Condors in the Canyon

October 4, 2011

This morning started with a 5:30 wakeup call. I’m getting a cold and frankly slept horribly last night, so I was quick out of bed. We had a traditional breakfast for these parts which included about 6 or 7 different types of puffed grain cereal: quinoa, wheat, barley, noodles (whatever that is), etc., and then ground grains as well. 

Grains for breakfast

 Everyone was aboard the bus by 6:30 for a two hour ride to Cruz de Condor where there is really good condor spotting. I must admit that I’m not really a bird watcher by nature, but it was nice to be in such beautiful surroundings and quite satisfying to spot a bird in the distance. Until this trip, my closest association with the condor was the movie “Condor Man”, so this was probably a good horizon-broadener. It turns out that the condor is the second largest bird in the world with a wing span of up to three meters. We were lucky enough to spot several, though none particularly close up.

Close view of a condor :)

Colca Canyon

 We went on another hike near the canyon and continued to impress our local tour guide with our fitness. J It’s amazing how remote some of these places are. The base of the condor spotting canyon is 2200 meters above sea level, with one side reaching 1200 meters above that and the other side standing 3400 meters above the canyon floor. (We were on the 1200 meter side.) In the distance across the canyon we could see houses. There is no road to these dwellings. Rather, to get there, one must hike down 5-7 hours to reach the base of the canyon and then climb up the other side for another 7-9 hours. Materials for their houses were carried by donkeys.

Unfortunately the picture doesn't do the view justice.
And I risked my life for this!

There's a town on the other side of the canyon.

Even without the birds, the views are amazing!

Terraces in the canyon

Terraces without me

The afternoon was spent relaxing enjoying the views from the hotel and then waters from nearby hot springs. The evening concluded in an Irish Pub (the highest Irish pub in the world, it claims) with lots of fun and dancing. The dancing actually started in the bus beforehand with the driver playing some oldies but goodies, emphasizing parts of the chorus by flashing the lights inside the bus to create a strobe light effect. Oh, I love South America!