On Wed 13th July, we left for the Colca Canyon at 8am and were picked up by the tour company 'Colca Trek' in a 16 seater minibus. We were expecting there to be a coach full but it was just Ray and I and an American couple from Boston called Matt and Erica. Our guide for the next two days was a lovely girl called Salome. As we left Arequipa, Salome started to explain to us about the history of the volcanos; El Misti and Chachani and the sacrifices the people made to them, the canyon, the way of life over the years in the area, Inca history, pre Inca history, the Spanish invasion amongst other topics and she was brilliant. We had a 3 hour journey ahead but we were so engrossed in what she had to say that the time went by really quickly. Our first stop on the road from Arequipa to the Colca canyon was at the most weird and wonderful rock formations . In each rock you could see (with a little imagination) a face, bird, animal or a person doing something (such as sitting on the loo thinking!!...honest..I saw it!!. All around were wild alpaca, little vicuña (small llamas), and big llamas. All we had seen up to this point were the ones that the locals had chained up and decorated for touristy photo opportunities in exchange for 1 soles (about 35p) As we climbed higher and higher I began to feel really peculiar and by the time we got out at the next spot to see an weird plant that looked like a giant luminous green sponge, I felt like I was going to pass out. I had to sit on a rock for a bit, walking and talking was an effort (no bad thing I hear you cry!!). but I felt a right wimp until it was apparent that all four of us were feeling the same way. We were informed by Salome that we were now at an altitude of 4910 meters and were suffering from altitude sickness. The next stop would be down hill..(a bit!) We got back on the bus and Salome gave us each a very strange looking fruit called Granadilla. It was a Peruvian passion fruit but looked like an alien slime pod....tasted ok though...bit slurpy and pippy! We arrived in a lovely little village called Chivay where we stopped for lunch. I drank copius amounts of coca leaf tea which really sorted out my altitude sickness but tasted a bit like moss. Back in the minibus we headed for Cruz Del Condor in the hope that we would catch these incredible birds flying over head........nothing...actually there was one (apparently) but I didnt see it...it was probably a crow or something! We stopped for a walk through a local village and a very boisterous puppy followed us all the way. When it came time for us to get back on the bus the puppy jumped in. It took the guide and the driver pushing him from the rump (whilst he pushed himself back from the paws) to get him out ..poor thing... he obviously thought life would be better away from the canyon village...little does he know how good he's got it!! We trekked a bit of the canyon at twilight, wheezing and puffing our way up the canyon edge. It was and is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The view at twilight was breathtaking , the flowers , the smell, there were long tailed rabbits and humming birds, just amazing........I honestly cant find the words to write to describe how wonderful it was there I just wouldnt do the place justice.....but it was totally awe inspiring. We managed to wheeze our way to the viewpoint where our guide and driver had flasks of Coca leaf tea and home made biscuits...so very welcome...and we stood in the pitch black and beautiful silence of the canyon and stared up at the nights sky. Again, breathtaking. We were told that the two stunningly bright stars above our heads were called 'the eyes of the llama'...a magical end to an amazing day. We were driven to our little hotel in a old cut off village called Cabanaconde. Getting out of the bus the temperature had plummeted and the hotel and our rooms were absolutely freezing. Dressed in puffer jackets and thermals we headed for our evening meal and free pisco sours...very strong, but very welcome. Whilst eating our supper the tv in the corner was playing Peru's answer to Stars in their Eyes..absolutely hilarious..John Bon Jovi..Inca style...brilliant!!!...then off to our icy bedrooms...it turned out that the heavy handmade Peruvian blankets we were given were designed to take the job on and we were completely snug all night. The next morning, Ray complained of being biten in the night on his ankle, we automatically thought mozzy but no...from underneath his blankets crawled a rather large spider!!...he looked a bit beaten up so we think he had taken a hammering from Rays legs kicking him off while he tried to have his hairy legged midnight feast!... After brekkie we climbed up and around the village to another fantastic view point taking in the local cemetary on the way. Sounds a bit grim but it was a beautiful place. These people believe in celebrating the lives of the dead as well as the living. Once a year they have a life day and a death day. On the day of life all the people go to the cemetary and celebrate having known the people there and share food and drink and have a rare 'ol' knees up. The next day offerings are made to the graves of the loved ones and its believed that the souls come back and drink and eat the offerings. Apparently the souls who return are in the shape of flies....well that figures!!...anyway..nice story, wouldn't it be great if we adopted that custom???. Back on the bus we returned to Cruz Del Condor in the hope the condors would be flying..we parked up and and as we got out of the bus we witnessed five or six of these most amazing creatures soaring high above the canyon right above our heads, gliding gracefully upwards using the warm thermal currents as they hunted their prey. They swooped right over us and we saw how magnificent they are. Beautiful birds with a wing span of around 10ft. Silent. I could have stayed there all day. Our last touristy stop was at the thermal hot springs in the heart of the valley. It was lovely to just sit in the baking sunshine and wallow in the pools for an hour surrounded by stunning scenery. We headed back to Chivay for lunch again. Different restaurant this time with extra scrummy, authentic Peruvian dishes. I stayed on the veggie path but Ray decided that guinea pig was the way forward. He said it was a very tasty piece of meat but I could nt help noticing the little paw still attched as it entered his mouth.....eugh!! The kids used to have guinea pigs; Jake and Elwood and Ren and Stimpy, it just didn't seem right to chow down on pets...Stimpy would turn in his grave!! After lunch we spotted the cutest baby llama. Now normally I would steer away from paying money to photograph a captive kept creature but his name was Pepe and he was so so gorgeous and he kept making a beeping sound, so for that reason I put 1 soles into the tip bag around his neck and snapped away!!...morals straight out of the window when it comes to cuteness!! Back on the bus and heading back to Arequipa we exchanged emails with Erica and Matt who were lovely, very interesting people and great company to share this amazing trip with. Hopefully we will be able to keep in touch and share our photos. So , as you can tell from the length of this latest rambling, this was the most beautiful, emotional, breathtaking even spiritual trip that I have ever been on and one that I shall never forget and if my children are reading this ...you MUST put the Colca Canyon, Peru on your to do list immediately!!