Our hotel, in Chivay, sits in roughly the centre of the Colca Valley. The valley goes SW about 80 km from Callalli to Huambo becoming increasingly deep and steep sided. Beyond there it becomes known as Colca Canyon. This section is one of the deepest chasms in the world with a depth of over 4,000 m. The gorge is not only spectacular but also home to many Condors. The Andean Condor is an endangered species although it is an integral part of Andean culture. The birds, with wingspans up to nearly 3 m can live to 70 years old. They can often be seen swooping up the down the canyon. A phenomenon that has become an important tourist attraction.
We took a steady drive down the lower part of the Colca Valley. Driving in Peru is interesting. There are no rules. At least, none that anyone appears to care about. Lane markers are completely ignored. Traffic lights are for guidance, at best. Priority at junctions is determined by forcing your way into the traffic. Any space between vehicles of more than half a metre is considered fair game to attempt to drive into. I have seen cars going the wrong way around roundabouts to gain an advantage. If a vehicle comes up behind you with flashing blue lights then it is probably just a vehicle with flashing blue lights. They seem very keen on this. Emergency vehicles use a siren as well, not that it appears to help them make progress. Indicators are often used, although their meaning is typically obscure. It is common to see a car indicating one way while turning another. Hazard lights are also regularly used. As best I can tell they suggest the driver is about to do something seriously unexpected like cutting across four lanes of traffic at right angles or stopping in the middle of a roundabout to onboard passengers. Pedestrians must be especially careful. One car accelerated, hard, to ensure they got to the middle of a pedestrian crossing before us. We were forced to make a rapid retreat. My best advice for walking around cities is to ignore any preconceptions you might have and just follow what the locals do. Stay in the middle of a group for safety.
Fortunately, the Colca Valley is not too busy. Once we were out of town, I could relax a little. Historically the area has been important for agriculture and livestock farming. Thousands of man-made terraces adorn the hillsides along with drainage channels and irrigation ditches. Ruins and remains dating back thousands of years have been found here. We stopped at various vantage points to take in the views. A significant amount of rural depopulation appears to be happening. Many deserted farm buildings and fields growing wild. After an hour or so we had made our way to the start of canyon proper.
We had a walk along the canyon edge. Quite aware of the altitude here, well over 3,500 m, so we took it steady. The views were remarkable. Mountains reaching up to 6,000 m and the chasm wall dropping vertiginously down to a river way, way below us. We came across some wild horses. I photographed some cacti. In a leisurely fashion, we wandered up to the Mirador Cruz del Cóndor, a series of observation platforms for watching the condors.
There were a lot of people here. Coach loads of tourists all hoping to see condors. Obviously, since there were crowds of visitors there were also many souvenir sellers. Large assortments of brightly coloured craftwork laid out on plastic sheets. One person was dressed in a rather large and impressive condor outfit. He hopped around on the wall and posed for photographs with the visitors. The only thing that was missing were the condors. There was not a hint. Scores of eyes were peering upwards, vainly searching the skies for the great birds.
Time passed. Lunchtime came and went. The tourists started to leave. The sellers began to pack up their wares. Eventually there were just a handful of people left and our guide was asking if maybe we should press on. I wanted to wait a little more and passed the time photographing some of the small birds that were fluttering around. I also photographed some tiny lizards and more cactus blooms. Wandering up and down I tried to find angles for a picture that would convey the enormity of the chasm and the vast drop below us. This proved to be remarkably difficult.
The wind began to pick up. It even became a bit chilly. Suddenly a condor appeared. Later we considered that maybe they needed the wind to be able to soar on the up currents. Big birds tend to avoid the effort of flapping their wings a lot, preferring to use air currents. Condors are the masters of this and in the right conditions will fly for hours with little apparent effort. Rising from way down the valley, the bird swooped up above us and glided into the distance. Then came another and another. In all we saw eight or nine birds majestically swooping around the viewpoint before slipping off into the distance. It was great. We had been patient and had our just rewards. I managed to get a few good photos.
Feeling satisfied we drove back towards the shallower part of the valley. We checked out a church and walked down into a much smaller gorge to see some pre-Inca remains. In the distance loomed Ampato, an extinct stratovolcano which towers to 6,288 m in a classic volcano shape. Clouds forming over the cone looked ominous. As if the monster was coming back to life. Eventually we were back at the hotel. Las Casitas is based on little houses. Each hotel room, or casita, is actually a small house containing a bedroom and bathroom. The casitas are set in a large garden area with ponds, waterfalls, flower beds and lawns. It was all very tranquil and relaxing. Our room had an open fire in it which we were invited to light. This would have been lovely but, to us, the room was more than hot enough already. Wandering around the gardens, we came across a grazing alpaca that Diane talked to for a while.
This was the end of our Belmond trip. An indulgent dollop of luxury for my birthday and xmas. Also some interesting ways to travel. Next day we headed to Arequipa and the airport for a flight back to Lima. Lima again and this was still not the last time we would be there.