On the way to the Colca Canyon

One of the reasons we went to Arequipa was because it is the jumping off point for the Colca Canyon.

We had a somewhat fraught negotiation to get a car and driver to take us to the Colca, but in the end it worked out. Our driver (and his daughter. Both pictured below) was very, very nice. He didn't speak much English, but that was OK, too. My Spanish was getting better every day.

The Colca Canyon is one of the places where you have a very good chance of seeing Andean Condors. These condors, closely related to the California Condors, are not threatened, and you can see them regularly if you are willing to drive for four hours through the high desert, and get up at 5:30 in the morning (there you go again)

The route to the Colca takes you through a Vicuña reserve. I had not really hoped to see vicuñas, but felt it would be a nice thing if we did.

First, we saw this sign:

and then we saw this one:

The Werkind pulled over and pointed to the side of the road, and what did we see?

This!

and babies.

There were plenty of these guys in the reserve. I guess when you stop hunting them, American camelids recover quickly. These guys were almost extinct not too long ago.

Because there was no haze here, you got a good view of El Misti:

we stopped for a cold drink of water, and Doreen picked up a little Alpaca

and we saw more penned up:

But as we drove on, we saw many, many more free range alpaca.

You see how free range they were!

This was our ride. Very comfortable. If anyone needs a ride in Arequipa, I would highly recommend this guy. Write me for details.

We saw  the remnants of a melting glacier

and an active volcano, Sabancaya, throwing some vapors.

We also got out when we arrived at the pass, the highest point on this route:

4,910 Meters. That is 16,109 feet. Breathtaking.

As we got into the canyon, we were able to see some deep relief.

This was our room. It was a nice place.

And this was the view from our room