Blogs from Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Peru, South America - page 5

23.11.2011 Colca Canyon Up early, again, to try and see some condors. We went to Colca Canyon (apparently one of the deepest canyons) where we waited and waited for the condors. The condors are the second biggest flying bird (wingspan of about 3.2 meters) and up to the age of 100. As we got to the viewing point, our guide then informed us that it was nesting season so we might not see any!! Great. Pretty much a 2 day drive to not see anything! So we waited, and after an hour or so (baring in mind we only had about 2 hours until we had to go again) we eventually saw our first one. It started off at the bottom of the canyon, they followed the contours of the mountain, and slowly got higher and ... read more

News from South America 2 - Peru 2 Having recently moved from the Amazon Rainforest, we are struck by the diversity of cultures we have already encountered here in Peru. But as yet, we have not discovered the forces that persuaded that Australian lady to give up her home and her husband of thirty years to come here to Peru. Could it possibly be the delightful climate of Arequepa, the remote rainforest of the Amazon basin, the tiny self-sufficient villages set amongst the patchwork fields of the Colca Valley, the unmatched colour and culture of Cusco, the enigma that is Machu Picchu? I really don't know, so let's see what else might have tempted this lady back to Peru. With due diligence we have managed to avoid an attack of Montezuma's Revenge. Bottled water is cheap ... read more

As the more alert of my dear readers will be aware, this blog is a few days overdue. This is not down to forgetfulness or lack of interest by your correspondent – nay, it is down to the fact that my muscles are only starting to work again!!! Oh the pain, the pain. Oh the agony, the agony, oh the….. Oh well, I suppose that I had better start at the beginning. Bloody hell I was in agony. Not just normal pain but really sore, ouch type of pain. Enough…… This tale starts and ends in Arequipa. ‘tis the in between stages that I mean to entertain, educate and inform you with. Very early on a Monday morning (2.30am), we were up and dressed and sat in the hostal lobby awaiting a bus that was to ... read more

The 3am start is a bit brutal but necessary if we want to avoid walking in the dark tonight. We try to get some shut-eye on the 3 hour drive. Iv agreed the ground rules with our fellow trekkers the previous day that there would be no early morning chatter but he is startled from a semi-sleep by a nightmare that takes him back to that first trot on a horse. It has been prompted by the crazy shaking of the bus as it tries to navigate the mountain dirt road. We have never been on anything so bumpy. We try protecting our bum cheeks by sitting on layer upon layer of jumpers, fleeces, towels......anything. But it is to no avail. We ponder whether the ´white finger´condition can affect the whole body. How the bus stays ... read more

Since I had seperated from Julia and Anna, I had planned on actually being on my own for awhile. I had arrived to Arequipa completely on my own, but ended up meeting some pretty incredible people. Because of this I ended up spending a lot more time there than I had originally anticipated. I took the bus (about 7 hours) and it was a peaceful ride. This was the first time I really had a solid amount of time to myself to seriously reflect. However, I found myself distracted quite a few times for the following reason.... In many places in South America, buses are the main form of transit, however, if you pay the right price, you can get a bus thats rather luxurious meaning the seats can go all the way back and you ... read more