Thursday 20th April 2017
Arequipa to Colca Canyon
Early start with minivan to Chivay
(approx 5 hrs), around to the backside of the three main volcanos.
Along the way we saw llamas, alpacas and
vicunas. Iain had a vicuna (in a herd of alpacas) take a fancy to him which was
quite funny – ‘no, no, no’ when it stuck its nose into his camera bag.
Lots of stops for panoramic photos of terraces, valleys and canyons, including Patapampa (the highest place at 4800 m above sea level). Only problem was our guide – ‘remember’/’any questions?’ (one nanosecond break) ‘No’, ‘Vamos’…..
Stopped at a couple of villages and ruins. In one we visited a family home and saw their little kitchen, outside sink and rented ‘homestay’ room which was very basic but nice. The elderly grandma and daughter demonstrated how they spun alpaca wool and made various bits of clothing. I bought a pair of gloves for 20 solas, mainly to show them some support. Lovely family, very friendly.
Overnight stay at the gorgeous Colca Lodge. Even
though it was dark when we arrived, we immediately changed (wearing the hotel white
robes) and walked down to the hot springs owned by the hotel. Water was 36-41
degrees and with a bar alongside, we supped pisco sours whilst relaxing in the
hot waters and watching the stars. Saw two shooting stars.
Dinner was superb. Bottle of wine shared with gang on our
terrace. Nice.
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