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Published: June 24th 2006
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Vicuña
The softest variety... A five hour coach ride ahead, we left Arequipa in the morning and past through several small towns where half built houses were spawling in the apparently tax free suburbs.
Soon after the landscape immediately changed from parched rock to scrubland scattered with tall cacti. On our left in the distance was the beautiful snow capped peak of Ampato, the peak on which the mummy of "Juanita" was discovered having been sacrificed by the incas as an offering to the gods.
In the foreground the rippled moutains were engraved with perfect contour lines like those found on OS maps. Our guide explained that the lines were part of the Sierra Verde Project set up by the president of Peru as an irrigation project to utilise the land but neither he nor the following two presidents have kept their promised of completing the work.
After several miles we entered a "Palpa" or flat area, home to the Vicuña the smallest of the llama family and owner of the finest and softest fur in the World. Our guide Mauricio explained that of the species to be found in Peru, the camels (surprisingly) can be graded by quality of fur in
the following order
1 Vicuña (small deer like)
2 Huanaco
3 Alpaca Suri (long dreaded fur and know as the rasta!)
4 Alpaca Huacalla (extremely furry, often amusingly so)
5 Llamas (larger, less likeable spitting type!)
Moving on beyond the Palpa and back in to the highlands we stopped at a small cafe clearly set up for tourists under the shadow of a remarkable cliff face of weathered limestone pyramids.
There, we drank Coca tea for the first time and also for the first time experienced how the locals were clearly aware of their suitability for photographs and actually demanded 1 sole for each photograph in advance! Obligingly we paid, took our shots and boarded the coach again to continue our journey.
As we rose up into the mountains, our guide passed around Coca leaves and explained that the leaves are vital to reducing the effects of altitude sickness. The way to chew the coca leaves is to wrap several leaves around a small chunk of "Yifta" (ash from the burning of Cañihua, another local plant). Once rolled you place the parcel in the corner of your mouth and chew until the juices flow and your
Alpaca Suri
Bob Marley eat your heart out... entire tongue goes numb!
Having numbed ourselves we soon reached the highest point of the journey and possibly the highest point we'll ever be at 4,900 meters above sea level. There, it is customary to balance several rocks on top of eachother and to make a wish. Having made our offerings to the gods which will remain there forever, we continued down the moonlike landscape and into more another world of lush green mountainsides.
After stopping next to a group of alpaca´s crossing at a frozen waterfall, we soon gained our first glimpse of Colca Canyon and its spectacular stepped green terraces. The hairpin road down to the capital of Colca "Chivay" was just breathtaking.
Colca Canyon owes its name to the caves which are found in certain parts of the deep canyon walls. These caves which in the native language translate Colca to mean a form of fridge were used to keep their produce fresh. In the Colca region there were two Pre-Inca tribes at the north and south ends of the canyon. Like many pre-inca civilisations the tribes were rather partial to a bit of trepanning or skull drilling and skull deformation.
Archeological records
show that the tribe to the north held worship for a local mountain with a pointed peak and as such, tied battons to all sides of childrens heads to ensure their skulls grew upwards to eminate their mountain deighty. At the Southern end of the Canyon, the opposing tribe worshipped another more flat mountain and in turn, fenced up the skulls of their young to produce a wide head.
Sadly, when we reached Chivay for lunch Claire began to feel the effects of our recent high altitude and felt sick for several hours. When we arrived in Coporaque and our hotel "Mamayachi" we found our hotel room to have the most incredible view I think we will ever experience and decided to stay there to recouperate and take in the surroundings.
Before the sun went down I decided to take a stroll to watch the local farmers gather their harvest in the warm evening sun and with a handful of coins in my pocket I managed to meet and take some photographs with some of the local farming communities. Having only been in the Canyon for a few hours I knew already that this was a very special
place indeed. Tomorrow we would rise at 5.20 to leave for Condor Cross several miles along down the opposite side of the Canyon.
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