Colca Canyon part 1

The Colca Canyon holds the Guiness world record as the deepest canyon in the world. It is over 4 kilometers at its lowest depths and averages above 3 kilometers throughout. The region holds intact some of the oldest remaining Peruvian culture predating the Inca civilization. There are villages which still hold the ancient beliefs modified by the dominion of the spanish, the finding of copper and silver, and the opportunities presented by the modern world. The people have adapted but still hold true to their way of life.

Colca Canyon is the number two tourist destination in Peru. In 2010 150,000 people came to see the sights that it holds. I am very glad that we did not go in high tourist season, it was cramped enough. We drove three hours to get there with 15 people in a Mercedes van. The vans used for the tours live a life of suffering as they make the trip every day carrying a full load of people and bags up to five thousand meters (that's 16,404 feet for you Yankees) and down through paved and unpaved stretches of road. Upon arrival the tour bus will pick up a group of tourists who have finished with their two to three day hike and immediately make the same trip back to Arequipa.

Our journey to the Canyon was not pleasant due to some very disorganized and hungover Australians. We were to be picked up at 3am from our hostel but we saw nothing of our van until 4am. We were picked up and drove down the street to the Hostel del Parque where we waited for 10 minutes before seeing any sign of movement. Two Aussies came down the stairs and apologized for the hold up. We informed them it was okay and nestled into our seats expecting to go for the next pickup. In total there were seven Aussies to come down the stairs, some of them mumbled things and then ran back up the stairs. We did not leave that hostel until 4:30am putting us an hour behind schedule. We were told by an individual who was in the van before us that the van had stopped at the Aussie's hostel two times before coming to pick us up. When we finally got on our way our driver decided it would be best to try to make up that hour by putting our lives at risk. We were absolutely flying around corners at ridiculous speeds. Our driver was leaning into the turns while everyone else without a steering wheel in front of them was holding on to whatever was available to stay alive. Surprisingly two individuals beside me slept the entire trip, I am still puzzled as to how this was accomplished. One lucky individual, myself, was sitting ahead of an Aussie with a particularly bad case of car sickness. I heard and smelled every belch, heave, gurgle, gasp, expletive, and grumble passed out of every orifice of his body. It was not the most pleasant two hours of life. When we got to the park entrance where we were to pay seventy Soles entrance fee we found out that three of the Aussies did not know about the fee or have enough money to cover it. I could go on but that was the worst of it, the van was split down the middle of Australians and people who held a localized grudge against Australia.

Along the way we stopped at a lookout to see the canyon but specifically to see the Andean Condor. This bird is a gigantic vulture whose wingspan can be up to 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) in length. The Condor can reach altitudes of 7 kilometers and can smell it's food from the same distance away. In the mornings the Condors start their search for food by catching the drafts of warm air to lift themselves high into the air. Without the heat drafts they would be unable to do what they do because they are too big to propel themselves high into the air. They are heavily protected due to near extinction and play a vital role in the culture of the people native to this region of the Andes.