Day 5
Sunday we had time for breakfast in the hotel restaurant. They have a nice buffet that includes omelets and eggs cooked to order. I only ate a light breakfast because I'd been experiencing a loss of appetite. I attributed it to the high altitude, but figured out later that it is a side effect of the acetazolamide I'd been taking to prevent altitude sickness, so I was half right. We finished breakfast in time to meet with our guide Romulo for the condor canyon tour. He was prompt this time at 8:30 am. After our Machu Picchu tour Saturday, Jennifer and I agreed that the horseback option was a good idea and contacted Romulo Saturday night to request it. Sunday morning he told us he hadn't been able to get in touch with the horse provider but he would continue to try.
We got into Romulo's minibus and drove a short way until we collected another couple, Abdel and Mercedes, who were joining us on the tour. The 5 of us drove for about an hour to the
Quillarumiyoq site of an Inca temple of the moon. Romulo walked us on a tour of the site and explained how it connected with the Inca religion. The climb up the hillside to get to the site took some effort, but the walk back was easy.
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| Inca terraces |
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| Moon temple |
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| Moon temple waterfall |
We got back in the minibus and drove about another hour to Limatambo where we stopped for lunch. It was a small quaint restaurant with outdoor tables and a woman cooking in an outdoor stone oven. The food was good. Jennifer had a vegetarian plate of vegetables and rice, while I had thin sliced bistec, with potatoes and rice. We all sipped some
Chicha Morada, a sweet drink made from purple corn.
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| Lunch stop |
After lunch we got in the bus for the final leg of the journey. We drove to the mountain village of Chonta, over 11,000 feet high. We continued even higher up the mountainside until we reached the Condor Canyon entrance building. We signed for our tickets and began the 3km trek along a narrow mountain trail to the viewing area above the Apurimac canyon. Fortunately Romulo was successful in arranging for the horses and we were met at the beginning of the trail by a guide with 2 horses. Looking back now, I doubt I could have completed the journey on foot. There were a lot of slopes that would have given me trouble.
We reached the viewing area after about an hour on the trail. It was a foot only trail down to the viewpoint near the canyon edge, but it wasn't too hard since it was downhill. Another viewpoint was even closer to the canyon but farther down the slope, so considering the return climb necessary, I decided to stay at the intermediate stop. Jennifer however continued all the way. We started to spot condors right away. Most were pretty far away but they were recognizable. One actually flew relatively close. Jennifer had a good view down into the canyon and could see them soaring sometimes in pairs. None came up as high as the viewpoint but she captured some good pictures with her telephoto lens. I think we stayed about 1.5 hours and left when the condor activity seemed to decrease. The climb back up to where we left the horses was strenuous. It was a narrow switchback trail and I had to stop and rest at nearly every turn. But I made it up and was happy to see a horse waiting for me. Jennifer opted to walk for part of the way. We started back and Jennifer got on her horse when we got to viewpoint #1. (We did our viewing from viewpoint #2) The trip back seemed quicker to me. We reached the trail head and got back in the minibus for the ride home. As we were starting back Romulo noticed an eagle perched on a rock by the road. We stopped and Jennifer was able to capture a few pictures.
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| Viewing from up close |
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| Viewing from afar |
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| Condor |
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| Condor |
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| Condor |
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| Eagle |
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| Trailblazers |
It was dark for the drive back and I fell asleep for a while. When we got to Limatambo, we stopped to pick up Romulo's sister who needed a ride to Cusco. She got on the bus with her 6 month old baby. The baby fell asleep and was quiet the whole trip to Cusco. We dropped them off about 15 minutes before we reached our hotel in central Cusco. The other couple got dropped off when we were about 5 minutes away. When we arrived at the hotel around 8:30 pm we thanked Romulo for the amazing experience and promised to recommend him when we could. Jennifer and I had dinner at the hotel restaurant and selected a cozy table near the fireplace by the bar. I had some fish and chips, and Jennifer opted for dessert for dinner. We didn't stay up too late because we had a 7:30 pickup Monday for the Sacred Valley tour.
