May 29 & 30 - Colca Canyon, Peru

We took of to Colca Canyon yesterday (29.) morning. It was quite a ride, lots of mountain roads gaining altituide. At first we encountered a somewhat smooth mountain landscape. Occasionally we saw little farms like this - no electricity, no phone - water - I don't know. No idea how they live, they usually had lama and alpaca herds close by - I guess that's what the live off.

A some point we were surprised by a plateau with a river and green landscape around it.

Welcome to the Andes!! The tips of the high peaks are snow-covered. Vegetation pretty much stopped above 3,500-4,000 meters.

And it is certainly cooler up here!!! (Although it is still nice as long as you are exposed to sun). I think it was a good idea to come here in the wintertime. In the summers they have rain in the mountains, the winters are a little colder but always sunny with no rain.

At the viewpoint of the Andes, altitude 4910 meters. The altitude is clearly noticeable. My breathing is quite a bit heavier, my Mom is a bit nauseous. It is COLD up here, and windy. But the view is amazing.6 Volcanoes can be seen from here - Hualca Hualca, Sabancayo, Ampato, Chachani, Misti and Ubinas. 

 Heading down into Colca Canyon. The last hour driving was down tight mountain roads, with plenty of potholes in the street, and crazy buses overtaking us or heading the other way.

The road leading to our hotel reminds us that not all of Peru is as developed as Lima. There are 2 decent cobblestone streets in the village, all other roads are like this. We have a beautiful small hotel though with awesome service and excellent food.

This morning (30.) we took off to the "Mirador del Condor", a viewpoint to the the condor. A good 10 miles (16km) of the way looked like this.

Tunnel coming up -

 - no light, dirt road inside, not reflectors or indicators of any kind, just the bare rock walls. Tough luck if you lights ain't working ...

Arriving at the mirador we encountered the local hangout of famous birds.

A small army of people is gathered here the watch the birds fly. A few of the travel groups we have encountered several times already, and struck up conversation with some of them. There is the bus of the Germans (who were with us with the guided tour of the monastery in Arequipa, and several of whom we've talked with) - green bus, the Austrians (green bus), the French guys (white bus), and a few others which we haven't clearly identified yet. It seems like everyone is kind of on the same tour and meets at the same places again.

And here they fly .... to watch them is just amazing to me. They appear so gracious in the air, they seem to fly with such ease. Not a surprise many aircraft designers used them as a model ...

And of course a selfie, yes, I was here ....

And some more condors flying ...

 On the way back we also stopped at some some other viewpoints ...

These girls were dancing alongside the road. They had a sign put up that said they are trying to raise money so the some day they can travel, too. They obviously deserved a donation.

 View of the canyon the other direction.

 They are all over the place here. I still can't distinguish between lama and alpaca - I think one is dark, the other white.

 On our way back we encountered a traffic jam - there was a road obstacle ...

A small mud slide had come down. The bulldozer had it cleaned up in 10 minutes. I had the impression this was not the first time they had to do this. ;-) Great adventure!!

 And the traffic is rolling again ...

 Due to all the volcanoes in the region, they have some hot springs close by that we visited this afternoon. Great relaxation. (and I had no idea condors had such ugly heads).

I think this is one of those place pictures can't do justice. The canyon is not as impressive as the Grand Canyon, but the overall experience was still fantastic. The valley is completely remote, with pretty much just once access road. And yet after travelling some tough 3-world roads, we got to relax in a really nice hotel and were served food that you could serve in an upper class restaurant in the first world anywhere - from all perspective, service, taste, presentation. The diversity in this country is unbelievable. 

27.-29.05. Arequipa

After a quick breakfast the next morning we walk to our actual hotel for the next to days to see when we can check in. They tell us to bring everything over right away since when the demonstration starts at 10am we won't be able to drive through the streets anymore. After getting our stuff there and parking the car, we start checking out the city.
Arequipa is a beautiful city in the southern part of Peru. At just over a million people it is Peru's third largest city, and it's city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mountains to the east are more than 5000 meters high and their peaks are always covered in snow.

 There is a lot of interesting history about this city - see Wikipedia. I have to say this is one of my favorite cities, the weather is fantastic (warm, but not hot, a little chilly at night), and it just feels pleasant to be here. I had my first direct encounter with a lama:

The "Church of the Company" is one of the best preserved baroque churches in South America:

Demonstrators are here on both days. They are demonstrating against the opening of a mine in a beautiful valley, since the chemicals used in the mine will destroy the valley's ecosystem. 

Also quite impressive is the convent of Santa Catalina, which was started more than 400 years ago. Up until the mid-1800's, the girls after the first-born girl of all rich families quasi had to enter the convent. They lived in individual rooms, each had a servant but pretty much lived in solitude. 

 Each nun had their own room, often with cooking facilities.

The place is huge, with several alley ways it is almost like it's own city within the city:

In the mid 1800's the catholic church forced them to live live as a community, and "regulars" could enter the convent. While I was there I was able to do some laundry.

... and enjoy some beautiful views:

25. & 26.05 Nazca

After a 3 hour drive with more views of the dessert and the Pacific, we arrive in Nazca. We spend the afternoon strolling around town, and then relaxing a bit. 

We are planning to take a flight over the famous Nazca lines the next morning and stay for the rest of the day to get some rest before heading on.

The Nazca Lines

The lines of Nazca have been created by the Nazca people about 2000 years ago. The German scientist Maria Reiche examined them about 50 years ago, but I guess still nobody knows why they were created. Along miles and miles of lines and geometric figures, are several animal figures. 

In the bus to the airport the driver asks me where we are going next, and I tell him that we want to drive to Arequipa the tomorrow. I have to master some language hurdles to understand that he is telling me there will be demonstrations in all of Peru tomorrow and the day after, and it will be impossible to travel as the roads will be closed.  

The receptionist at the hotel confirms his info. So instead of relaxing the rest of the day, we pack up our stuff and half an hour later we are on our way. Halfway through the 8 hour trip, a police officer stops us - and asks us if we can take a colleague of his with us to Arequipa. Somewhat surprised we agree. Judith ends up telling us a lot of good info about Peru and our upcoming destinations. It wasn't all pleasant though - a few hours of driving through mountain roads were quite exhausting. About 30 minutes after dropping off Judith at at a police station along the way, we arrive in Arequipa. We check into the first hostel we find - our hotel can't accommodate us until the next day. We have dinner in a not-so-much upscale place, but get some awesome chicken. And plenty of it. The french fries are not really our taste though. 

24.05 Ica

After a last breakfast in our amazing hotel, we are cruising down the Pan American Highway, with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean on the right and a dry stone dessert on the right. Frequently we see droves of large chicken coops – I guess supplying a city of 8 million people with chicken doesn’t work with traditional methods anywhere. 

By the time we arrived in Ica, the stone dessert had changed to a sand dessert. Wine yards have been frequently decorating the view on both sides of the road – this is Peru’s wine country. 

 In the evening we visit what is my biggest surprise thus far – we visit the Huacachina Lagoon, a desert Oasis that makes you feel like you are in the middle of the Sahara desert. I climb up the sand dune to see the sunset, and get a whole new appreciation for people that have to walk through the desert.

The next morning we visit a winery where they also produce Pisca, Peru’s national drink. It comes in a “softer” version and in a hard-liquor version. It’s a small family business, and Sophia (I guess the daughter of the owners) gives us a tour of the place and explains the production process. After tasting their products we buy a few bottles and get on our way.