Day 7 and 8

Day 7 and 8: Chivay and the Colca Canyon

We arrived to Chivay after a 5 hour bus ride from Arequipa. We will spend 2 nights here. It is beautiful, a quieter feel, small markets, Peruvians in traditional bright costumes. On the way we gained a ton of elevation, passing over 5000m. We all bought coco leaves to chew, which is supposed to really help with the elevation, and is what the locals use. A lot of people got sick to their stomach, an effect of the elevation, but I felt fine. The markets here are cheap and I've been cutting down on costs by making avocado tomato sandwiches for each meal instead of so many restaurants. The hotel is the nicest so far, although very cold. A lot of the girls have been sleeping in down jackets and fleeces. It gets pretty warm here during the day but really cold at night. I haven't proven to be a good canadian, walking around shivering and complaining. 

The second day we went to Colca canyon, famous for spotting condors. A large vulture with a 1m wingspan. Our guide informed us we usually see 1-3 of the birds, and would be lucky too see 4-5. They fly between 8-9 am, and there are less than 45 birds in the valley. We saw 27, all circling together. This apparently broke a record. In the afternoon, after a meal of an avocado sandwich, we visited a hot springs, which was followed by a meal of an avocado sandwich. Went back to the cold hotel and slept in my warmest machu pichu clothes, before waking up and having an avocado sandwich.

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