Another early 6 am start. After crawling out of my bed-cave composed of 5 layers of wool blankets and sheets, I got ready for the second leg of our Colca Valley tour. The breakfast and views helped to wake me up.
Today was a big day. We saw better views of the terraced fields in the valley. We made a short hike up Colca Canyon, which is one of the deepest canyon in the world... Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. We then finally saw the great Andean condors, but not before almost leaving disheartened because they didn't show up until the last minute. But let's start from the beginning.
These fields were made by both pre-Inca and Inca peoples. The Collagua Terraces, which take up the majority of the valley, were carved out nearly 2000 years ago. They continue to be used today, but they're threatened by the nearby volcanoes and the occasional strong earthquake. Driving through this region is mesmerizing because of how the land has been shaped into sharp curves and cuts by both natural and human forces.
We stayed at an altitude of about 3500m or 11000 ft the whole time... I'm going to have Superlungs by the time I get back. Even though there was only a little climbing here, it's easy to get short of breath (I swear it's not just me-- my brother does Olympic style triathlons and thought so too).
It's hard to believe how high up we are. It's surreal to look down the canyon, because it's so deep that it doesn't look that deep... if that makes sense. Anyway I was just eager to reach the La Cruz del Condor, which is the highest point of the canyon and offers views of the condors soaring about, riding the thermal currents of the canyon.
We reached the peak at about 845 am. The canyon itself was of course pretty magnificent. But all the tourists were waiting to see the condors. By 945, none had showed up and it was time for us to go. I was more than a little depressed about this. I knew I wouldn't be back here for a long time, if ever.
As our van was pulling away, a huge condor literally flew over one of the viewing points and I was like WOW. We went-- ok rushed-- back to the viewing point only to see it disappear behind one of the curves of the canyon ledge. I was happy to at least see one, but about 10 minutes later a condor came back around the bend, followed by another, and another, and soon there were eight to ten condors gliding about in the canyon!! It was truly one of the most majestic things I have ever seen. Some flew right over our heads, which was a bit intimidating to be honest (these condors are about 10 ft in wingspan). All in all, I was so grateful to have caught this sight, as many other groups had already left. Thank you Colca Tours:) I will definitely try to insert some pics and videos when I get back. So amazing.
Not much could beat that, but we continued on our way to more viewing points of the valley and to visit a little town. More of my beloved llamas and alpacas were to be found <3
Our tour ended after lunch where I once again stuffed myself on fried bananas, aji chicken, and flan. Our little tour group was very sweet and they wanted to take a picture altogether.
We then hopped on to another van and one loooong bumpy ride later, we arrived in our hostel in Puno. We're staying at Inka's Rest, which is ok but I don't recommend it because it's hard to find and honestly a bit creepy haha. Maybe my opinion will change in the light of morning--tomorrow's another 6 am start to see the floating islands of Lake Titicaca.
-- Mobile post
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