Colca Canyon
We ran the Paro (strike) from Arequipa to Chivay by ignoring it and got to Puno on a Sunday night. The bus avoided the strike by pulling all the curtains and taking the rough back roads to Puno. It was full of hairpin bends and we were in a convoy of at least six or seven buses so that there was dust everywhere. Chivay is in the Colca Canyon which is said to be the deepest Canyon in the world and is reputedly twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. The Canyon has been called the Lost Valley of the Incas, The Valley of Wonders, The Valley of Fire and The Territory of the Condor. In Chivay we were met by a local who insisted that she take us to her hostel which was grubby and out of the way and had a randy llama who acted like a dog trying to climb our hostess’s leg. In the end we found a lovely hostel clean and comfortable. The weather was very warm through the day and freezing at night. We could get great coffee in the restaurant we renamed the fridge.We walked to the Pre-Inca site of Uyo Uyo over the bridge and up the steep trails accompanied by lithe old ladies, donkeys, llamas, sheep and cows.
The site had very high walls and had a stream, which was fed by a large waterfall, running through it. There was lots of irrigation and pre -Inca stepped terraces. The Terraces made the hillside look wonderful with their patterns. The town church is beautiful and the local people wear very different clothing to Cusco. The clothing is heavily embroidered and they wear long skirts down to the ankles. They also, very sensibly wear trainers or trainer type shoes. This is the first time I have seen that kid of thing. In m ost places in Peru the villagers wear sandals made out of old car tyres and their feet are in very poor condition.
Chivay has thermal baths which is great when you are weary. We walked along the Inca bridge and along an Inca road in the softly setting sun. The scenery was stunning.
We also went to Yanque another village in the Canyon and the Church was even more beautiful there. The Spanish built wonderful churches throughout the Canyon to try and convert the scattered villagers. This is a very volcanic area and the church in Yanque had to be rebuilt after a very short period as it collapsed due to the Volcanic action . The local children demonstrate a special dance every morning. In the past the boys in this area were not allowed to dance with the girls and to change this they started wearing dresses and wigs to a party. When they were dressed like this nobody could see if they were a girl or a boy and now the lovers could dance together. Every morning you can see this traditional dance on the village square in Yanque, to show how things used to be. Yanque also has agreat museum with details of all 17 churches in the area. The museum also has details of where Juanita, the mummy kept in Arequip, was found and a big exhibition of broken Inca craniums where the skull was broken to change the shape of the head to show nobility. This was an Inca custom done to children when the skull is still soft. The embroidery here is very elaborate.
