Nazca to Arequipa and Colca valley, Peru

14 - 17 January 2006

El Condor Pasa

After a good lunch at our comfortable – heated – inn Casa de Mamayacchi in the village of Corporaque, we went for a walk to admire the terracing all over the hillsides where the pre-Inca cultures had cultivated their crops long before the Spanish arrived. Later we braved the cold in our swimsuits before immersing ourselves in the hot springs of Chivay. Back at the Casa de Mamayacchi we gathered around a cosy fire and drank pisco sours with our fellow passengers, mainly Italians and a young Maltese couple. And I even found the energy to play a game of pool with our driver. We slept at an altitude of 3800 m., which put us in good training for Puno and Cuzco.
17 January. We drove to the Cruz del Condor to see the condors swooping around. After getting a close view of them, we wandered off to get away from all the other condor spotters who easily outnumbered the many condors. The next stop was at the village of Yanque where we visited the church and watched the local girls dance for the tourists in their colourful dresses. The drive back to Arequipa was rather long and tedious, particularly as we knew that we would have to repeat the last couple of hours drive the following day – on our way to Puno by bus.