April 14-16 The end of an exceptional journey: adios South America

 

Our South American Salsa was more than we could have hoped for. It felt like such an odyssey yet we covered little of this, our neighbouring Gondwana continent. What a journey of contrasts and experiences it has been. From Cape Horn in the south, in and out of fjords to experience some of Chilean Patagonia’s glaciers, through Chile’s high Atacama Desert to then ascend even higher (to almost the same level as Mt Everest Base Camp) to gaze mouths agape at volcanoes, vast salt flats and flamingos in Bolivia. From those awesome wonders to Amazonian Pink River Dolphins, many species of monkeys, brilliant birds and wriggly reptiles of Peru’s vast rainforest over 6000 km from where we had climbed to the lighthouse on Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. The final cherry on the cake was our way too brief trip to Colca Canyon the deepest canyon in the Andes to watch the magnificent Andean Condors fly.  

We returned home very weary, but our travels were made that much smoother thanks to our wonderful travel agent. Thank you, thank you again Bev Edwards - TravelManagers Australia. 

Tupananchiskama - until life makes us meet again!

April 13 Lima-bound

Hard to come back to earth after those magical few days driving through the Andes of Peru. We had seen and learned so much thanks to Emmanuel, but sadly it was time to leave. The next morning we flew back to Lima to prepare for our long haul for home. From the plane we could see the glorious mountains many of which we had seen from the ground. A truly magical place! 

There is Volcano Sabancaya 5980m and constantly smoking

Impossible to pick out Colca Canyon amongst the many valleys in the high Andes

April 12 back to Arequipa from Colca Canyon

 We finally dragged ourselves away from the condors to head back to Arequipa. On the way back we stopped at villages to watch local festivals and wander through markets. 

There was a big contrast between lush cultivated valleys and the humble dwellings of the farmers

The seeming tranquility of the area has been shattered by many earthquakes - it is very vulnerable

Transport in the high country of the Colca Valley is simple

Villages are dominated by very big churches sitting beside rudimentary dwellings

This village square is marked by often tongue-in-cheek statues depicting the occupations of the people

We happened upon a wee celebration or festival. Dancers were circling the fountain. I watched for a while and thought some of the women looked like men (some of whom were checking their phones!). Our guide, Emmanuel told us that in the early days of the Spanish colonisation the local people were not as suppressed as the 'invaders' thought - theirs was a quiet resistance. Men disguised themselves as women and infiltrated the camps gathering intel, the clever things.  

In most villages sheep were herded through the village square and local women posed with adorable alpaca for people to photograph.

Local markets were fun to explore. This day was not the main market day but it was still abuzz

Quirky local transport buzzed around like little tuktuks

Local dress is worn by the older women but the younger women only sported the traditional hats

The style of dress harks back to the time of the Spaniards when the local women sought to emulate the wealthy Spanish women in their big dresses. 

Arriving back in Arequipa

It was hard coming back into the city after the beauty and tranquility of the Colca Valley. It had been an absolutely magic couple of days made that much more enjoyable by our knowledgeable quiet and gentle guide and driver, Emmanuel. The last two days we learnt much about the Inca and pre-Inca days – absolutely fascinating.

April 12 Colca Canyon, Peruvian Andes

This morning we got up very early to visit the Colca Canyon. It is over 4000m deep and currently they say is the 3rd deepest canyon in the world after Nepal and China. Quite overwhelming. We were there to see the Andean Condors! These most beautiful creatures with a wingspan of 3 or more metres are the world’s largest flying birds. They are so heavy that in order to take off they wait for the warm thermals that rise as the sun starts to warm the cliffs and as the thermals rise they rise up with them. We stood open mouthed for well over an hour watching them - adults and juveniles - soaring and swooping, gliding less than a metre above our heads. They are simply magnificent and held us transfixed! Unsurprisingly plenty of videos were taken. We videoed a number of birds soaring in front, below and above us. It was mesmerising to watch such utter freedom (watch here https://youtube.com/shorts/S-iY9a4_lbM)/ We also spotted a pair of juveniles perched on a cliff ledge not far from where we were standing (see here https://youtube.com/shorts/VbfiweXkvoM ).

It's an impressive canyon

There were plentiful wild flowers but my eyes were mostly on the birds

Young condors perched on a small ledge

April 11 driving from Arequipa to Colca Valley

 

Arequipa is very dry so they use every available spot to grow vegetables and crops

Next morning? You guessed it, an early start to drive a little way north to Chivay the town closest to Colca Canyon and deep/high in the Andes. It was a wonderful drive and we had the most delightful driver and as a unexpected bonus we had him and the car all to ourselves – the ongoing civil unrest on top of Covid has severely affected tourism in Peru. But back to the drive … The scenery was absolutely breathtaking but the roads in many places were challenging as we were driving on the main road to Cusco so there was a lot of traffic and in places where we wound around mountainsas it was quite treacherous as well.

A mix of llamas and alpacas

Our driver was intent on ensuring that our visit was memorable so he stopped often and drove slowly so we could drink in the mind-blowing countryside.  We ascended from Arequipa winding our way through amazing landscapes, surrounded by towering mountains and puffing volcanoes, past flocks of vicuña, alpacas, llamas and even some scattered guanacos. Past ginormous Andean Geese and many beautiful birds including flamingos. 

We saw many llamas, alpacas and vicuna crossing the road

Beauty and tanquility spread out before us

In the background Volcano Sabancaya 5980m is constantly smoking

This is one of a number of truck stops

There were quite a few abandoned buildings along the road

Rail was extensively used in earlier times

We reached the highest point of the road where signs described the volcanoes around the horizon.

We scooped around the crater rims of ancient volcanoes to eventually arrive near Chivay, the capital of the Caylloma province in the Arequipa region. The town is located at about 3,600m so we were still panting and lacking in energy but that of course was amply compensated by our enthusiasm and excitement at the possibility of seeing the Andean Condor, one of the largest flying birds in the world.

We passed some stunning land formations and strange rock strata

Part of an ancient crater 

We were heading for that distant valley - the Colca River valley

The Incas dug water channels and they are still being
used to channel water to the valleys

We stopped for lunch along the way and had a delicious meal;
mine included a Colca Sour made with local cactus juice

That night we stayed at Refugio Hotel in the Colca Valley with the Colca River roaring passed us between towering rock cliffs. Magnificent! Lindsay went for a wander and found a Giant and other Hummingbird species – he was excited. We dined by a roaring fired and went to bed each cuddling a hot water bottle. It was chilly!

A raging torrent roaring through the valley beside our hotel

April 10-11 South to Arequipa and the Andes

The next couple of days were almost an afterthought, an addendum. It had not been included in the original itinerary the tour company had mapped out for our South American sojourn, but I found reference to this place while I was trawling through the internet preparing for our trip – the Colca Canyon deep in the Peruvian Andes where the condors fly! That leapt out at me as something Lindsay would absolutely love, the ‘cherry on the cake’ for a bird lover. 

Arequipa is ringed by snow-capped volcanoes

Another early morning flight saw us winging our way south to Arequipa where we spent an afternoon and evening before heading for Chivay and Colca Canyon. Arequipa is known as White City as many of its buildings are made of the white volcanic rock, ashlar I think. The city is surrounded by towering volcanoes so the setting is quite spectacular. We weren’t so interested in being tourists in this quite large and growing city as we were champing on the bit to get to the canyon. But we did take a wander to look at the impressive cathedrals and monasteries. The altitude was not as high as we had been recently in Bolivia but we were still higher than Mt Kosciusko! 

Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa

The city square - Plaza de Armas

The University

This power metre caught my eye