the lack of altitude training other wise we would have had them for breakfast and it was dark. These Andes folk must have nightvision googgles or live on carrots. Rick). Played a lot of poker in the dining tent. Must say we were a
bit spoilt as we have porters to carry all our stuff, pitch tents and cook dinner for us, so all we have to do is walk.
Day 3: THE BEAST
This was the hardest day as we had to climb from about 3,600 to 4900 metres. Took about 5 hours of solid climb. Everyone had to dig v v deep to make it but we did. Just. Sense of achievement when we reached the pass and saw the clouds below us was amazing, and the views were spectacular. Then bowled down to the valley to camp. Rick got a bit drunk on celebratory red wine and just about broke even at poker.
Day 4: Half day hike to Ollayantambo, where there are yet more Inca ruins and we stayed in a hotel. Praise the lord.
Day 5. Macchu Piccu. Most amazing thing I ever saw in my life. Nuff said. Got very sunburnt. Then back to Cuzco and got wasted.
Peru is now offically done. Off to Bolivia now, bye bye. Have fun and remember to keep it surreal.
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Browny
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Looks like Cam Peak to me.