So it was time to hit the road again...
...luckily for us it was only a 5hr trip.
On our way, we got our first view of alpacas, llamas, and vicuñas, which are all basically the same animal, just different sizes.
As you can sort of see on the map, we were to drive the red line from Arequipa around Chachani and El Misti to Imata. From Imata is was all uphill to Patapampa (our highest elevation for the entire trip; 4913m) and back down to Chivay for lunch, and on to our hotel in Yanque.The next morning we would drive the blue line, then after watching the condors (and tons of other wildlife), we would drive all the way back to Imata, and make a turn towards Puno and Lake Titicaca.
Roaming alpacas with El Misti as backdrop.
A stray dog with a pack of alpacas/llamas/sheep in the background...We would have to get used to these dogs (and their barking), as they were everywhere. Just imagine a whole town littered with stray dogs, when one starts barking... well you understand. We would be in the middle of absolutely no where... and I mean no where, yet every mile or so another dog would be waiting next to (or sometimes in the middle of) the road, like little living statues that adorn the roads into and out of the mountains. Truck drivers (as well as some of our bus drivers) throw scraps of food to the passing dogs, as the belief is if that they bring good luck for the driving ahead.
"Could you pass the sugar please...?"
We had also stopped along the way, to pick up our first
coca leaves... which are chewed, actually not really chewed... you stick a wad of leaves along with ilucta (a preparation of the ashes of the quinoa plant, which softens the astringent flavor of the coca leaves and activates the alkaloids) into your gum (see self-portrait; bottom-left), and let it sit there for as long as possible. Coca is as much part of culture as wine is to France, with the added benefit that it boosts energy and has medicinal and healing properties, like acclimatization for example. It doesn't taste all that great, kind of like sucking on tea leaves, but then after a good half an 
hour of chewing, you get the same sensation as novocaine, as it begins to numb your mouth.I fed some so the llama/alpaca (see right) in exchange for a kiss, but I guess he wasn't interested... or just playing hard-to-catch.
It wasn't until 1860, when a German scientist came along and successfully extracted the chemical that made coca, into something a little more harsh; cocaine.
I chewed for as long as I could, then spat it out:
That morning I had already had some of my first coca tea. So I was ahead of the coca program.
Which, according to the label, had many medicinal properties, including: "restorative and energetic, excellent for diet (?), digestive, anti-diarrhea, acts against fatigue & altitude sicknees, tiredness of voice, and regulates the metabolism to carbohidrate."Sure, I don't know what half that really means... and no I didn't misspell sickness or carbohydrate, they did. What surprises me more is that they got 'diarrhea' correct, but messed up on 'sickness'.
360-degree-panoramic view of Patapampa (4913m / 16,120 ft). What was also interesting, was that because this was the highpoint, you can see stacks of stones
almost as far as you can see in the image, this was done as a prayer for loved ones that have passed away (I stacked some in memory of my grandmother). I say interesting, because in Tibet there was a similar religious practice, as people would walk a specific holy route with a stone which had a prayer painted on it.From Patapampa is was all down hill. Quite literally.
As we all started moving a little slower and breathing a little heavier we began our descent into the town of Chivay.
Speaking of downhill, present day Peru/Bolivia is where they first domesticated cuyos for food, which were then later brought back to the rest of the world as exotic pets, I had to chance to taste one for myself. I don't recommend it all that much.
Oh yeah, cuyo is Spanish for guinea pig.
I basically guinea pigged myself with guinea pig... and no, it doesn't taste like chicken.... more like duck actually; thick skin and fatty.
It was at a buffet-style lunch, so I just had to try one of tasty-lookin' chicken wings.
If you want to see the proper guinea pig dish, check out the image below, which is what a braver individual ordered:
Koen, who not only took this photo, but ultimately ate it too, has a website along with his girlfriend Nynke, at: http://www.dantuma.net/.
Yanque was a tiny little village... no stores, no restaurants, no pavement. Just a hotel for us gringos. We went for a walk around before eating dinner and going off to the natural hot springs of Chivay.
Who needs barbed wire, when you can just grow some cacti on a wall.
A typical dwelling, minus the bird, which was my first up-close encounter with a predatory bird... although I'm not sure if its a hawk, falcon, or an eagle...?An even closer encounter with the feathered kind...
That bird was massive... those claws, that wing-span... thank god I'm not a small rodent chillin' the mountains somewhere. This is a [domesticated] Black-chested Buzzard-eagle.After our walk through Yanque, we had dinner in Chivay... and lucky for me, some people were late getting to the bus, perfect timing too, as the sun had just set behind the mountains so I got to take advantage of my famed MagicHour:
Back on the bus...
...we were about to have our first proper relaxing session: La Calera natural hot springs.
The water was kept naturally at a temperature of 38C (100F), which was amazingly relaxing... along with a cerveza and all my aches and pains melted away. Until I had to get out. Let's just say it was kinda cold.
When I got back to the hotel, I was amazed at the sky... the stars. It was crazy. I had never really thought about it, but they are amazing bright and clear in the middle of nowhere... and I mean really in the middle of no where. Then add the fact that you're already halfway to airline cruising altitude, so not only are you closer than you ever will be, but there is less atmosphere in between you and space, so everything is clear.
I had already been prepared for the fact that due to the high elevation, I would have to under-expose my images, as the camera's light meter can't read some sort of atmospheric light-rays, and therefore everything would come out a stop lighter. Even though thanks to digital photography, who really gives a damn, I'll photoshop the crap out of it.
Anyway, all that got me thinking... you know what, I'm in a place which is pretty close to being the complete opposite to Brooklyn, New York. I'm gonna set up my camera outside my hotel room and take a mighty long exposure. First of all, who the hell is gonna steal my camera, even though that llama over there does look a little dodgy... secondly, if the solar system is clearer, this picture should look pretty wicked.
So here is a 45 minute exposure:
I have a lot of new-found respect for star-trail photographers... imagine only taking 1-2 pictures a night... completely dependent on weather conditions, as the slightest cloud will ruin the shot. As well as fighting condensation on your lens, finding an interesting foreground that isn't lit up too much (or at all!), otherwise it will blow out, and you'll lose all the detail. Patience, in every sense of the word.Either way, respect to all of you. Just check out some this crazy star-trail photography.
Tomorrow morning it was off to gaze at the Andean Condor... the western hemisphere's largest flying bird. With wing-spans of up to 3.2m (10.5 ft)!!!
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