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Published: November 8th 2009
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Up high in the Andes
Up at 4200 metres and there is a cold wind blowing Set off yesterday to search for condors in the Andes. Left Arequipa early in the morning in a miniibus heading for the Colca Valley which is about 200 kilometres away. On normal roads that shouldn't take long but life is not as simple as that in Peru. At least half of the journey was across what could best be descibed as badly maintained stone track and it reminded me of one of the first records I ever bought called 40 miles of Bad Road by Duanne Eddy. How many readers remember that?. After about a couple of hours we literally reached the high point of our journey being a viewing point at a height of 4200 metres. This the same height as the top of Mount Blanc in the Alps. Altitude was going to be a problem but to counter that I had drunk plenty of coca tea and sucked lots of coca sweets. Coca not only helps altitude sickness but is also an energiser. The scenery and views in the Andes are spectacular. Very little greenery, lots of cacti and quite a few volcanos in sight.
We reached the Colca Valley by early afternoon after stopping for a buffet lunch
Looking for the Condors?
Fellow twitchers at Colca Canyon!!! in a mountain town called Chivay. Cost of 3 course lunch was £5 and I suppose in the UK we would call it a carvery except here there is nothing to carve as all the meat is in various dishes with sauces.
The Colca Valley is dramatic and is the lead up to the Colca Canyon where will going searching for condors the next day. We headed for our hotel deep in the valley and along side the river which looked as though it could do with a fair input of rain. The hotel called the Coca Lodge is in the middle of nowhere and is surrounded by mountains. One of its star feautures is the hot springs coming out of the ground that are channelled into 3 external pools that are close to the river. To take the waters could not be resisted and it was like taking a hot bath outside. The air was getting cold by the time I went in but was you were in you were in you soon warmed up
Very early this morning we rose to continue our search for the condors. We headed for Colca Canyon in our minibus across the very
Surveying the Colca Valley
Admiring the wonderful surroundings dusty stone tracks in our search. Why the Condor? It is rare and is listed as ''vulnerable by the World Conservation Union and furthermore it is the world's largest flying bird.
It lives in the Colca Valley and the Canyon is the best spot to see it riding the thermal currents early in the morning.What a shock when we got there. Our quest was being shared by literally hundreds of other people. There was a large car park full of coaches and minibuses and the place was swarming with people and peruvian vendors selling all their wares. How was it going to be possible to see the Condor with all this racket and distraction? There were no hides or twitchers with their hats and telescopes but alas we did manage to see 3 condors gliding in the thermal currents in the 90 minutes we were there. Mission accompliced
Back to Arequipa along the dusty tracks stopping off yet again at Chivay for our buffet lunch.
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jenny morgan
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great trip
Glad to hear the trip is going well. It sounds great, hope you are keeping fit. We are enjoying all your blogs and photos here in Bidford. Take care lots of love Jenny xx