Andean Condors

We woke up for breakfast at our hotel around 5:30 am. Caitlin and I were running late and placed our luggage next to Jamie and Mary Ann's in the lobby area. There was a lot of luggage as there was a tour group also staying at the hotel.

At breakfast, Mary Ann asked me for some Advil which was packed in my luggage. So I got up to get it and all the luggage was gone! Caitlin was on her way to return the hotel keys and ran after me as I ran down the steps to a tour bus. They had packed all the bags and the leader said, "I counted the luggage and I wondered why we have 4 more!" Except for Mary Ann's, our luggage was placed on the very bottom since they were big and they had to unpack the entire back of their bus! They were with Shoestring Travel and were all Dutch tourists who were traveling throughout Peru for 23 days! We all couldn't stop laughing and thanked Mary Ann for having a headache, and my insistence for getting the Advil before breakfast was over. I'm not sure what we would have done to chase down our bags all over Peru!

On our way to the Mirador Cruz del Condor, we stopped in a town called Yanque and observed some Colca dancing in their Plaza de Armas. We also visited a lovely church. Along the way, we also picked up more people and it took about 2 hours to get to the lookout over Colca Canyon. We had about an hour there and saw 5 Andean Condors! We felt very lucky as the tour groups only saw 1 yesterday. We watched 1 perched and then 3 perched together. Gray ones are under a year old, then they turn brown, and then with white spots. We watched them fly back and forth and overhead. Their wingspan is 3.5 meters or 12 feet and are the 2nd largest Condors in the Americas - the first being the Californian Condor. They are so large they cannot lift off the ground, but rather take flight from cliff perches. Here's a collage of pictures and I will be posting a videos when I return:

Although not included in the itinerary, our guide Ali, took us on another walk. He used to be a trekking guide, so you could tell he loved the outdoors. We had beautiful views and learned more about the mountains, cactus, and colonial settlements. Colca Canyon is considered the 3rd largest canyon in the world. Here are some pictures from our walk:

We stopped at a few more lookout points and a town called Maca. We had another lunch buffet in Chivay. We ALL enjoyed the chocolate pudding.

Then our bus took us to Arequipa which took about 3 hours and we checked into another Casa Andina. Mary Ann got ready for her flight home in our triple room which was set apart from the rest of the hotel. We walked down to La Chiminée which was down the street from our hotel to enjoy their happy hour, even though we didn't order any happy hour drinks. We had beers and I had a lemon and ginger ale version of a Pisco Sour. We shared fries and a Crapese salad. No joke - the menus always give us a chuckle!

We said goodbye to Mary Ann who had to catch a flight to Lima and then a flight to NY. Mary Ann was a pure delight with her quips, sense of humor, and easy-going nature - even though she had to wake up so early every morning! I mean, she pretty much made Caitlin laugh constantly! We love you and the rest of our Peruvian vacation won't be the same without you! Even at dinner at a wine bar restaurant called Zingaro, Jamie asked for a table for 4! At dinner, we enjoyed a Malbec, steaks, and I had a risotto.

We then headed to our hotel and relaxed in our room. It's been a week in Peru and we've already seen and done so much!

We're Not Descending?

After breakfast at our hotel, Colca Tours picked us up around 6:30 am. We were on our way to the Colca Valley, famous for the Andean Condors and Colca Canyon - said to be bigger than the Grand Canyon!

Our transfer guide's name was Roger and our driver was Francisco. Both were jokesters and had fun chatting with us. They especially enjoyed teasing Caitlin. On our way to the transfer point, we stopped at a lookout to see a Lake called Lagunitas and then another spot to see llamas, alpacas, and flamingos. Here's a picture of us at Lagunitas:

Our transfer spot was a rest stop where we joined a tour group coming from Arequipa. The whole ride was about 5 hours and included more stops to see llamas and sheep. We learned about the colonial settlements. The scenery reminded me of Patagonia where I visited last year with Amanda. It was all pampas and plains, with short shrubbery.

We ascended to at least 4,910 meters which is about 3 miles! We were all short of breath and I experienced my first pins and needles symptom. We had all hoped Puno would be the highest altitude, but alas we were still ascending! Here's Mary Ann showing us the altitude and a picture of me pointing out Chivay:

We descended to Chivay, the gateway to Colca Canyon, to have a buffet lunch and then went to a town called Coporaque, to go on a hour walk where we learned more about pre-Incans, Incans, and colonial life. Also, we could see the volcanos Misti and Chachani and the Rio Colca which is the origin of the Amazon. Here are some pictures of us on our windy walk:

Afterwards, we went to the hot springs of La Calera, where they pumped the water to pools. We wished we could stay longer as it was soothing to our legs after our many days of walking / hiking and we enjoyed the sunset. Here are some pictures of us in the pool including a selfie:

We headed to our hotel called Colca Llaqta in Chivay which had cute duplex rooms. After washing up, we headed down to the Plaza de Armas and had dinner at Cabanas. It included the typical fare we've become accustomed to. I had a quinoa soup, chicken with Andean herbs, and a peach as part of the price fixe. We all shared Cusqueña beers as it was Mary Ann's last night in Peru! After dinner, we headed back to rest for our 5 am wake up call to see the Andean Condors of Colca Canyon!