Colca Canyon
Days Five & Six - Peru - 2022
Two days in the altiplano in search of the world’s largest bird and one of the world’s deepest canyons.
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
1. Cemento Yura
Job opportunities at industrial efforts, such as Cemento Yura, is partially responsible for Arequipa’s booming population.
“Oh, no.”
As I bolted out of bed, I caught in my peripheral vision that it was a little bit after 2AM. The wave came quickly. Then again. Then another. By the time the ordeal was over, it was past three.
I’ll spare you the details, but know it was bad enough for me to leave housekeeping a hefty tip.
I was pouring sweat but my body felt very cold. My stomach felt as if it had been kicked. I returned to bed, hoping this was a one-and-done ordeal. I fell back asleep.
The following morning, I took a shower, and -exhausted beyond words- lumbered down to the breakfast area to lash up with the group. I took a piece of bread and washed it down with some coffee and -almost immediately- that sensation was back again. In the most dignified way possible, I lumbered back up the stairs and to my room.
The severity of the situation did not escape me. We were scheduled to take a five-to-six hour bus to the town of Chivay on the other side of the mountains in the altiplano. This meant two things: mountain road switchbacks and few services. Dreading what was to come, I boarded the bus, headed to the back, and did my best to keep it together.
Thankfully, the road out of Arequipa was increasingly picturesque and did its best to divert my attention.
2. Patahuasi #1
As if by some miracle, the bus pulled over at the opportune moment at a rest area in the village of Patahuasi. Thankfully, the guide gave us about twenty minutes to get tea and use the facilities. I did the latter twice.
In between, uh, sessions, I was able to snap some photographs of the area; two additional photographs follow. And please don’t be alarmed by the photograph labeled “#2” - it’s not what you think it is.
3. Patahuasi #2
4. Patahuasi #3
I girded my loins and jumped back on the bus. I thought it best to distract myself by taking photos of random things outside the bus window (knowing all of them would be binned). It was a convenient way to pass the time and distract from the sharp pain. I also focused on drinking water and electrolyte drink to try and replace all the fluid I was losing.
The guide alerted us that we were going to stop at a roadside alpaca and llama farm. “Do they have a shitter,” I wondered.
5. Llama and Alpaca Farm #1
They did not, but all the same the break was pleasant and the baby llamas and alpacas were cute.
Six additional photographs from the llama and alpaca farm follow.
6. Llama and Alpaca Farm #2
7. Llama and Alpaca Farm #3
8. Llama and Alpaca Farm #4
9. Llama and Alpaca Farm #5
10. Llama and Alpaca Farm #6
11. Llama and Alpaca Farm #7
12. Vicuña
Vicuña are one of two wild camelids in Peru (guanaco -which lives at lower altitudes- being the other), and is the wild version of an alpaca.
Moving down the highway, the views didn’t disappoint and it was quite entertaining to try and spot camelids out the window from a distance. Kind of like an Andean safari.
13. Grazing Alpaca
14. Mirador de los Volcanes #1
I can’t help and chuckle a little bit at signs like this - you know, in case you weren’t certain what you were looking at. Two more photos follow. By the way, the site has a pit toilet: 4/5 stars, would give it five but it was a bit drafty….
15. Mirador de los Volcanes #2
16. Mirador de los Volcanes #3
17. Chivay
Chivay is home to about 5,000 souls who live at 3,635 meters / 11,926 ft.
A sight for sore eyes (and sore … other parts), we arrived in Chivay. After a cafeteria-style lunch, we made our way to the hotel, the pleasant garden-style Casa de Lucila. There was an option to head to the nearby hot springs, which I obviously declined. I opted instead to get a coffee (the lunch site didn’t have any … despite having an instant coffee machine) before taking a nap.
Maybe an hour into my slumber, I woke up shivering. I never get cold … like, ever. This was very strange, and at this point I knew I wasn't dealing with a simple case of food poisoning. I had a stomach virus, and -if I didn’t get a handle on this thing soon- I knew I’d not be able to complete the Lares Trek. I turned the electric heater on in the room (very, very strange considering it was the middle of the day in the desert), and I tucked back underneath the covers for another couple hours of rest.
Waking up right around sundown, I took a shower before joining the larger group for dinner. I realized how much of a buzzkill I was being and I tried to put my best face on. Lasting as long as I could, I headed back to the hotel and got some more sleep in advance of the next day’s activity.
There are dozens if not hundreds of tour operators and groups that will take you to Peru. How do you rack-and-stack all of these various options? For me, it was pretty simple as I had four requirements: one, the opportunity to fly over the Nazca Lines (box checked); two, a visit to Machu Picchu (if you go on a tour to Peru and don’t go to Machu Picchu, you’re probably doing something wrong); three, some sort of outdoor trek (pending); and, four, a visit to Colca Canyon to see the Andean condors. It was this last requirement which helped me weed out other groups, so for me to miss this on account of a stomach virus would be a personal tragedy. While I knew it wouldn’t do anything to fix the problem long-term, I popped a double helping of loperamide and a couple of ibuprofen and racked out.
18. Maca Overlook #1
Andenes -stair-step farming terraces- have existed in Peru for hundreds of years; in fact, some of these platforms have seen continual use since the time of the Inca.
The Andean condor hunts in the morning, so you need to get up pretty early in order to catch them flying over Colca Valley. Thankfully, the entire tour group obliged, and we were soon on our way. As the Colca River flows out of Chivay, the cliffs around it grow taller and taller until soon the edges of mountains run right up against the riverbed. At the points where you can see it, there is no doubting it is an impressive site. We stopped at a roadside overlook just outside the town of Maca for some quick photos, of which another follows.
19. Maca Overlook #2
20. Colca Canyon
Colca Canyon is about 2,000 meters / 6,600 feet deep at points, making it arguably the second-deepest canyon in the world.
There’s no denying it: Colca Canyon is impressive and the way the mountains rise from the river is fairly amazing. It is as if the mountains were formed around the river rather than the river having carved away from the mountains.
Is it the Grand Canyon? No, there is only one Grand Canyon. But Colca Canyon is a sight to behold in-and-of itself.
But, let’s get real: I didn’t come all the way here to look at a hole in the ground. Bring on the condors!
21. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #1
The Andean condor is the largest bird in the world by combined weight and wingspan …
Soon, the bus reached the condor viewing area, and -as I walked towards the edge of the vast canyon beneath me- I saw … nothing. Nonplussed, I continued down the dirt path westward, craning my head upwards in the hopes of seeing one condor. If I saw even that, I’d be happy.
I have a special place in my heart for Andean condors as one was involved in perhaps the most transcendent and impactful travel experience of my life. In 2019, mere seconds before totality of the Great South American Eclipse a lone Andean condor unexpectedly swept gracefully past my field of view and off into the looming, temporary sunset. The image of that bird is indelibly etched into my mind, and so long as my faculties hold, I will never forget it.
So, it was with great joy that moments after considering possible defeat, I saw one. And then another. And two more. All in all, perhaps a dozen, maybe even more. Despite being physically defeated, I managed to crack an hour-long smile as I watched these majestic creatures fly above -and below!- me.
Fifteen more condor photos (and random factoids) are coming your way!
22. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #2
… With an average weight of 15 kilograms / 33 pounds …
23. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #3
… And an average wingspan of 3.3 meters / 11 feet.
24. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #4
Male and female Andean condors can be told apart in two ways …
25. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #5
… First, males have a distinctive comb on top of their heads with a neck wattle while females don’t …
26. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #6
… Also, males have yellow eyes while females’ eyes are red.
27. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #7
Andean condors are among the longest living birds, sometimes reaching 70 years of age.
28. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #8
The Andean condor mates for life.
29. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #9
An Andean condor may travel 200 kilometers / 120 miles a day in search of food.
30. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #10
Andean condors are scavengers, feeding on carrion.
31. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #11
Andean condors do occasionally hunt but are fairly terrible at it, pecking at their prey until they are dead.
32. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #12
The Andean condor has no known predators - except, of course, man.
33. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #13
The Andean condor is a national symbol in many South American countries, including Peru.
34. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #14
Most of the Andean condor’s talons are flat and blunt, meant more as a tool for walking than for attack.
35. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #15
Andean condors have no eyelashes … in case not knowing was going to keep you up at night.
36. Mirador Cruz del Cóndor #16
Andean condors rarely flap their wings; in fact, Charles Darwin once commented he watched many soar for half-an-hour without beating their wings once.
37. Mirador Antahuilque
I legitimately could have spent the rest of the day watching those majestic birds soar and swoop; alas, all good things must come to an end and -somewhat depressingly, I’ll admit- I was back on the bus. After another quick overlook stop by Colca Canyon, we stopped in the town of Maca for snacks before making our way to Chivay for lunch.
My condition at this point had not improved at all; while the strange sweats and chills had mostly subsided, stomach cramps were beginning to become very intense. I attributed this to a lack of food leaving me with an empty stomach, but I assure you that anything I tried to eat just made me feel nauseous. A bit of a catch-22. I decided to continue with my liquid diet strategy for the most part, and ate a small helping of white rice and chicken for lunch.
For better or worse, we had to make the return journey back to Arequipa to catch an overnight bus to Cusco. This was a depressing thought as -all told- this would be about 17 hours of bus time. Not ideal, let’s be honest. But I told myself if I made it to Cusco, I would finally go see the pharmacist and get some prescription medication. That kept me going well enough.
