The soaring condors

We both woke around 0030 feeling like we’ve had a good night sleep. Unfortunately we only slept very lightly from then on until the alarm rang at 0545. We grabbed breakfast at 0600 and waited for the 0630 pickup. They didn’t turn up till 0645 and we were slightly concerned as being on a non-standard itinerary and having been shifted to another vehicle, there was a higher risk of being forgotten.

After pickup, we waited at a nearby for the remaining passengers to finish their breakfast. They had set off from Arequipa at 0300. The 1h drive to Cruz de Condor was scenic with the deep canyon and terraces. Such a pity for the others as they slept through it due to their early start.

The Colca Canyon is the second or fourth deepest canyon in the world (depending on which publication you believe). It is about twice the depth of the Grand Canyon in the USA. So it was a real pity for them to miss it.

There was quite a crowd lining the railings of the various vantage points looking down the canyon where the birds soared. The railings weren’t particularly sturdy and the guide had warned us not to fall in because they don’t rescue anyone – it is part of the ecological process to feed the vultures, he joked.

At times there were too many vultures to count (well, at this altitude, my interest in anything was a bit diminished but you really could count them if you wanted to). We moved between various sites to try get the best view. At a stone terrace further down the hill, we thought we had the best site until some locals started playing music and dancing (for money). That immediately put the birds off and we had to move back to an earlier viewpoint.

Yes, the condors were big, plentiful and impressive. They did swoop kinda near at times. But having just been parahawking (feeding flying vultures from my hand while paragliding), I must say I have been truly spoilt and this didn’t compare.

By the way, the Colca valley or Colcas got it name from the round buildings used to keep food cool. Just like the Dutch and Indonesian word for refrigerator!

The return journey back to Arequipa was dotted with stops along the way. At one of the terraces, we were shown a rock model of the ancient terraces (this was used as a model to plan what they wanted to build).

Next were some ancient tombs. Then came the little church with the impressive interior at Maca and finally Yanque. At Yanque, the programme was for the hot springs which we had already done. We opted to part ways with the group and grabbed lunch at a pleasant cafe in the town square.

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After refuelling bellies, we tried looking for horse-riding but weren’t successful. We hopped in to a collectivo and headed back for a rest. We were pleased to be in the cool of our room as it was a scorching day (the nights are freezing).

After a shower and a rest, I was feeling nearly 100% and had appeared to have overcome the altitude effects. We spent the later part of the afternoon in a cafe before having dinner.