Deep Canyons, Condors & Giant Hummingbirds

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Due to a whistle stop tour to Machu Picchu we managed to squeeze in time for a 3 day trekking trip through the Colca Canyon - about a 5 hour drive from the old Spanish colonial town of Arequipa in Southern Peru.

Arequipa has a picturesque main square with white moorish style columns and
arches lining the edges. We arranged our trekking trip, bought some new hip and trendy flip flops (mine had broken) and guaranteed ourselves another 5:30am pick up.

That night, we opted for a small pizzeria on the other side of town. Within 5 minutes the girl sitting next to us had her bag swiped from under the table. The guys who did it were so quick it was a sharp reminder of how you have to be eagle eyed constantly in S. American cities.

We were met at our hotel by Elias, our guide, the next morning. Only Sheena and I were on the trip so we basically had a private tour for 3 days which was fantastic.

We arrived in the town of Cabanaconde a little late after one of the rear wheels of the bus cracked in half which made for an interesting stop by the driver. Setting off around 1:30pm, the first day's walking was relatively easy - a 4hr walk straight down to the bottom of the canyon. The scenery was stunning - the depth of the canyon makes the Grand Canyon look shallow in comparison. We finally arrived at a small hostel at the bottom of the valley and shown to our room in a mud hut. The lighting was by candle only and the outside shower was heated using a solar panel with a beautiful view over a patch of prickly pear cactuses in the valley. Every so often a giant hummingbird would hover next to the shower - the noise of the wings is unbelievable. Apparently their wings flap 40x a second - the smaller ones found in Puerto Rico can flap their wings 400x a second!

Making full use of our private guide we had a fascinating evening talking with Elias about Peruvian politics, the national psyche and the outlook for the country. It's an interesting dynamic comparing how the different Latam countries are trying to improve their economies and the various approaches being taken to achieve this. With such huge mineral wealth to exploit, the environmental and longer term political implications are not clear (at least to me) but I am convinced that not all the impacts will be positive.

Another early start the next day involving a walk through the valley to some natural spring pools where we swam and had lunch. The Colca valley has a small micro climate allowing just about every fruit under the sun (literally) to grow. Elias showed us pomegranates, prickly pears, oranges, bananas, peppercorns, poisonous plants which ooze a glue type liquid and some that we hadn't even heard of. As well as plants, again we saw giant hummingbirds close up, swallows, eagles and condors.

Having put off the evil moment long enough, we set off on the 3 1/2 hour walk straight uphill around 2:30pm in the scorching heat. It was absolutely brutal climbing just under a mile up in altitude. Needless to say we arrived (exhausted), ate and then slept like babies until the next morning's start at 6am.

El Cruz del Condor was the first stop the next day. A mirador set high in the mountains and a great place to see Andean condors. We were not disappointed - within 30mins a massive condor (3m wingspan) swept in and landed on a small outcrop of rock about 20 metres from where we were sitting and stayed there for the entire hour we were there. Seeing a bird of this size up close is so impressive - it's talons were simply enormous and could easily have flown off with Sheena had we not been alert!

The trip ended with a visit to some more thermal baths before arriving back in Arequipa. We had a flight to catch leaving us only 45mins to grab dinner. It was, however, valentines night so the town was heaving. Determined to do something special I treated Sheena to a very romantic Jonny's hamburger. It was a night never to be forgotten and is going to take some beating next year!

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Photos

Our Guide - Elias
Sheena & Elias at the top of the Colca Canyon

Our Shower
Our solar heated shower shared with bees and hummingbirds

Prickly Pear Fungus
This fungus lives on the leaves of the prickly pear fungus. When squeezed it pops leaving a red dye. This red colour is used in lipsticks, dye for clothing and for decorative face paint used by indiginous Peruvian people.

Natural Pools
Escaping the midday heat before our climb up the canyon

Comments

[TC]

Condor
That Condor could quite easily give you bad dreams. Has ben been alright Sheena? Looks great. Please please bring me back a monkeys hand.

[Cerena Childress]

Not a fungi, is and Insect
This is the Cochineal scale insect, makes a beautiful dye the Aztecs used in making cloths. It was the Spaniards' #2 money making industry in the new world after silver!