April 25, 2010
Colca Canyon, Peru
Left Cusco today and stared toward Arequipa to meet up with Kristi and her parents who are visiting us for a couple of weeks. My destination was about 150 kilometers from Arequipa, the Colca Canyon. Colca definitely fits into my top 10 favorite places. .jpg)
Up until last year Colca canyon had the record of being the deepest canyon in the world. Then its sister canyon Cohaitsu was measured and it came in 450 feet deeper. It took me three days to get here via dirt and gravel roads crossing three passes at 4800 meters or a little over 15,000 feet. .jpg)
There were rivers to cross, roads that were totally washed out and packs of shepherd dogs that didn’t seem to like motorcycles but were very interested in my ankles.
Up until last year Colca canyon had the record of being the deepest canyon in the world. Then its sister canyon Cohaitsu was measured and it came in 450 feet deeper. It took me three days to get here via dirt and gravel roads crossing three passes at 4800 meters or a little over 15,000 feet. There were rivers to cross, roads that were totally washed out and packs of shepherd dogs that didn’t seem to like motorcycles but were very interested in my ankles.The old GPS wasn’t working properly so every time I came to another unmarked road I would have to wait until another vehicle approached and ask for the correct way. It was slow but worked well..jpg)
The valley itself some 120 miles long was the illustration for me of how the Inca’s must have lived. Machu Pichu was all uncovered and reassembled neatly into its respective parts but shed very little light on how the society existed. Colca Canyon was a step back into these earlier times. Scattered throughout the canyon were a dozen or so towns and villages. Each focused on subsistence farming, animal raising and intricate irrigation systems. Fields were being harvested of potatoes, quinoa and maize. Quinoa the ancient grain contains 100 % protein. The fall colors were beautiful. .jpg)
Woman who were over 100 years old walked treacherous paths up and down the canyon. I would swear that these woman weren’t a day over 120. The highlight of the canyon was an area that 30 or so condors lived. I was fortunate in seeing two condors having close to an 8 feet wingspan, one eagle and many hawks and falcons. .jpg)
To get to the condor lookout you had to go thru a couple of tunnels. One short, one a half mile. Of course these were unlit one vehicle at a time tunnels made of sandstone with sand bottoms. Going up was a breeze. Just a little bout of claustrophobia but I made it through. Coming back down though I hadn’t noticed the large truck entering the opposite end. Meeting halfway in the tunnel was an experience I will never forget. I pulled over and stopped as tightly to the wall as I could as the truck roared by. Seemingly oblivious to my presence. Whew! Glad that’s over! Then the tunnel filled with the thickest dust and diesel exhaust you could imagine. The bike stalled it was totally dark and I coughed and coughed just about dropping the bike. After what seemed like 15 minutes and figuring this was not the time to cash in my cookies, I got the bike started and we inched to the other end. Believe it or not I still have those cookies.
Woman who were over 100 years old walked treacherous paths up and down the canyon. I would swear that these woman weren’t a day over 120. The highlight of the canyon was an area that 30 or so condors lived. I was fortunate in seeing two condors having close to an 8 feet wingspan, one eagle and many hawks and falcons. To get to the condor lookout you had to go thru a couple of tunnels. One short, one a half mile. Of course these were unlit one vehicle at a time tunnels made of sandstone with sand bottoms. Going up was a breeze. Just a little bout of claustrophobia but I made it through. Coming back down though I hadn’t noticed the large truck entering the opposite end. Meeting halfway in the tunnel was an experience I will never forget. I pulled over and stopped as tightly to the wall as I could as the truck roared by. Seemingly oblivious to my presence. Whew! Glad that’s over! Then the tunnel filled with the thickest dust and diesel exhaust you could imagine. The bike stalled it was totally dark and I coughed and coughed just about dropping the bike. After what seemed like 15 minutes and figuring this was not the time to cash in my cookies, I got the bike started and we inched to the other end. Believe it or not I still have those cookies.Please check out Colca Canyons photos and let me know what you think.
Best,
Todd
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