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Published: November 19th 2008
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Day 581 (30/10/08)
A lazy morning was spent around the hostel with some hammock time, a yoga lesson with Jason in the garden and some excellent showers.
In the afternoon we set out to explore the city which is the second biggest in Peru. The white-stoned colonial architecture here is fantastic and the central Plaza de Armas one of the most beautiful squares we've seen with arched galleries running the length of three of its sides and a grand turreted building making up the last.
Splashing out a whole 2 quid on yet another fantastic veggie lunch we walked the streets some more eventually finding the local market. Markets have been some of our favourite places to explore on this trip with their interesting ranges of produce, hustle and bustle and vibrant colours and personalities. This one didn't disappoint, it was huge and packed with great little stalls. Our favourite aisle had to be the one filled from floor to ceiling with fruit of all shapes, colours and sizes. We couldn't resist stocking up on some old faves and a couple we didn't recognise.
Back to the hostel and we had a quiet evening whilst sorting out
our stuff for our very early checkout the following day.
Day 382 (31/10/08)
One of the major sights of Peru, the Cañon de Colca (or Colca Canyon), is situated relatively near to Arequipa. About 3.5 hours away the canyon boasts the title of being the second deepest in the world, with its big brother situated not much further away but much less accessible. We opted to do a day tour in order to fit everything in however if you have more time it is possible to do most of the work yourself. We took along Pedro the Peruvian Pumpkin to help us celebrate Halloween!
The unfortunate thing about this trip is that we were on the timescale of the local wildlife so we had a 2am start. With the hostel bar music having just been switched off, we got up. Unfortunately Kayla was feeling crook and there was no way she was going out with us today, leaving just us and Jason to brave the early morning. Bleary eyed we boarded our minibus hoping for a bit of shut eye on the way over, but with the state of the roads our hopes for a restful journey
were dashed.
Our first stop was Chivay the small town at the mouth of the canyon where we tucked into a rather unhearty brekkie of bread and jam. This is the usual included breafast of hostels and tours in South America and we're sure we'll learn to love it eventually !
Back in the van and we were headed up the side of the valley. As we progressed we stopped at a couple of villages with ladies in traditional dress sporting Llamas and eagles to have your pic with, and children showing the tourists sone traditional dance.
Climbing further, the valley walls got steeper and the whole canyon was transformed into agricultural terraces making for a stunning view. Our guide tried to tell us about all the things we were passing but we only got an overview as his English was a little difficult to understand.
By 8.30am we had reached the top of the canyon with an awesome drop into the valley floor some 2500 feet below. The reason we had left so early in the morning is that the canyon is also home to some of the most fascinating birds in the world, the
Condor. Due to their size Condors conserve energy by using the thermals created by the sun to glide around the valley. These thermals are only really created in the morning making it the best time to view these incredible birds.
As we arrived there were plenty of other tourists there for the Condors, but even so we were so excited to get the first glimpse of them. It wasn't long until we spotted two perched on the cliffs not far from one of the viewing platforms. One especially was very near. You could feel the whole crowd willng the huge bird to take flight. We waited and watched. Watched some more. After a while we were pretty sure the Condor we were watching knew exactly what was going on teasing us by stretching out his wings and then settling in for a bit more preening. Eventually as we all watched he spread his vast wings for the final time, took a couple of steps and was off. Two flaps of the powerful wings and he was soaring in the canyon. It was amazing to watch.
Even though it was still early it felt like lunchtime so after watching
a couple of them gliding in the thermals we took a seat and tucked into some snacks we had brought with us. Yesterday's market had provided us with some of the best avocadoes we had ever eaten and some tasty local cheese.
Pulling the group back together we started the meander back around the valley wall making a couple more stops to take in more terraces and some hanging tombs. We were all feeling the pace by now, the mixture of the early start and some busy days before catching up on us. With Jason taking a nap at one of the stops and the three of us passing out in the minibus on the way down, even the bumpy roads couldn't stop us!
Back in Chivay town we were dropped off at a buffet restaurant for lunch. The food looked pretty good but it was really pricey so the three of us opted to go for a wander around to find another option. As we walked we found the local market, bingo. In the market there was a lunch area where all the locals sceemed to congregate for their midday meal. Choosing one of them, we sat
down to a carb feast of potatoes and pasta with the most amazing hot sauce. After the meal we got a quick piccie with the cheery lady who owned the stall with Jason getting some special attention!
Meeting up with our fellow tour members we were on our way back over toward Arequipa. On the way over to top of the range between the canyon and Arequipa, we stopped at a pass, just under 5000m in altitude, where the locals honour the power of the local volcanic landscape by building piles of rocks. The air felt thin to us at this height and walking around seemed a bit of an effort, we wondered just how we were going to cope walking the high passes to Machu Picchu in a few days time.
A stunning drive later where we saw some local wildlife (llamas and vicuñas, distant llama cousins) and we were back at the hostel getting washed and packed before our night bus out of town.
Before we departed we still had time to walk into town to get some fodder. As it was Halloween the streets were packed with children all dressed up in scary, and
some not so scary, costumes trick or treating the shops in town. It seems that Halloween is a big deal here in Peru, with the shops decked out in orange and black decorations and a real party atmosphere to the evening.
When we got on the bus it wasn't long until we all crashed out.
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