Condors stayed in bed

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It is a long drive from Arequipa to Chivay. The outskirts of Arequipa are a nightmare for traffic as the road is the main road to Bolivia and Brazil and is full of large lorries. Eventually we were in the volcanic countryside and on the way stopped to see Vicunas, Alpacas and Llamas. At least I now know how to tell the difference between them. On the way up the mountains we stopped at a cafe as we were about to arrive at the highest point in Peru and in order not to suffer from altitude sickness we were told to drink tea made out of coca leaves.. It is not a pleasant taste but we had it anyway and when we got out of the car at the highest point we did not have any altitude sickness! We drove over the top of the mountains and descended down into Chivay, where we stopped for a late lunch in a local restaurant, El Balconde Don Zaccarias , followed by a stroll around the centre of town passing through the local market to see all the produce before going to the hotel Casa Andina. This was located down muddy back streets and was a series of small villas reached by cobbled paths along which thank fully porters carried all our cases. It was freezing cold by this time and we had to put the heater on in the bathroom and the bedroom. The bed was huge and covered with duvets and several blankets. In the hotel restaurant the waiters were wearing padded jackets so you can tell they expected it to be cold. We sat right by the open fire. It threw it down with rain and the streets were muddy so we decided not to venture into town.

It was a 6.30am start the following morning. We reached the valley at the start of the Colca Canyon with its old terracing and green valley. There are some great view points on the way overlooking the Canyon formed millions of years ago by plate tectonics and continual shaping by wind and rain. It was a beautiful morning so the views of the mountains with all the low cloud drifting by was worth the visit. Alberto then decided we should hike to get the best views so off we set spotting very pretty Andean rabbits which have long tails and lots of small birds, finches and sparrows mostly. Our hike took us along the edge of the canyon with spectacular views along the way. We were here in the hope of seeing Condors which live on the side of the mountain but because of all the rising cloud they were just not going to bother coming out which was a great shame as we had come a long way to see them. It was then time to head off to Puna. We stopped in Maca a small typical town where the ladies wear traditional clothes and patiently wait at their stalls hoping to sell the brightly coloured woven stuff, which unfortunately we don't like. We dropped Alberto off at the bus station so he could get the bus back to Arequipa and we continued with Luis, Alberto's father, who didn't speak English and we didn't speak Spanish so conversation was limited. Once we left the area of the canyon we were back in volcanic country. The tips of the Andes mountains with snow on them could be seen to the far north. A lot of the volcanoes are still fairly active as this area is on the ring of fire and earthquakes are fairly frequent. As you descend the volcanoes become round topped hills with green scrub over them and there are plenty of grazing alpacas and llamas. Luis insisted on our chewing coca leaves as we were going via the highest point again and I am thankful to say we did not suffer. We stopped at the same café for a sandwich and were the only people in the place as this is low season. The only people we see are Peruvian. On the way we drove through Juliaca which was the ugliest town we have ever seen. Nearly all the buildings were half built with rough cement and bricks or breeze blocks with the metal rods sticking out of the top. They don't look as if they could be lived in but they are. Also all the side roads were unmade and just mud. As we dropped down the mountain and overlooked Puno on the edge of Lake Titicarca, it looked much the same but in fact was all paved and most buildings in the centre are finished. Our hotel, the Royal Inn, is 4* looks decent enough but the breakfast was worse than the previous 3*. There was a lot of drums and trumpets in the streets and it turns out this is the beginning of the main fiesta, the Virgin of the Candelabria, which last two weeks. There were lots of bands with folks in various rather odd costumes dancing along the street and the main square was packed with people from all over Peru. Later we had dinner at the Hacienda restaurant, where we tried roasted whole guinea pig, the national dish of Peru for the first time. It is actually quite tasty. Outside the parade continued till 1.30am!

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Photos

Taking the shopping home.
The colourful back bag is typical way of carrying everything

Plaza statue
The central plaza in each village has painted statues usually showing the local dance