Flight of the condors

---

Blogger Bec

Early, crack of dawn, sparrow´s start this morning for a long bus ride to the depths of Colca Canyon to see the famed Andean condors - filthy ugly yet majestic creatures found only in the Canyon.

The ride to the condor lookout was spectacular. Incan terraces lined the cliffs and tiny villages dotted the countryside. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky. Many of us were still a little shaky from the very high altitude but we were compos mentus enough to take in the scenery.

I think the photos speak for themselves but suffice to say, watching the condors was one of the most wonderful things I have seen.

I got intensely frustrated with not being able to capture them in flight, cursing myself and my camera but in the end, between the two of us, we got a couple of good shots. 4 hours of sitting on hard rock with baited breath and about 200 other tourists was worth it in the end!

Til next time!

---

Photos

Morning in Chivay
This was our view as we waited for our transport to the condor lookout.

Colca Canyon
Terraces line the canyon as far as the eye can see. In the wet season, it is completely green.

Incredible
Bec snapped this female soaring past.

Wingspan
The condor´s huge wings.

G´day ugly!
One of the condors decided to perch itself right in front of us.

Fly by
Doug´s one and only good pic. They were just too fast!

It´s a long way down
One of the look outs. Becca and her sneaky telephoto lense again.

Ouch!
Trying to grab a photo of a beautiful cactus flower, the cactus decided to grab Doug!

Flowers abound
Can´t remember this one´s name.

Cactus
There were so many different types lining the canyon ridge.

The happy couple
Why wouldn´t we be happy having just viewed the largest flying bird´s in the world?

Comments

[Katherine Oxnam]

looks amazing!
Hi guys, looks like an amazing place, very cool pics. Pete is going to Rio, Brazil for work on the 18th Aug, very jealous!! Miss you guys, look forward to catching up when you come back. Love Kath