Condors, Canyons and a Smoking Volcano

We have an early start to go to the Colca Valley, which is a 6 hour drive. Our guide, Yanira, meets us and we start our long journey. We do have a few stop-offs on the way, where we see some flamingos, alpacas, llamas, vicugnas and a weird looking mammel called a northern viscacha. The altitude gets higher as we climb the mountains, where we do have a final photo-shoot at a height of 4910m - the highest we have been so far. We then spot a plume of smoke in the distance and Yanira says it's an active volcano called Sabancaya; it last fully erupted in 1990. We stay in the wonderful Belmond Las Casitas, that overlooks the Colca Valley. After a Pisco Sour making lesson at the hotel in the evening, the next day at 7am we go to Condor Cross and specifically Cruz del Condor to see some condors flying in the canyon. They are magnificent birds, just gliding through the thermal air, looking for food (and we see a dead horse that the condors would appreciate for breakfast!). We then head on to Yanque, with a church that has a baroque facade, but still includes references to Inca culture. It is here that Diane can't resist another picture with an Alpaca (just for the cuddle!).

In the afternoon we have a stroll around the gardens at the hotel, which is where we saw a hut full of Cuy (guinea pig). Cuy is a Puruvian delicacy that we have seen being advertised throughout our visit to the country, but yet to try........yet! Later on, Keith has a cooking lesson (Quinotto with yellow pepper cream sauteed alpaca - that was delicious). The next morning, we both feed the llamas and alpacas at the hotel with warm milk out of baby bottles. Then it's off to Arequipa on our 4 hour journey, stopping off at Patapampa (only 4800m) for an Inka tea, that consists of various herbs including the coca leaf and andean mint. The tea is meant to help the digestion and good for the altitude. We then head southwards and go around the range of mountains and volcanos that include Chachani, Misti and Pichu Pichu, which our guide explains contain a history about Inca culture and sacrifice we will explore over the next couple of days in Arequipa. We arrive at our hotel, Casa Andina Premium, which was once a colonial house and still has some wonderful original features. As it's still light, we go for a stroll to the Plaza de Armas, which is a lovely square with many bars and restaurants. As we still lack an appetite, we share a pizza (that we can see being made) at La Despensa, which was really good and ticked the box.