Our view of the hills that we had hiked the previous day from our stay at the Killawasi Lodge in Yanque in southern Peru:
Our lodge:
After our guide, Jimmy, and the other members of the tour group, picked us up at 7, we were able to persuade him to stop in Yanque's central plaza for a few minutes before we continued our exciting tour of the Colca Canyon. Like all towns in Peru, it had the same plan with a church, the main square known as the Plaza de Armas and a cemetery.
I popped into the Iglesia de la Immaculada Concepion for a quick prayer as it was Sunday morning.
The Sabancaya volcano in the hills beyond Yanque was still pretty active first thing in the morning.
Jimmy said young local women in traditional costumes dance to music in the main square most mornings around 7, catching tourists on their way to the Cruz del Cóndor where we were also heading.
In the main square 20 feet or so from stepping out of the row of tourist vans, there was an organized display of ethnic dancing with music blaring from outdoor speakers, colorful tapestries on the ground and fun souvenirs to buy!
Three hundred types of cheese are made from milk cows in the small town of Achoma as Peruvians eat a lot of cheese. What a fantastic view of the valley it was from there.
The town gate for the nearby town of Maca:
One of the 400 m long tunnels we passed through in the mountainous Colca Canyon:
Another view of the Andes Mountain range that we'd seen so much of in the last few weeks. Jimmy told us that snow melts behind these two mountains and forms a river to join with others that becomes the 7,000 km long Amazon. It has the most quantity of water compared to the Nile, the second longest river at 6,000 km.
At 8:30, we started a hike at the Priest's Cross Lookout - more on that in a bit.
Encayo cactus:
This sixera cactus only produced flowers and not fruit.
Jimmy told us the flower from the chili chili cactus was great for stomachaches.
The views of the 1200 meter deep Colca Canyon were just spectacular. We could even hear the roar of the water at the bottom!
Our hike took us right along the cliff's edge.
Nothing like living life right on the edge!
Jimmy told us this path was made by a priest who came at night thirty years ago to 'look at the stars' with a married woman who was pregnant by the priest. Her husband, however, had followed and pushed the priest's car over the cliff. The police recovered the bodies. Thus the name for the Priest's Lookout!
The cantuta was Peru's national flower. Since we were in the southern hemisphere, spring was ending and summer was around the corner.
If you look really closely or click to enlarge the photo, the black speck in the center was our first condor sighting! The condor is the world's largest flying bird standing up to four feet high. It can fly for hours without using its wings, simply gliding on thermal currents.
Our guide, Jimmy, was one of the best we've ever had, nimbly switching back and forth between Spanish and English, as he exuberantly shared his love of the Colca Valley and Canyon with us as if it had been his first time and not likely the five hundredth!
Our small tour group and several others all had eyes glued to the sky and canyon walls, looking for condors. Considered a sacred bird by the Inca, the condor was once a famous sight in the Andes but it is now considered "vulnerable" by the World Conservation Union due to centuries of hunting, habitat loss and the rampant use of pesticides by farmers.
One of the most breathless sights of our trip was overlooking the canyon and catching sight of a few condors wheeling over the valley.
We trudged up another hill to La Cruz de Condor or the Condor Cross, the canyon's highest point. For some reason, the 12,000 plus feet elevation affected us much more than it did the prior late afternoon. As we hiked along the rim, I took advantage of the overwhelming views to pause and absorb the beauty around us.
The condors nest far down in the second deepest canyon in the world which was twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. With sunrise, the condors leave their aeries and begin to soar on the thermal gusts.
Thank goodness Jimmy had made sure we got an early start from Yanque as the best time to see the flight of the condors is between 8 and 10 am year round. On some cloudy or rainy days, it's not possible to see them because it's too cold or they fly very far away or they fly later when the wind is warmer.
The sight of the condors gave me goosebumps; it was a highlight of our trip to Peru.
The small stone cross was built by local people over a stone promontory that faced the canyon.
When we left the Condor Cross close to ten, Jimmy stated the men here in the canyon earn a living as shepherds and farmers. The women earn money by selling handicrafts to the constant stream of tourists.
Men also mine gold, silver, lead, copper and zinc in the local Madrigal Mine.
At the Wayra Pinku or Gate of the Wind Lookout, a big crowd of tourists were waiting for homemade cactus fruit and other varieties of ice cream.
As we approached another tunnel, Jimmy encouraged us to make a wish and hold our breath for the length of the 400 m tunnel. If we did, he promised us our wish would come true.
Neither Steven or I could hold our breath that long, though! A few minutes later, we stopped for half an hour in the small village of Maca that we had driven past earlier. There wasn’t much to see there except statues similar to those we'd seen yesterday in the Chivay town square and the rather impressive old church.
Women could pay a small fee to take photos of themselves wearing local dress.
We could have paid .30 to have our photo taken with a llama and a local woman!
If this looks like a familiar sight, it's a photo of the children's home paid for by US donors we saw yesterday next to the restaurant in Chivay the other tour participants ate at.
Since the others had not seen anything yesterday of Chivay, the largest town in the Colca Valley, Jimmy had the driver stop so we could all walk through the town's market where alpaca and sheep meat were for sale.
Purple ears of corn were used for the potent chicha morada beverage.
Many of the vendors had large varieties of local cheeses for sale.
A variety of potatoes, some dried for soups:
There was a second, non-food market which had clothes and everything people needed for their homes, according to Jimmy.
Chivay's pretty fountain in the Plaza de Armas:
The statue of the child holding an ear of corn indicated Mother Earth was alive and fruitful.
The cross on the hill outside of town, which has been there for ten years, was to bless people.
We said goodbye to Jimmy and the other tour members as they were returning to Arequipa. We were picked up by another tour group who were heading to Puno, a city located three and a half hours away and very close to Peru's border with Bolivia.
Wilson, our new tour guide, said he hoped we'd see some Juliana flamingos, one of four types of flamingos in the world, on our way to Puno at Laguna Llagunillo. The lake was at a much higher elevation at 3,825 meters above sea level than Lake Titicaca, the most famous lake in this region.
What a sight in the middle of Peru, in the Andes to see the pale pink flamingos! It was an especially nice stop after being in the bus for several hours.
The lagoon was also home to other wildlife.
It was so wonderful to see pink flamingos in their natural habitat – yet another one of the marvels of Peru.
The altitude was 14,500 feet here. I felt a little weak but had no problem walking a fair piece to get a much better view of the gorgeous countryside in the late afternoon.
The last of the ubiquitous craft sellers, set up at the edge of the road, was just packing up for the day.
The church had suffered considerable damage in a recent earthquake.
Local women dressed in native garb were there with an alpaca, llama or falcon in tow in case anyone wanted pictures taken with them.
As we entered the community, Jimmy pointed out the results of an earthquake that destroyed the whole town on June 23rd, 1991. The only people who died were 18 sick people in bed who weren't able to escape.
We stopped for a moment near Maca at the Mirador Choqueticoto lookout for this awesome view of the canyon.
More gorgeous views from another lookout:
Jimmy had told us some of the characteristics of condors while we were driving as we hoped we'd be seeing some shortly. When they're born, condors are brown but turn to black with white feathers on their wings and necks as they mature. They live up to 75 years of age. Male condors have brown eyes and weigh from 10-14 kilos. Females have red eyes and weigh 14 kilos, about 31 pounds. When adult condors extend their wings, their span is three meters or close to ten feet! Their speed rangers from 35-55 kph, about 22-34 mph. Jimmy remarked that condors like to imitate planes as they put down their head and claws as they glide. There are no natural predators for condors.
We learned that condors lived in couples and mate for life. As each baby is born, it lives with its parents for two years. When another baby is born, the young condor lives alone until becoming an adult.
In the distance, we could spot some towns in the canyon.
Jimmy said if we climbed to the top of yet another hill, we'd have a better chance at a lookout to see more condors. We didn't need any more inducement than that!
With over 120,000 tourists coming to the fabulous Condor Cross lookout every year, it has become the most sought after spot for viewing the depths of the Colca Canyon, the beauty of the entire surrounding countryside and the majestic flight of the Andean condor.
I bought a few of the lovely embroidered change or credit card purses that said Colca Canyon on the back.
I loved how the church was 'of the people' with many statues harking to the locals' roots and to their present.
As the town now caters to hordes of tourists coming from seeing the condors, there was a thriving market just outside the church.
We also opted not to be pictured with someone in a condor costume!
We left Chivay around 1 and headed back to the interesting rock formations we'd viewed yesterday on our away from the 'White City' of Arequipa to the Colca Valley.
We could hardly believe we were there at about 5 pm and it
was snowing! We might as well have been at home in Colorado!
I felt so badly for Steven who, moments after we resumed the remainder of our bus ride to Puno, felt extremely nauseous from the high altitude. The effects of the altitude unfortunately continued to take a toll on him for our two full days in Puno.
Our two day trip to the Colca Valley and Canyon had far surpassed all our expectations with its beyond spectacular vistas, a private hike to the ruins outside of Yanque and, of course, the mighty condors. How sad it had to end, though, on a bad note for Steven.
Next post: A solitary trip to the Sillustani Tombs outside of Puno.
Posted on February 12th, 2018, from Littleton, Colorado.
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