Flight of the Condors

When I was in Arizona last spring, I was pretty bummed that I didn't get to see the Grand Canyon. The past few days in the Cañon del Colca northeast of Arequipa has finally satisfied my needs. At 3191 meters deep, Colca is one of the world's deepest canyons. With majestic condors flying above and the fast flowing river below, the 22km trek in, out and around was breathtaking.

The trip set off to a rocky start. As with everyone heading into the canyon, the guides are supposed to come to the hostels and pick you up around 2:30am so you can be at the Cruz del Condor to catch glimpses of the condors flying in the morning. Just as I laid my head down at 10pm for a few hours of sleep, my guide came to the door to inform me that he would be back in two hours to pick me up for the 1am bus instead. This was frustrating to say the least. So at 12:30, I woke up and got my ride to the bus station, not to take the nice tourist bus, but the local collectivo over the insanely bumpy roads into the canyon. The condition of the roads, as well as the bus, prohibited me from further sleep during the four hour ride, not exactly ideal when you know you've got a five hour hike to your next bed.

We were the first to arrive at the Cruz del Condor at 5am and the sunrise over the canyon was glorious, it made the agony of no sleep somewhat bearable. Cruz del Condor (cross of the condor) is the viewpoint for all of us tourists see these incredible birds as they hunt for their morning meals. We were there for about four hours and watched as the tourist buses dropped off hundreds of people from all over the globe. I think we saw about five birds while sitting there with our tea, but all from a distance. It was nothing compared to what we would see over the coming days on our hike through the canyon.

My group was made up of me, three Australians, a girl from Switzerland and our guide, Juan Carlos. The Aussies, as always, were fantastic and made the hike for me. You're always worried when going on these tours exactly who will make up your group and if you will get along with them...it's kind of important when you have to spend days on end in the middle of nowhere with someone. The experience just isn't the same when you're stuck with people you don't like (i.e. crotchety old women on the boat in Turkey). I lucked out yet again, and came out of this trip with three new friends to visit on my world tour.

After the Cruz del Condor, we took another terrifying bus ride (I officially think Peruvian buses have topped planes in my book of scariest things ever) to Cabanaconde to begin our hike to our first destination inside the canyon. The hike lasted five hours, across the cliffs, and down the steep hills to the Rio Majes (river). Like I said, I never made it to the Grand Canyon, but if it's anything like the towering peaks and vast plains that make up Colca, I need to keep it on my list. We arrived at our first hostel in the late afternoon sun and found a rustic compound made up of bamboo bungalows and sprawling gardens overlooking the river. Our feet were sore from the long decent and we were fithly from the dust kicked up in our path, so we jumped into the seemlingly subzero river to numb our aches and clean up a bit. We had lunch at 5pm, followed by a nap and then dinner with a starlight soak in the hot springs for dessert. After no sleep and a long day, we called it a night by 9pm.

The next day began our uphill practice as we walked to the garden oasis deep in the canyon. We walked up a mountain to take in the most beautiful views of rocky landscapes around us. The hike took us across a plain where two condors decided to grace us with their presence. These birds start low and use the hot air from the bottom of the canyon to lift themselves up into the sky. We caught them as they were below us and watched as they glided peacefully across the land and to their homes in the caves above. It was spectacular! Without the throngs of people making noise and snapping pictures, we were really able to appreciate how incredible the condors really are.

We arrived at the Oasis before noon on the second day and couldn't have been happier to jump in the chilly pool within minutes. The Oasis is another compound full of greenery that offsets the dusty landscape surrounding it. Walking past the waterfall at the entrance and seeing the lush bushes and huge palm trees on the lawns, I felt like I was stepping into a five star resort. More bamboo huts and and dirt floors stopped my dreaming quickly, but was fine with me...when there is a pool, I could really care less where I have to sleep. We spent the afternoon reading and napping and took it upon ourselves to polish off a bottle of rum before hitting the hay early in the evening.

As we were hiking on the second day, our guide pointed out our path up the hillside for the third day. We all saw it, and knew what we were in for, so we beat the sun up on our last day to make the final push of 1.4 vertical kilometers (I think it's more like 5km with all of the switchbacks) back into Cabanaconde. It took me 2.5 hours to reach the top with an incredible sense of accomplishment. The hike up really wasn't all that bad...I think my muscles are back. I've learned the secret to hiking uphill...slow and steady. It's not a race and I don't know why I didn't get it before, but Peruvian hiking has ingrained that slow and steady rhythm into my head.

We arrived in Cabanaconde, had breakfast at a cool little reggae bar and then got on the actual tourist bus to take us home. We stopped at another hot spring to soak our sore legs and filled our stomachs with an amazing buffet before heading back to Arequipa in the evening. The bus ride was still bumpy, even in a good bus, but we were all more than happy to be chilling out for a few hours on the trip.

So I got back two nights ago and have hung out with the Australians numerous times before they took their bus to Bolivia last night. We went out on the town with our guide on Monday night. We ate pizza, watched Peruvian karaoke and danced the night away at one of the tourist bars. Even with our aching muscles, we all had a blast. Yesterday afternoon, we met up and cruised the local market before having dinner overlooking the plaza in the evening. I was sad to see them go, as always, but know I will see them again when I make it to their side of the world next year.

As for today, I am checking out of the hostel that I have considered my home for over a week. I need recollect my belongings that have exploded all over a corner of my room and get on the overnight bus up to Ica. I think the ride is about 12 hours. Something I'm not really looking forward to, but it's time to move on. I've decided to skip Nazca altogether. No one has given me any good feedback on it anyway. Ica is supposedly an oasis in the middle of sandunes, and it sounds like it's worth a try for a couple of days. I'll get some sandboarding in and lay by the pool as I make my way closer to Lima for my flight to Colombia next week.