Arequipa and Condors

Condor at Colca Canyon,
originally uploaded by Hol Riz.

Arequipa is known as the white city and is overshadowed by volcano El Misti. We immediately felt a good vibe about the city and managed to secure a great hotel in the middle of the town along with some of the guys we went sand boarding with.

We spent a couple of lazy days washing our pants and socks. We visited the local Ice mummy museum and saw the frozen body of an Inca sacrifice found ontop of the local mountains. The body was 1500 years old and perfectly preserved...Yuk! We also visited a monastery that took up a whole city block. An oasis of peace in the city.

On the third day we took a bus at 2am to meet a tour group leaving for the Colca Canyon (Worlds deepest canyon and home of the mighty condor). The bus went over 4500M and we have never been so cold in our lives. Thoroughly underdressed we huddled together for warmth for 3 painful hours. The next day when we got to the canyon though it was worth it as we got got great views and an upclose encounter with a flock of condors, whose wing spans measure up to 3M! Wow! Check out the photos!

Next we are heading to Cuzco the capital of the Incas (3500M).

Luv Holland and Becky