The Adventures of Kerri & Matt – Page 264

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Colca Canyon

Posted on March 6, 2015 10:06 am by Kerri Comment

This morning we went to Colca Canyon.

To look for condors.

We saw lots of other birds while waiting.

And heard even more.

There were big hummingbirds. Apparently they can grow up to 20cm here!

They drink the nectar from these purple flowers.

These are their nests.

The cactuses they nest in are think and brambled.

But their flowers are very pretty.

There were also funky bugs.

About 9:15 AM clouds started to form in the canyon.

Then it started rising upward.

It is these updrafts that the condors ride. They nest high in the cliffs, then glide slowly in circles as the drafts take them upward. This saves energy because they don’t have to flap their giant wings.

Condors are the world’s second largest bird by wingspan, averaging about 3m.

At this viewpoint, you could barely see anything through the crowd. But then two large condors flew right past us. We did not have the camera out.

The white patches on the wings don’t appear until they are adults. This one is probably a male because they are very prominent.

You can also tell he is a male because he has a comb on the back of his head.

The heads are bald and quite ugly looking, so it’s OK we didn’t get a picture up close.

They are very popular as a symbol, and are on the coat of arms of Ecuador, Chile, Columbia, Bolivia and Peru.

This is because they look very majestic flying (and not flapping) and because they mate for life.

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The Route to the Colca Canyon

Posted on March 5, 2015 1:09 pm by Kerri Comment

This is the town of Chivay in the mountains and where we stayed for a night.

It has 8000 people, all farmers. (Though there is a growing tourism industry for the Colca canyon).

The farms (and walls) are over 600 years old.

Everywhere you looked there were terraces.

Since we were here in the rainy season everything was still green and growing.

We had many stops along the way to check out the canyon as the river wound through area.

The whole valley is quite deep so the views were spectacular.

The Colca canyon is one of the deepest canyons but the sides are much more gradually slopped as opposed to the grand canyon which have very vertical sides. This is partially due to the seismic activity in the area which regularly causes rockslides and workers were clearing the road from some debris that had fallen recently.

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Highest Point

Posted on March 5, 2015 12:58 pm by Kerri Comment

This is the highest point we are likely to reach on our trip, at 4910m above sea level. It is over 500m higher than the highest point in the rockies, and 741m higher than Mauna Loa, our previous highest point. From here you can see several even higher points.

This is Vulcan Hualca Hualca, which is 6025m.

This is Vulcan Sabancayo, at 5976m.

This is Volcan Ampato, at 6288m.

This would be Volcan Chachani, at 6075m.

These are the highest washrooms in Peru, at 4915m. They have no doors, and the toilet is just a hole in the ground.

This is Kerri and Matt, at 4912m.

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Pisco Sours

Posted on March 4, 2015 7:01 pm by Kerri Comment

This evening our group leader Carol taught us to make Pisco Sours.

Pisco is a type of white brandy. Grape wine is distilled to 42% alcohol. Pisco acholado is the best type to use for Pisco Sours, it is made from a blend of different types of grape. We used a 2L bottle but had 500mL left over.

We bought 3kg of limes for $4.80 at the local market.

750mL Jarabe de Goma (sugar syrup)

1.5L of ice cubes

2 egg whites.

Wash the limes.

Slice them in half.

Squeeze the juice into a bowl.

Do not squeeze too aggressively because you don’t want the bitterness from the peel.

Strain the lime juice.

Into a blender pour 3 parts pisco, 2 parts lime juice, 1 part syrup.

Blend for 10 seconds.

Taste. Add more syrup if necessary .

Add ice and a small amount of egg white and blend.

Pour into glasses. We garnished the glasses with sugar and lime slices.

Before drinking you have to do the traditional toast.

Hold glass up high: Arriba!

Hold glass low: A bajo!

Hold glass in the middle: A centro!

Drink: Al dentro!

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Arequipa Market

Posted on March 4, 2015 8:48 am by Kerri Comment

As a part of our orientation and walking tour we went to the market. It was very organized into different areas. Those for fish.

The area for organ meats.

The beautiful area for fruits. They also were the nicest looking fruits we had seen so far. The pomegranates needed to be eaten but we kept it to just buying one to eat that night.

This was a fruit from the coast valley called chirimoya, but didn’t have any so no idea what it tastes like.

They had lots of aguaymanto.

And the rest but these ones are much easier to identify as most of these are at home.

In Peru they have a few types of potatoes. The Inkas actually cultivated over 100 varieties, there were quite a few available here.

They also have lots of types of corn, including the purple corn which is used for juice.

There were other types of corn and grains available.

Some kernels were more purple than others.

There was also a section where flowers were sold.

These are coca leaves. Locally they are chewed with a bit of an alkaline substance to release a small dose of cocaine, which acts as a stimulant and is supposed to relieve altitude sickness. They are also sometimes used to make tea. Internationally they are illegal, because they are used to make cocaine.

Some members of our group tried frog juice. It involves putting a boiled frog in a blender.

With soy milk, chia, and miscellaneous powders purported to cure things.

To make a disgusting looking drink.

Those that did try it did not seem thrilled. They described it as tasting like a warm milkshake, or a protein shake. Possibly due to the graininess of the seeds, or perhaps the ground bones of the frog.

The last section of the market was the witches market, which contained a collection of decorated llama fetuses.

Necklaces and bracelets.

Llama fetus skeletons.

Little bags of random Catholic paraphernalia.

Big bags of random Catholic paraphernalia.

And herbal supplements. Yes, all at the same tiny little booth.

This llama fetus got a diaper for some reason.

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