Cañon del Colca

On Monday we went on a 2 day bus tour of Cañon del Colca (we had the option of doing a 2 day hike ranging from 4,900 -> 3,400 -> 4,900m, but strangely enough decided against it...), which is where you can see the rare Andean Condors (if you're lucky)...

This trip came with a bilingual guide, who to be honest wasn't very good.. That said the sites and a few of the other people on the tour made up for it. Unfortunately for the guide (who kept trying to get us all along to his mates restaurants) we were in slightly rebellious mode, in that we decided to go our own way and get 3 course meals at half the price of the single plates being offered..* About half of the bus followed us in doing that... :-)

Other than seeming to start our own rival tour group, we did get to see the entrance of the 2nd deepest canyon in the world (the deepest by an extra 163m is the nearby Cañon del Cotahuasi), and one of the best viewing spots for seeing the Andean Condor, luckily both Cath and I did actually see a Condor swoop right past the viewing spot we chose (mainly because it wasn't packed with people), however at the fairly high speed that bird was moving by the time I got my camera out it was just a speck in the distance...

For those unlucky enough to miss the birds many of the towns on the way to the viewing spot (oh by the way it's opposite a known nest of a family of Condors, apparently about 40 of them nest nearby), have the birds of prey on display (you can have your photo taken with them for a mere S/. 1)... That is along with the traditional souvenir touts and the children in traditional gear dancing for all the tourists at 6:30 in the morning..

We've liked seeing the traditions of the Andean people, and it's been nice finding out more than just the Incan and Colonial history of the places we've been, but (particularly on this tour) the tourist aimed folk dancers and traditional clothing was starting to get a little too much.. Going on the trek and seeing actual villages where the actually wore that clothing seemed much more real.. That said we have been enjoying ourselves and having fun wherever we've been..

Now we're in Puno, right by Lake Titicaca and looking forward to seeing what this nice little town has to offer :-)

Andrew (& Cath)

Oh, unfortunately I forgot to bring the cable with me to this net cafe so I can't upload photos of the spectacular canyons and amazing tiered walls of the Incas.. But we should be able to upload something in the next couple of days :-)

* I do have to point out that the price difference was S/. 15 for the guides recommendations, to S/. 8 for where we went to eat, with S/. 8 being about £1.20 - more a case of not liking being told what to do!