Just three hours from Arequipa, we stayed one night in the charming little village of Chivay. The goal was to get up early the next morning and travel to, and spend most of the morning at a place called Cruz del Condor. This is supposed to be the best place in South America to see Andean Condors. The trip to Chivay was unexpectedly spectacular. The Peruvians really do have a tough challenge with few national resources, a large amount of poverty, and a country dissected by a massive mountain range. Every road seems to require a big engineering effort and associated cost, traversing very steep mountain slopes. We had some unusual travellers on the bus with us for part of the way, comprising a few young girls and two young alpacas, one being fed with a bottle. The village was great. We spent the early evening relaxing in a hot spring pool 3km from the village. It seemed like every other gringo in the vicinity , and some locals, were there as well.Monday, June 16, 2008
Chivay
Just three hours from Arequipa, we stayed one night in the charming little village of Chivay. The goal was to get up early the next morning and travel to, and spend most of the morning at a place called Cruz del Condor. This is supposed to be the best place in South America to see Andean Condors. The trip to Chivay was unexpectedly spectacular. The Peruvians really do have a tough challenge with few national resources, a large amount of poverty, and a country dissected by a massive mountain range. Every road seems to require a big engineering effort and associated cost, traversing very steep mountain slopes. We had some unusual travellers on the bus with us for part of the way, comprising a few young girls and two young alpacas, one being fed with a bottle. The village was great. We spent the early evening relaxing in a hot spring pool 3km from the village. It seemed like every other gringo in the vicinity , and some locals, were there as well.