Marc & Nora ROUND THE WORLD 2005/2006 - Join us!

Travel time: September 2005 - July 2006  |  by marc and nora L.

PERU: Arequipa & Colca Canyon

After a night in Puno we arrived the next day in Arequipa, a beautiful colonial town, founded by the Spaniards in 1540. The surroundings of Arequipa are, like many other Peruvian and also Ecuadorian towns, amazing. From the city centre you can see the snowcapped volcano El Misti and the Nevada Chachani which are really impressive! We had a look around the city centre, some good dinner (not guinea pig though - which is the Peruvian National dish), and booked our trip to the Colca Canyon.

The convent of Santa Catalina in Arequipa is a real must for travellers - it is so impressive, really amazing! The entrance fee is well worth the visit!

All in all we found Arequipa a quite busy but pleasant town!

The beautiful Plaza de Armas

The beautiful Plaza de Armas

Church in Arequipa

Church in Arequipa

Santa Catalina Convent

Santa Catalina Convent

Santa Catalina Convent

Santa Catalina Convent

Another view of the very big and impressive Santa Catalina Convent - snowcapped volcano in the background

Another view of the very big and impressive Santa Catalina Convent - snowcapped volcano in the background

oh shit!

oh shit!

The cathedral at Plaza de Armas

The cathedral at Plaza de Armas

Plaza de Armas at nighttime

Plaza de Armas at nighttime

Arequipa is full of these yellow mini-taxis

Arequipa is full of these yellow mini-taxis

The airport - view of volcano inclusive

The airport - view of volcano inclusive

view of the Andes

view of the Andes

The Colca Canyon is apparently the deepest canyon in the world. Apparently for more than 100kms it is 3400m deep! Quite impressive. It is famous for the condors that can be observed in this canyon. The condor is a huge and extremely rare vulture. There are 2 types of Condor, the Californian Condor and the Andean Condor. The latter is the world's heaviest and biggest bird of prey. The length of its body is about 1.5m and it can reach a wingspan of 3 meters (!!!)
It weighs between 9 and 11 kilos.

When we arrived at the Colca Canyon we waited for a few minutes then we saw our first LIVE condor! WOW! it is really big! There were just a few flying around and most of the time we could only spot them from a distance. But then all of a sudden more condors appeared and they came closer and closer. At the end there were about 14 condors in the sky at the same time and some sat down to rest just in front of us! Some others decided to fly right above our heads! A really amazing experience!

A village close to the Colca Canyon - all the cracks are caused by massive earthquakes which are quite common here

A village close to the Colca Canyon - all the cracks are caused by massive earthquakes which are quite common here

The infamous Colca Canyon

The infamous Colca Canyon

Beautiful landscape

Beautiful landscape

Marvellous Colca Canyon

Marvellous Colca Canyon

Llama woman

Llama woman

1st condor we spotted

1st condor we spotted

flying high in the sky

flying high in the sky

amazing birds - they just float in the air

amazing birds - they just float in the air

And all of a sudden there were so many...

And all of a sudden there were so many...

and even some more a minute later...

and even some more a minute later...

Condors having a rest

Condors having a rest

What a HUGE and IMPRESSIVE bird!

What a HUGE and IMPRESSIVE bird!

And what an UGLY bird at the same time

And what an UGLY bird at the same time

But was more ugly and really annoying were these mutated SUPER HUGE KILLER MOSQUITOS that tried to get me all the time! Ouch!

But was more ugly and really annoying were these mutated SUPER HUGE KILLER MOSQUITOS that tried to get me all the time! Ouch!

© marc and nora L., 2005
You are here : Overview The Americas Peru Arequipa & Colca Canyon
The trip
 
Description:
Hello - 5 more days!!! On the 12th of September we are setting off! Our plan is to travel round the world for a period of 10 months. 1st stop: Thailand (1 month) and cambodia 2nd stop: Via Singapore (overland) to Australia where we plan to stay for approximately 4-5 months. 3rd stop: New Zealand (2 months) (north and south island) 4th stop: South America (approx. 3 months) (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and if time and money allows we might visit costa rica)
Details:
Start of journey: Sep 12, 2005
Duration: 11 months
End of journey: Jul 31, 2006
Travelled countries: world-wide
United Kingdom
Thailand
Malaysia
Cambodia
Singapore
Australia
Australia & Pacific
New Zealand
South America
Chile
Argentina
Bolivia
Peru
Ecuador
Canada
The Author
 
marc and nora L. is an active author on break-fresh-ground. since 19 years.
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