Colca Canyon - Farming

Colca Canyon - we were hoping to see the Condors. Huge birds that dwell in this canyon. They have a 3m wingspan. Unfortunately we didn´t see them up close - we were told later we were too early. They fly at midday - I wonder why?

Little girls we met on the way with their pet lamb.

!Hola! My blog is behind schedule. My sister and I are on route to Trujillo - we´ve stopped over in Lima for a few hours while we wait for our bus connection. A good time to blog! The city is pumping with people - as we walk, tides and tides of people are walking aound us - thronging, madding crowds. It´s nice to be tucked away in an internet cafe. These photos were taken on our way to Colca Canyon - one of

the deepest canyons in the world. This valley in the photos is near the Colca Canyon. It supports 10,000 people - all farming this steep, dry land. The land was terraced pre- Inca times. The terraces still stand today. The land is all farmed by hand - no tractors. It´s common to see young and old people carrying children, water, firewood, hay, and harvested crops on their backs. The land is harvested and sowen by hand. Their animals are shorn by hand, the land is tilled using donkey and plough. Nothing is mechanised! Some of the villages in this valley are only accessible by foot - seven hours walking. The land is irrigated by channels, made pre-Inca, that capture the melting ice and snow from the mountain tops. The people grow a wide range of crops. They wear the traditional dress worn for the last hundreds of years. It was common to see women, men, or children driving small groups of sheep and cattle down the road. There are no fences, the animals were often tethered. As we´ve seen all over South America, the homes are made from mud brick - bricks made from mud, straw, and animal hair.

Adios