Day 15: Cruz del Cóndor
We were tempted to do nothing today, but wisened-up and realized we didn’t travel all the way to Colca Canyon to NOT afford the final one-hour drive west to Mirador Cruz del Cóndor — a popular site for watching Andean Condors in action. We figured even if the condors didn’t cooperate, we’d still enjoy getting the spectacular views deeper into the canyon. The best time to see the condors is in the morning, and that’s when the Belmond offers the excursion, so be it… that’s when we’ll go.
Informing Wida of our Condor plans
But first, breakfast! Now that we know the secrets of the kitchen menu, we didn’t bother with the buffet (except for some mango) and went straight to our favorites… ordering cappuccinos, eggs benedict with the spicy aji sauce, a fruit smoothie bowl, and the green apple quinoa porridge. We finished right on time and headed over to the reception desk for our 8AM departure.
All aboard the Belmond Condor Party Bus!
Once again, we were the only guests on our excursion today. The drive to Mirador Cruz del Condor took a little under an hour. As we approached the lookout, we stopped at the park entrance to purchase our tickets. They have a well-run system, with workers running up to your vehicle, collecting your money, running to the ticket booth, and running back with your tickets. After a few more minutes of driving along the canyon, our driver Luis parked along the side of the road near the lookout. The Belmond’s decision to decorate their condor van is very smart, because every other vehicle parked along the road was one of those omni-present white “Service Turistico” vans. We were free to roam and return when we were finished.
Immediately after getting out of the van, there were condors. A park ranger pointed us towards a group of people watching a couple condors sitting very close to the edge of the lookout. Despite the crowds, we still got a great view (being tall goes a long way in Peru). We stayed in that first general area for a while as a multitude of condors flew overhead.
Condors immediately spotted
Calling this Condor meeting to order!
A staircase and path led down the cliffside to another lookout area. We checked it out to get some different views of the condors and the canyon. Both looked great. We put our monoculars to good use for excellent close-up views of the Andean Condors in flight. Eventually, with so many condors in the air, we began challenging ourselves to get selfies with the condors. Very Fun.
Lower observation deck
Condor selfie #1
Condor selfie #2
Condor selfie #3
Condor selfie #4
After about 45 minutes of jam-packed Andean Condor action, the birds called it a day and dispersed rather quickly — as did the crowds. Turns out the hotel is dead-on when it comes to the best time to view the condors. We saw a few strays remaining, but even those were on their way out. We used the empty viewing areas to get a few more good looks at the canyon. This isn’t the deepest part of Colca Canyon, but from the viewpoint at 3270 meters, the Rio Colca is looking pretty thin down at 2000 meters.
Where’d all the condors go?
Where’d all the people go?
Two talons way up for Mirador Cruz del Condor
On the return journey, we stopped at a different lookout with more great canyon views. This area was back outside the official park area, so there is more residential agriculture and terracing to see next to the Rio Colca.
Heading east back toward Maca
Passing thru the town of Maca, Luis made a pit stop for us to continue Matt’s search for a 100% baby alpaca sweater. This town is known locally for their markets, so fingers-crossed! The first shop had promise, but no sweaters that fit. Instead, a stone condor was added to our little stone animal collection. We also found a store with a perfect condor magnet for the fridge. Minor victories.
Maca town church
Market street
But we really wanted that alpaca sweater. So we walked down the market, ducking into each store that didn’t look like it was selling mass-produced stuff. We were almost out of shops when we found the sister shop to the one Jorge suggested in Chivay. They had the legit Alpaca, but nothing was fitting. Ls were too small, XLs were not the right style, etc. Before walking away, we tried on one more L, which was surely going to be too small. But somehow, it fit perfectly! Some half-hearted negotiating ensued, and with two charming alpaca magnets thrown in, Matt walked out of the place wearing it triumphantly. And that, dear blog reader, is surely more than you cared to know about our quest for the perfect dark red, 100% baby alpaca sweater. Full-zip!!
Perfect sweater weather today
Luis finished driving us back to the hotel and we had the rest of the day to enjoy the property. Our very busy afternoon itinerary included: feeding the alpacas again at 2:30PM, walking along the canyon trail, wandering through the vegetable garden, and watching the Peruvian Paso Horse “Dancing/Stepping” show in the courtyard — featuring Pascual riding Bailarine (Jo’s horse from yesterday)!
Wida! I just got this awesome baby alpaca sweater!!!!
We also walked through the spa to check out the pool, but it was a bit cloudy today, and without that completely unobstructed midday sunshine from the last couple days, it now makes sense why all the locals say it’s cold. So we decided against a swim. Back to the house it is!
Condor keychain
Today’s complementary Belmond activity was a pisco tasting at 7PM. Today is Friday, so several more guests have arrived and there were 10 of us at the tasting. The word pisco is a Quechuan word for birds. It’s made from distilling grapes (any of eight varieties) in a process that is similar to wine or champagne, but takes extra steps to make it a Liquor. There are pure versions, which are made from a single variety of grape, and blends which tends to be better for cocktails.
The traditional recipe for a pisco sour is 3oz pisco, 1 oz lime juice, 1 oz simple syrup, and eggs whites. Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass and add a few drops of bitters on top. The bartender made one as an example/demonstration, and then had one of the guests make another. The brave volunteer was about 18 and managed to get the job done with some prompting from the group. Meanwhile, the kitchen staff made a pisco sour for everyone else. As expected, it was quite tasty.
We moved over to our favorite dinner table by the fireplace and made our choices for tonight. For Jo, pumpkin and orange salad, quinoa risotto, and an orange mousse dessert. For Matt, shrimp chowder, rocoto relleno, and another crack at ponderaciones for dessert.
STILL Making People Happy CONFIRMED!
We returned to our casita where we lightly packed and lightly blogged to the midnight hour. We don’t leave until 11AM tomorrow morning, so we weren’t too worried about having everything in order before we dozed off to sleep. Good night condors!
