Day trip around Chachani
November 1 in Peru is a public holiday, so SIM team members Matthias Kullen and his wife Luz Marina took us for a trip around one of the volcanos adjacent to Arequipa, the awesome Chachani (6057 metres). We took a picnic lunch with us and visited some hot springs en route.
Vicuñas were plentiful as we made our way across the altiplano. The one on the left has been recently shorn; vicuñas have the finest wool of all Peru's camelids (the others are the llama, the alpaca, and the guanaco).
We also had the chance to fossick through some old ruins. Judging by the corrals, it's been an alpaca herders' camp in years past.
On the cliffs behind the ruins, a movement caught my eye: a family of viscachas was watching me from above! The viscacha is closely related to the chinchilla, and resembles a large grey rabbit with shortened ears and a long, curled tail.
At about 1:30pm we made it to the hot springs. Being a public holiday, it was quite packed with families enjoying the great Peruvian outdoors! A lovely place to wade, have lunch, and hear the songs of the abundant birdlife in the surrounding trees and thickets.
