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We set off at the relatively late time of 8.30 (!) and had a private bus, which was nice. This tour of Peru is actually divided up into kind of local tours so for the visit to Colca Canyon we had a local guide. He was very informative and told us loads of information during our 5 hour drive into the canyon, unfortunately most of which I have forgotten now! The drive took us through some beautiful scenery and was surrounded by volcanoes. At one stage we were at 4,900 metres, the highest altitude we'll see on this trip. Lucky that it wasn't for long as I found myself feeling a little dizzy whilst at the stop there. We had another stop where you could have coca tea, I didn't have any, as it smelled and looked horrible (like pond water if you ask me!) but it is supposed to help you when at altitude....We also saw some wild vicunas, which are the smallest in the camelid family (Alpaca and llama family). On arrival at our hotel we had a buffet lunch, luckily plenty of meat free options, though you could have alpaca off the BBQ. Alpaca makes it on to all the restaurant menus here, someone had it yesterday and said it tasted like a mix of pork and steak. As you can imagine I shall not be trying it! In the afternoon I went for a sleep, as I wasn't feeling particularly good, probably the altitude, we were at 3,600 metres. The others went for a walk, it's to help them start to aclimatise to walking at altitude, ready for the Inca trail (which I am not doing, no way I'd manage it!). Late afternoon there was some sort of traditional parade/celebration in the village (Corporaque) where we were staying. This was interesting to see and the music could be heard into the early hours. Some of the group got pulled in to the parade and had chicha (fermented corn drink) forced upon them- I tried it in Ecuador, can't say it was very nice! Another buffet dinner in the evening and a relaxing hour or two by the log fire, quite cold there, but rooms were also heated. Unfortunately i really didn't sleep very well at all, insomnia can be a sign of altitude sicikness, think I probably had about an hour of solid sleep :-( We had to be up really early, 5am, in order to leave by 6am, for our drive into the main part of Colca Canyon! Again we drove through beautiful scenery and the valleys of the canyon, where there are many terraces, where they farm. It took 2 hours to get to the Cruz del Condor where you can see Andean Condors gliding by. I kind of expected to see one or two but there were actually many more than expected and they were quite a sight, gliding past with the backdrop of blue sky and the canyon. Unfortunately yet again I was not feeling great, bit nauseous and dizzy from the altitude so I skipped the walk along the rim of the canyon and rested on the bus. We had lunch in the small town of Chivay, about 10 minutes from where we were staying then had a little wander. They were preparing the town for a festival, and interestingly were digging holes in the roads to put up decorations on poles. Afterwards I guess they'll just fill in the holes rather than tarmac again. Free time in the afternoon before a visit to the local thermal baths. It was pretty cold by the time we got there (5.30ish) so we started off in the indorr one, but then decided to brave an outdoor one! It was actually ok and quite relaxing, but not as peaceful and scenic as the springs we had at the hotel in Papallacta in Ecuador. Afterwards we went to a restaurant in Chivay, where there was also some Perunivan music and dancing from the local area. Finding dinner for me was tough, they had no trout in and practically everything else was alpaca, beef or chicken. They did have spaghetti but as I'd had that at lunch I asked for a traditional quinoa dish with vegetables instead of the steak. It was pretty disappointing and looked disgusting. It was quinoa mixed with milk and cheese and the portion of vegetables was about 5 green beans, 2 slices of tomato and a few carrots! Very definitely the worst meal I've had. I have to say I'm finding it much harder to eat meat free here than in Ecuador as there seemed to be more veggie choice there and more fish on the menu. Before going back to the hotel we saw the start of the parade in the town, starting festivities before the main day tomorrow.
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