There truly aren't enough superlatives to describe this vacation!
A lovely breakfast this morning the off to see the sites a short drive to Yunque to visit the local church and begin a walk through the village and on to see the Pre Inca and Inca Terraces. The walk was difficult at times through uneven rocky paths with various animal deposits to dodge along the way. The challenge was to stop looking at the Andes, terraces, flora and fauna, volcanoes and sunny skies to make sure you didn't step in something unexpected!
The colours of the terraces were fabulous with multiple shades of green (grasses, cacti,trees), reds, purples and gold (quinoa plants), white (wheat) and yellows (flowers).
There were large cacti called 'zig zag' where a particular bird nests.
We saw the 'giant hummingbird' which is 17 cm in size, we saw 1 in spectacular colour of blue.
Some doves (black and white winged), Andean eagle, and butterflies.
The Eagles had their nests also in the crevices of the rock face, very large!
We saw the local people out with their mules, and sheep on their way to work.
Local woman working in the terraces, harvesting and weeding.
We saw cows grazing and being milked.
During our 2 hour hike we crossed a stone bridge, and suspension bridge ( this wasn't a trek for those afraid of heights or struggling with altitude!)
The name 'Colca' means storage container, the Inca would store their goods in a hole in the rock face which would act as a refrigerator, we were able to see these from the suspension bride.
Everywhere we looked there was an amazing view and then some. I'm truly in awe of the Andes!
In this particular area there are 16 small villages each with their own church!
Looking back on the path we travelled on this trek, I was impressed by the distance and terrain we crossed!
Then back to the hotel for a late lunch, just as the clouds started rolling in. It seems that the weather is quite beautiful til about 3, then the clouds and wind come with a bit of rain (thunder showers today).
A few of us remained at the hotel rather then going on the afternoon tour to sit by the fire, knit and spin yarn. How wonderful is that?
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