We
were up at 2.30am for a 3 o’clock start; that can’t be classed as early morning
surely it’s the middle of the night! We
drove for about 3 hours to Chivay (3600m) where our tickets for Valle del Colca
where purchased and breakfast consumed.
It’s amazing how much Steve has to do these days before he’s had a brew
inside him!
Another
hour or so down the road we stopped at Cruz del Condor where the world’s
largest raptor puts in a daily appearance.
We had heard that the vultures are fed and feared it might be a circus
act but were pleasantly surprised. Yes
there were lots of people there (we now knew why Arequipa was so quiet – they
were all in the canyon area!) but from what we experienced everyone respected
these magnificent birds. They really are
majestic and it was wonderful to watch them gliding up the valley on the early
morning thermals. I think in the 45mins
(not long enough) we were there we only saw 2 half-hearted wing beats take
place. Just as our time was up a pair
we’d been watching for a while soared a matter of a couple of meters above our
heads. What a fantastic start to our
little side trip from Arequipa.
Not
long after that we bid farewell to the van and started our trek into Colca
Canyon which we believe to be the second deepest in the world. The deepest is
supposedly in this area of Peru too but I know Mexico like to lay claim to some
records and of course we all know about the Grand Canyon. We wanted to do this tour as we expected to
see something very unique i.e. a canyon.
Unfortunately we weren’t bowled over by what we saw leading us to ask
the question; “What is the difference between a canyon and a gorge?” We’ve been in many a gorge over the years
with Tiger Leaping in China and Taroko in Taiwan springing instantly to mind
plus we’ve seen and trekked in many a deep, steep sided valley. We really couldn’t see what was so different
here and was it really 3000m deep?
All
that aside we were once again in a fabulous setting and were looking forward to
walking into and subsequently out of the canyon / gorge / valley – have a look
at the photos and you choose! Our guide,
Veronica, started by explaining a little about the history of the area and we
discovered that people have lived and thrived here since pre-Inca times. In fact the ancient crop terracing and
irrigation systems are still functional and used to this day. Which once again begs the question why people
don’t employ this technique in newly developed parts of the country? We could also clearly see the old trade
routes climbing up and over into neighbouring valleys and it must have been tough
work swapping your spuds.
For
us the path wound down, down for 6kms to a bridge over the river then we walked
up a little way to San Juan where we stopped for lunch. Following the break we walked through the
village and back down to the river which we crossed again. There was a short uphill section to take us
to a path linking the villages and our route for that afternoon’s walk. It was lovely to get so much variety from a
shortish day’s trek. We were once again introduced to cochineal beetles and
leant that Peru is one of the world’s key exporters of the red dye the insects
produce. We continued along through a
couple of more villages before descending to Sangalle; a purpose built village
for Colca Canyon trekkers.
The
place we stayed in was actually quite extensive with very basic rooms – like a
bed in an animal shed style room – but somehow very appealing. The main focus of all the places to stay is a
pool fed by the river and of course Steve couldn’t resist a dip. I remained dry and subsequently the warmer of
the two of us – even though we’d dropped quite a way it was still chilly once
the sun went to bed. The village really
is an oasis of green with palm trees (introduced?) set amongst crimson, yellow
and orange canyon walls. On looking up
we spotted a couple of condors gliding way above our heads. A great day’s walk; lovely scenery and
magnificent raptors thrown in for good measure.
DAY
2
A
lie in today – up at 4.30am for a 5 bells start! Since we’d worn out our guide yesterday on
the easy downhill stretch we didn’t expect any mad dashes back out of the
canyon. After shuffling behind her for
an hour once she decided she needed a rest we decided to carry on. An hour later we were at the top but had to
wait about 45mins for the others to catch up.
Luckily the sun was up so with fleeces on we didn’t get too cold. It has been a treat not being cold all the
time since reaching Arequipa. Besides we
had glorious weather again so it was a pleasure waiting looking at the stunning
scenery. Although we’d ascended about
1000m from the river in the floor of the valley the zig zag path made the going
relatively easy. Plus we weren’t hiking
at altitude like we had been in the mountain ranges.
We
were given a good breakfast in Cabanaconde (3290m) before getting into the van
for the ‘to trip’ part of the day. We spotted
a condor on the way back down the road but disappointingly didn’t stop at the
lookout point again. The first stop was
at a mirador to take in the pre-Inca terracing and irrigation systems. It’s still amazes me that this proven form of
soil erosion prevention and water retention isn’t used in modern Peruvian
farming. The next stop was only for
15mins in a village to look at the outside of their pretty little church, not
buy any souvenirs and refuse to have our photo taken with a huge raptor. I don’t mind people in traditional clothing
with domesticated animals such as llama and alpaca but wild animals should be
left alone.
Finally
we stopped in Chivay for an hour for lunch although we all shunned the Soles25
a head buffet and wandered down to the market area of town. Luckily the groups had been split into those
who were and were not interested in the hot springs. You know which bus we were on and it meant
that we’d get back to Arequipa an hour or so earlier. Okay so it turned out not to be the last stop
as we took in another mirador. To be
fair it was well worth braving the bracing breeze to take in the Mirador
Vocanos de los Andes. When we’d driven
up here yesterday morning it was still dark so we had no idea that we’d climbed
to 4900m and were travelling through an altiplano area. It was great watching the scenery change with
views stretching for miles and miles. We
were also lucky enough to see one of the falcons soaring wild and free above
us. I’d just mentioned that we were in
perfect vicuna territory when we started spotting groups of said camelids. In all we must have seen about 40 so it’s
good to think that our steep Soles70 each entrance fee is going towards
protecting this desolate yet delicate environment.
Once
again we had great views and glorious blue skies looking down into the valleys
and up to glacier topped peaks. Sound
familiar? We really have found
sensational mountain ranges after dramatic valleys and picturesque colonial
towns galore. I wonder what the coast
looks like; cue bus to Paracas in the morning.
