Colca Canyon

Two days ago we traveled a rough, rutted road through high plains flanked by extensive Inca and pre-Inca terracing that goes on for miles, en route to the Colca Canyon—one of the deepest canyons in the world- many say more impressive than our Grand Canyon.

Along the way we passed through one of the highest peaks in the Andes and just ahead was a lake with a 3 mm ice sheet covering the top! Peru is one of the most cold, dusty, dry places I have been, and the backdrops are stunningly beautiful. As I boarded the bus to Chivay from the peak I could see a small tornado forming in the distance. I ws starting to get a little light headed so my guide offered me some coca leaves to chew (hence the fabulous photo of me with a green tounge) and he assured me that it was "completely safe and drug-free."

My first stop overnight stop in the canyon is Chivay, a picturesque village where we took a dip in the local hot thermal baths, watched live Andean music at a peña, and contemplated having a llama steak...I decided to stick to my diet of all things vegetarian (plus bacon).

Our hotel was brand new and super clean but FREEZING. They brought us an electric heater and hot water bottles for the bed and still my thermometer marked 12 degrees Celcius.

Two nights gave us time to take short hikes to acclimatize to the altitude. We took a tour around the canyon, stopping in fascinating villages and at “miradors” (scenic lookouts), where we saw at least 6 Andean Condors soaring over the majestic Andes. Other unusual animals we saw along the drive included 3 different species of camelids: alpaca, llama and vicuña.

While hiking in the canyon I encountered a large stinging insect about the size of a tiny hummingbird with a stinger at least 3/4 of an inch long. Needless to say, my bug spray wasn´t sufficient.