I think even before we traveled to Peru, we planned on spending at least one day walking around the mountains and countryside. This came to fruition in a special day trip we arranged to visit Colca Canyon. It is one of the most anticipated trips for us within Peru. But it comes at a cost. We must get up in the middle of the night and ride long hours until we arrive at our destination. There will be several stops on the tour, and we will return to Arequipa in the late afternoon exhausted and far from our hotel. We are, however, willing to pay that price. So let’s get rolling!
We’re supposed to sleep on the mini-bus taking us on our route; but I’m no good at sleeping in a moving vehicle. Besides, I find the scenery infinitely more interesting. Clouds and snow seem to alternate on the ever-distant mountains. I can close my eyes when I get home. For now, in this moment, I am hypnotized.
Our first stop in the village of Chivay is surely mostly about a respite for the driver and a coffee break for the guide. Otherwise, the place is just a tourist trap. The next stop, at the Mirador de Antahuilque, makes up for this, however.
First, we must endure a taste of Dragon Fruit which is offered to us by our guide. He must have purchased it from one of the stands lining the Mirador. Dragon Fruit, also known as Pitaya, is something like Kiwi Fruit; although it is not as sweet. It comes from cacti, and is fairly popular along the Pacific coasts of Central and South America. The main use of Dragon Fruit is to flavor and/or color juices and mixed drinks. Now we can move on to the main event here: the overlook.
The vista before us at the Mirador de Antahuilque is almost incomparable. Here, we find a backdrop of mountains and volcanos to a canyon through which flows the Rio Colca on its turbulent trip from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean.
What makes the vista even more special are the pre-Hispanic agricultural terraces scraped into the mountains and foothills. Some of these terraces are hundreds of years old and have been used to cultivate maize and potatoes long before the Spanish even knew America existed.
We are now off to Colca Canyon and, specifically, to the Cruz del Condor. Colca Canyon (about 100 miles northwest of Arequipa) is one of the deepest canyons in the world. In fact, at 14,000 feet from its highest point to its lowest, it’s about twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. This makes the canyon a near-perfect place for large birds to swoop around; and that’s why we’re here: to try to see Andean condors in flight. With wingspans of over ten feet, the Andean condor is considered the largest bird of prey in the world.
Andean condors are essentially black vultures and scavengers with some white feathers at the base of the neck and mostly bald, pinkish heads. Neither of these features necessarily makes them easier to spot. Really, it’s damn hard work to look out for them and, particularly, to get good photos of them in flight. The immensity of the canyon increases the difficulty.
The Cruz del Condor is set up in such a way that there are several cement overlooks connected by senderos (paths) which spread out through the cacti along the rim of the canyon.
At first, we try our luck at the overlooks, then start walking along the senderos. Eventually, my girlfriend and I just decide to look towards either end of the canyon and shout to each other if there is a condor sighting. This strategy finally pays off, and we get some good (not great) photos of flying condors. Great or just good, the condors are cool to watch in motion.
Amazingly, our best Andean condor sighting comes when our guide (or another tourist) tells us that there are some condors sitting on a rock ledge not far away. They’re not flying, so I wonder if that counts?
Although Cruz del Condor is the highlight of our day-trip, we’re not done by a long shot. Half of our trip remains: three stops-not including the late lunch break. First, however, we have to get past some cows who have wandered onto the road.
The area around Colca Canyon and Chivay is well-known for its geothermal activity, and that means hot springs. Our tour selects the Chimpa Banos. I suppose that these are not far from the Madrigal Chimpa Fortress: a very high, and now ruined, defensive position along Colca Canyon.
It’s free to just roam around the area; but to use the pools and locker facilities, we have to pay an extra 15 soles. The trick is to cross over the rickety wooden slat bridge that leads to both. It takes more courage than you think, because the bridge moves with each step.
Once across, we change clothes in dressing cabins with crappy doors, store our belongings in wooden lockers, and then head for the pools. There are several of these, and the hottest ones are supposed to be near the water source at the far end of the complex, around the lockers.
On the advice of our guide, we dip into a hot pool, swim in the cool river, return to another hot pool, shower, change, pick up our stuff from the locker, and re-cross the rickety wooden slat bridge to exit. The experience is just okay. It was too rushed to be really relaxing.
Much of the Salinas & Aguada Blanca National Reserve that we drive through after lunch is desert. The Reserve is over 1,400 square miles large and was established in 1979 to protect the local flora and fauna.
We stop in the middle of the desert and walk over to what is supposed to be a popular viewing point. We’re supposed to see majestic mountains and volcanos from here; but today is a bust due to poor visibility.
Elsewhere in the desert, someone has been busy piling up stones. I used to think that there was some significance to this. It just turns out that these folks were frustrated by the poor views. Seems like a useless endeavor.
The Reserve eventually morphs into pampa with ponds and grassy plains. This must be where much of the Reserve’s flora and fauna thrive. Indeed, it is so.
In one of these roadside ponds, my girlfriend sees her first wild flamingo (I had seen many in Atacama, Chile) fishing around for something. Scientists say that flamingos get their pink color from eating a certain kind of algae and brine shrimp. Maybe the scientists can find out how the hell these brine shrimp get into these small, wayward ponds.
We step over a tiny stream and creep into a field to get a closer look at some alpacas that are peacefully grazing. These must be tame critters because they show no fear or curiosity, and some of them are actually tagged. Maybe these are some of the alpacas that are sheared annually (like sheep) for their wool.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the road, behind a fence, some truly wild vicuna are cavorting. These animals DO seem a little bit curious-and crazy.
For a moment, I spot a vizcacha among the gray rocks enclosing the field. It’s a small rodent from the chinchilla family that looks like it’s a cross between a rabbit and a squirrel. Unfortunately, it was too quick for me to take its photo-I think. Can you spot it in the photo above?
The return to Arequipa seemed endless and left us weary and far from our hotel. However, despite that, the stop at Chivay, and (perhaps) the mirador in the desert, it was a great day. We stood on the rim of one of the most impressive canyons in the world, saw condors, flamingos, alpacas, vicunas, and even the elusive vizcacha. Not a bad way to spend a long day.
Musical Interlude: “El Condor Pasa”-Simon & Garfunkel