Colca...Colca Can-canyon-(sing to the tune of Copacabana)

Kiah and I awoke in the little sleepy town of Chivay multiple times throughout the night for various reasons. Our alarm officially went off at 5:00 and we slowly dragged ourselves out of bed. The night before we realized that our toilet leaked so we did everything we could to avoid the bathroom as we got ready. The other nifty thing about this hostel was that it was freezing in the public areas because one of the windows above the doors was completely missing. Although that hostel in Chivay was the worst one we have stayed at in all of our hostel life, it didn't look like the worst one in Chivay.

We ate our bread and tea (and I cannot wait for a breakfast that offers me something else than bread) and were off to drive around Colca Canyon. Colca Canyon is a canyon in Peru that is twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. We visited three different cities inside the canyon and each one was smaller than the other. There were Quechua women selling the opportunity to have you picture taken with alpacas, hawks, and llamas. You could also buy your Peruvian goods to take back home if the mood suited you. 

After visiting the little sleepy towns of Colca Canyon we went to this Condor Sancatuary. The condors fly around the deepest part of the canyon and tourists wait in various locations waiting for a picture of one of the condors. What did you learn today you ask?  I learned that the pre-adult condors are brown and the adult condors are black with a white streak around their neck and back. The female condors have redish brownish eyes and the males have black eyes. And now we all know how to tell a male and female adult or pre-adult condor apart. And yes, I did get a picture of one of the condors. 

We had lunch and Kiah and I slept on and off until we got back to Arequipa. We were to be dropped off at the airport. The van that we were in stopped down the street from the airport (maybe 3 or 4 blocks away)....(oh and let me add that it was a main street that runs through the town) and Paola (our tourguide) pointed and said "there is the airport. You can walk but it's a little far, let me get a taxi." and she called a taxi over to us and we climbed in. We arrived at the airport 4 hours early for our flight. Unable to check in until 2 hours before our flight, we played cards and hung out at the lovely Arequipa airport. 

Bon voyage Arequipa.