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.
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.
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.
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 -
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 ...
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.
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!!
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