Colca Wasi Kolping Hostel Chivay

... on the road into the Canyon where we enjoyed spectacular rock formations. We then made it up the Patapampa pass where it was snowing! We also learned to tell the difference between Alpacas and Llamas. We then stopped off for lunch at Chivay where I had a delicious Alpaca...<br><br>We were supposed to go on a trek in the canyon but this was called off due to the poor weather. Instead we went to the hot springs in Chivay. Having not had the ...

... br>We cursed as dark rain clouds closed in.<br>We posed for what we thought were artistic photos.<br>We fell asleep on rickety buses as they passed small villages.<br> My day didn't start there. It began when we arrived at Chivay.<br> Chivay is surrounded by mountains. Some of them capped with snow, some without. One of the mountains has a large cross mown into its side.<br> The town is small and ...

... shocked by the whole thing - probably because I have wanted to go to the Canyon since 6th form Geography - I actually pinched myself to ensure it was all real. The landscape and Geology is just magnificant. I took oodles of photos and I do hope they come out ok - most were taken through the bus window. We overnighted there and let at 5.30am this morning for the Canyon.<br><br>Altitude sickness wasnt as bad as I thought, although it still ...

A funny little story...<br><br>we were staying at the guest house with teh alpaca in the garden, and it was really cuddly and cute... if you stroked it, it brushed its head up against you... I felt a little bit bad about eating Alpaca for dinner the night before...<br><br>Anyway, I went to find the guest house lady about some missing socks in my laundry... and there was a british couple outside... the bloke really wanted his ...

... and wheezing like a bagpipe, before resting on the ground for a while.<br><br>Juan, the Alpaca´s owner meanwhile spat at Alpaca and cursed at her for being so naughty. Alpaca spent all night crying at the wrong she had done "No, No, No" it cried, "I´m Sorry". Alpaca was not allowed inside to sleep that night and instead had to freeze in the yard whilst Cat snuggled up with her family by the fire.<br><br>The End.

... complete with Alpaca tied up in the yard. It seems to be remarkably friendly and snuggles up to you like a cat if you stroke it. Quirky.<br> <br>After buggering around town yesterday and realising there are no tours from Chivay, we opted for the local route. A 4;30 am death trap bus roared its way into the terminal in the dark and we jumped on it just in time for the back seat again. Our taxi didn´t turn up at 4am and we´d had to ...

After deciding we didnt want to stay in Arequipa, we got the local 3 hour bus to Chivay, not really knowing what to expect - we arrived in teh little dusty town of Chivay in Canyonland and found a little hostal with an alpaca in the courtyard, and chose the middle of the range room with hot water from 7-9am in the morning (which means no hot water really!)<br><br>The young girl talked ten to the dozen in Sanish to try and sell us a trip ...

... had planned for the next day.<br> The one crazy thing that we noticed though, about Cabanaconde and the preceeding villages was that while the all the houses were barely small and poorly built with corrugated iron held down with rocks for roofs, the churches were these huge splendorous buildings, painted white and clearly where all the money goes in the village. They really stood out.<br> Anyway, the next morning we got up at 6am to make sure we ...

Hola!!!<br><br>Quick trip to the Farmarcia this morning to pick up some tablets for Kate, should make her feel better in no time!!!<br><br>After one day in Arequipa we caught a private bus transfer to the Colca Canyon, the jouney only takes about 5 hours however it´s along some of the bumpiest roads you are ever likely to see, our tour guide tells us that for Peru the road is not too bad!!!!<br><br>We stop at along the ...

... is not all bad and leads through the natural reserve of Salinas y Aguadas Blancas. The reserve is a vast field of land with volcanoes and vicunas, another species of llama. The air is incredibly dusty, and the landscape seems to be distorted - it's a kind of vision you experience when it's really hot and you are focusing your sight on some distant point right above the asphalt road. I get to see some vicunas, which ...