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Published: April 10th 2005
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The spectacular Colca Canyon
Gives the Grand a run for its money... Yesterday I was lucky enough to celebrate my 25th birthday in the gorgeous Colca Canyon, about 3 hours from Arequipa, where I am now, which is Peru´s second city. The canyon is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and is the best place in all of Peru to see the famed Peruvian condor.
The 5am wakeup call yesterday was worth it in order to head to viewpoint to watch the canyon´s condors as they catch the thermal drafts to the top of the canyon. They soar amazingly close to the viewpoint and as a result the digicam was in overdrive. In the afternoon, I did some hiking in the mountains overlooking the valley where our hostal was located. We walked to some nearby pre-Inca ruins and then through the very small, quaint village of Paraoque. I think this has been one of my favourite stops of the trip so far. The village and villagers are virtually oblivious to the outside world and us meddlesome tourists. Life goes on here, and the land is farmed, much as it has been for hundreds of years. At a height of 4,000m its amazing how much effort it takes just to walk a short distance uphill. But, despite the energy-sapping altitude, I´m confident in taking on the Inca Trail and Macchu Pichu, the highlight of the trip that is only about 4 days away now.
One of my other personal pre-trip highlights and something I really wanted to see were the Nasca lines, giant designs carved into the desert outside the small town of Nasca. The theory goes that they formed part of an ancient astrological calendar. Whatever their purpose, I can report that they didn´t disappoint. We took a 45 minute flight in a small 4 seater and I was amazed at how clear and incredibly detailed the designs were. I even spotted some guys working on a giant Triple J logo. Obviously they were getting a headstart on this year´s Beat the Drum competition.
Along my journey south through Peru, I stopped in the small town of Pisco which gives its name to the famous Peruvian drink, Pisco sour. Its made of pisco, lemon juice, and egg white and tastes a lot like tequila. Down a few of them at altitude and they do the trick better than any big night out back home. From Pisco we took a short boat trip out to the Ballestas Islands. I was a little hesitant about getting on another boat after my seasickness escapades in the Galapagos. No one wanted to sit next to me in the boat but I can happily report that my breakfast stayed down.
The risk of some vomititis was worth it to marvel at the enormous number of birds and sea lions that inhabit the islands. An enormous number of birds means an enormous amount of droppings, which happens to constitute the islands´major production: fetiliser. Apparently, the droppings are harvested every 7 years and made into fertiliser. Two poor saps live on the islands permanently to stop entrepreneurs from harvesting the droppings illegally. I don´t know who has the worse job - the guards or the poachers.
After the islands tour I headed to the Ica Desert a short distance away. The desert is famous for its dry oasis and, more appealing to me, its giant dunes which provide ample opportunity for dune buggying and sandboarding. Driving up and down the dunes was a sheer adrenaline rush. I´ve never tried snowboarding or skiing but figured that my old skateboarding skills from my youth would stand me in could stead for tackling sandboarding. After being given a 1 minute lesson which basically consisted of "Point one end of the board down the hill", I was off. My first "run" lasted all of one microsecond. My second "run" lasted 1.1 microseconds. Yes, I basically rolled down that first hill. But, the old skatebaording skills did eventually come into their own and by the 5th hill I was managing to put together some decent runs.
There were only 2 downsides to the whole experience. The first was getting sand in every bodily orifice. I´m still picking grains out as I type this. I won´t say from where. The second was the dune buggy running out of petrol whilst we were heading back. Carrying my board and walking back out of the dunes, I felt like R2-D2 and C-3PO in Star Wars when they get stranded on Tatooine.
Tomorrow, I head to Cusco which is a supposedly a gorgeous town close to the Inca Trail and the Sacred Valley. I can´t wait.
(Yeah, yeah, I know I turned 31, not 25. Just wanted to see if you anyone was paying attention.)
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anonymous
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Happy Birthday Derek... sounds like a wonderful way to spend your birthday! Details about sand and orifices was an overshare though. :) - Tree