Peru
The Colca Canyon
About 100 km north of Arequipa the river Colca flows from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean. At Chivay (elevation 3700 meter) it enters a canyon where some 40 km downriver many tourists are attracted by the presence of the condor. It is almost a certainty at the Cruz del Cóndor (elevation 3300 m with the river running 1300 meter below) to see some of these large birds early in the morning. After spending the night in the canyon for some sleep, the animals, after warming up in the sun, start flying around for some time before disappearing in the skies above the mountains.What have bromeliads to do with this ? Nothing, except that there are some big Puya's here and given the right time of year, that is at the end of the rainy season, they can be seen in flower. The species is probably Puya weberbaueri.
