Colca, Part 1

¡Hola! Hace mucho tiempo que no escribimos. Sorry for the delay, it has been quite a week. We've both been recovering from various maladies, and working hard for our classes. There is so much to post; our trip was incredible.
Colca is one of the most spectacular places I've ever visited, one where your eyes simply can't quite grasp the scale of what they are seeing. It was also a good lesson in Peruvian history and culture, and a chance to see a more rural lifestyle here. The pictures surely won't do it justice, but here's our trip.

It was a 5-hour ride with several stops through the mountains to get there. At every stop there were women selling handmade clothing, blankets and assorted souvenirs. The highest pass we went over was at 16,000 ft, where you can really feel the lack of oxygen.

These are vicuñas, the rarer and (I think) more beautiful cousin of the alpaca and llama. Their fur is very fine and expensive - thankfully they are shorn and not killed for it.

This sweet little girl and her lamb were selling handicrafts and photo opportunities at an overlook. I bought a little musical instrument called an ocarina from her.

The town of Chivay, gateway to the Colca valley. All tours come through here, so it was a bit overrun. Still, incredibly beautiful. This is the beginning of the canyon. Most of the valley is terraced for agriculture, supposedly done even before the Incas.

We spent the night at a small hotel just outside of Chivay, and in the evening visited la calera, naturally heated baths. Even Noah enjoyed going for a swim. This is our group - the three of us, Aimee and her Canadian friend Andrianne, and David Speyers (not pictured).

The following morning we got up very early and started the drive along the rim of the canyon. This is the first town we came to, Yanque, just as the moon was setting over the mountains. From here the scenery started getting pretty incredible, but that will have to wait for the next blog. Chau for now.