A more relaxed couple of days as we adjusted to the altitude - we were at 3600 metres for most of the time, at which point we all felt the effects - shallow breath, headaches, feeling tired and having interrupted sleep. We travelled up from Arequipa to Chivay in the Colca Canyon area, about four hours drive, seeing some spectacular landscape. The road took us up to just over 4900 metres, and the Five Volcanoes Viewpoint, where just walking around to take a photo made me feel out of breath. The most spectacular of the volcanoes, Sabancaya, constantly emitted a plume of steam, visible from around the airport and from our hotel room.
The town of Chivay was a lovely relaxed place, with a small market where we walked round inspecting the fruit, olives and cheese that we bought for picnic lunches. We went into an alpaca wool shop and one of the group bought a couple of woolen hats, helped by the shopkeeper's 3 year old daughter who modelled them for him. When we went into the shop she was the only one there and was showing us her pet rabbit before her mother arrived.
On the first afternoon we took a stroll from our hotel down to a hot springs, which consisted of three pools, one enclosed and the other two shaded against the sun. The water was pleasantly warm, not boiling, and we enjoyed resting in the sunshine and cool breeze, with a few Peruvian children splashing around and a group of bemused Brits - until a camera crew arrived with a herd of schoolchildren (for moral education, the lady said) at which point we made our excuses... As we trudged up the hill greeting the villagers and farmers we were overtaken by an old lady bringing her donkey and cattle home, which brought home how much altitude training we still had to do.
On the next morning we went to explore the Colca Canyon. Its depth goes to over 4 km, but where we went was "only" 1 km. Even more impressive than the actual canyon were the traces of human civilisation - steep winding paths along the edge of the canyon, and an amazing network of terraces which had been cultivated over the centuries.
I watched enviously as a fitter couple from our group went on a hike into the canyon for the day, and settled into the main activity that bus loads of tourists come to Colca for - to catch a glimpse of the condor. As the land warms up and the thermals start, they can normally be seen gliding in and above the canyon. December isn't a great time - it's mating season for them - but after an hour, and then when we went we were rewarded by a glimpse of one, then two of them. A good sighting, but of course better to be experiencing them in a less contrived setting.
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