Admiring majestic condor flights in Colca Canyon in Peru

Photo. Condors flying in Colca Canyon.

Hardly determined to see the condors, I started in Peru's second largest city, Arequipa (7 July 2002). The city is located at an altitude of 2,380 meters (7740 feet) above sea level, in the Peruvian Andes.

Arequipa, the capital of department of Arequipa, is the most important city of southern Peru. Arequipa has been strongly influenced by both Andalusian and Spanish Colonial ideas and architecture, such as the Santa Catalina Monastery, the Goyeneche Palace and the Casa del Moral.

Arequipa has many fine colonial-era Spanish buildings built of sillar, a pearly white volcanic rock used extensively in the construction of the city, from which it gets its nickname La Ciudad Blanca ("the white city"). UNESCO declared the historical center of Arequipa as a World Heritage Site.

The year before I visited the city, it was badly damaged by an earthquake of 7.9 on the Richter scale (the earthquake occured on 23 June 2001).

Just before I arrived in Arequipa, the city was in June 2002 completely paralysed for a week by strikes and riots in protest of the privatization of two regional electricity-generating plants. The demonstrations were seen as a manifestation of increasing anti-globalization sentiments in South America. I also heard that some people died in the demonstrations.

For me it was another great adventure in Peru admiring Arequipa`s beautiful surroundings. So far I could see everything seem to work normally now. From the city centre I could watch the volcano El Misti and other mountains.

Photo. Arequipa is surrounded by high snowy peaks including volcanoes.

I guess it make even more exciting to live here.

Photo. Arequipa is surrounded by high snowy peaks including volcanoes.

The beautiful snowcap on the top lighten up the city when the sun shines.

Only two weeks before I came here it had been violent demonstrations.

Some people have been killed.

Fortunately it was quite when I arrived, and I could walk around without feeling worried.

By car I and my travel companions took our way high up in the Andean Highlands. On the road through the Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca, we stopped to say hello to the Llamas and other strange animals. Animals of the highlands include members of the South American Camelids; the llama, alpaca, guanaco and vicuna.

The first two have bean domestic for thousands of yeas, while the latter who are found only in the wild. We often watched Vicunas, and later we could see llamas and alpacas. Guanaco is reportedly very seldom to find. The have almost disappeared from the area.

Photos. Members of the South American Camelids; the llama, alpaca, guanaco and vicuna.

Peru's many high mountains, volcanoes, and craters, are very attractive among trekkers, hikers and mountaineers. Several places around there is possible to find traces after the mighty Incas.

Photo. A cold stop at Vizcachani, 4150 metres above ocean level.

The highest mountain nearby is the snow capped Ampato, which rise 6380 metres high. So we continued on the road trough bleak altiplano over the high point of about 4800 metres, where we could admire more of the snow caps of Ampato.

We stayed one night in the Chivay, 160 kilometres from Arequipa. It's an small Indian village high up in the mountain (3700 metres). Here the temperature was far beyond zero in the late evening and night, but that didn't frighten me from taking a bath in the thermal hot springs nearby.

The Indians wear traditional, colourful embroidered clothes, especially their beautiful hats as the most distinctive. I could hear that they were expert of playing Inca wind instruments. They blew in their typical panpipes as best they could, and out it came beautiful tones.

I was gripped by the intense music and unique atmosphere. The locals played on the common Quena (kena), a flute made of mambo, and other kind of flutes. They also used typical instruments as Bombo (drum) and Charango (string instrument). Together they sounded as an perfect orchestra for party (fiesta) music. It was really great!

Photo. Dancing wildly with the Indians in Chivay, at an altitude of about 3700 metres (also displayed digitally on video). Here we see the fantastic orchestra.

It's the capital of the province of Cailloma. Later in the evening I was invited to join them in a dance, which I couldn't refuse. It was called Tutsjo (Titiua) or something. There are as many as 300 varieties of traditional dances in Peru, and I assume that this peculiar dance was a speciality.

Even thought I felt well, the locals danced a special dance for healing a sickness. I just moved around without knowing too much of the dance.

My guide Marianno said afterwards that I looked like a bird when I danced. Perhaps you thought you were a condor, he said. It was really heavy to breath in the thin air here, but so far I keep my breath.

I really wonder what kind of sickness they did try to cure for, because in the middle of the dancing show I was told to lay down on the floor. An Indian woman stood over my face, and suddenly she lifted up her skirt and almost sat down over my head. Then I got really problems with breathing and I nearly lost my breath. And I am sure many wonder: what did I actually see under her skirt?

This article continues in part 2: read about the big, majestic condors.

Stein Morten Lund, 11 October 2002

Additional information

Some facts about the country:
·        Formal country name: Republic of Peru.
·        Area: 1.28 million sq km.
·        Population: 28 million.
·        People: 54% Indian, 32% Mestizo (mixed European and Indian descent), 12% Spanish descent, 2% Black, Asian minority
·        Language: Aymara, Quechua, Spanish; Castilian.
·        Religion: Over 90% Roman Catholic, small Protestant population.
·        Government: constitutional republic.

Admiring majestic condor flights in Colca Canyon in Peru - Part 1 of 2