DAY 184
Yes the title is shameful but I've been trying (and mostly failing) not to make jokes with the title of that famous song on a daily basis. And since the first stop of our Colca tour is named Cruz del condor, I could not resist any longer. On a more cultural note, Colca mean "storage for grain" in Quechua. And surprise, we're back at 3650m... There is no escaping it in this country! We're looking everywhere, hoping to see condors. I'm checking out a tiny spec on the far side of the canyon when el condor pasa, not even 10 meters away, hugging the cliff, right below our feet. By the time I have my camera ready, it's already far away...
The descent to the bottom is steep. In only 6km, we've lost 1000m of altitude. We see other condors on the way down but in the distance. The whole group is tired but happy to be done for the day. We talk with another group and learn they are doing it in 2 days. They didn't know it could be done in 3. We wish them good luck. They have 4 more hours to walk and the early morning climb out the next day... Brutal! On our side the only thing to do is to take a nap; so we oblige ;)
DAY 185
It was a short hike today but we're still more than happy not to have had to do it yesterday. The bottom of the canyon is very green which contrasts with the bare cliffs. Our only encounter are with donkeys and huge sheeps going downhill. They don't plan on stopping so we have to hug the cliff to get out of their way. We arrive around noon with nothing else to do but hang out by the pool for the rest of the day. Once again, we oblige ;)
DAY 186
We knew it was coming but getting up at 5am to climb out of the canyon is not something we were looking forward too. We have 6km to gain 1100m... Quite steep. Let's stay it was faster to go down. One option is to rent a mule and we see quite a defer tourists in them but we soldier on and eventually get out of the canyon. Not to mention the carrot; Breakfast is waiting for us the village :D
The road back to Arequipa is long but we make some stops on the way. We saw little of the Colca valley on the way there because it was dark; now we see how gorgeous it is. The landscape is dramatic and the terraces are a nice added touch to it. Another stop is at a pass sitting at 4900m. It's so much easier to get to that altitude in a minibus ;) Then back down to Arequipa. The surroundings of Arequipa are ugly as hell; another thing we didn't see on the way there. Development in the cities in Peru is OK but outside is a different story. Broken road and chaotic urban planning remind us of another continent.