Adventures of North Star
Follow the Adventures of Kim and Steve aboard their yacht North Star!
09 July 2019
08 July 2019
04 July 2019
02 July 2019
31 May 2019 | Copra Shed, Savusavu, Fiji
05 May 2019 | RDM
04 January 2019
28 April 2018
28 March 2018
05 March 2018 | Queenstown view from the top of the gondola.
11 October 2016 | Marina Taina, Tahiti
21 May 2016 | Tahiti, French Polynesia
14 September 2015
12 September 2015 | In Maupiti
17 August 2015 | Huahine, French Polynesia
13 July 2015 | Anyse Amyot-North End of Taou
20 June 2015 | Fakarava-South Pass
18 June 2015 | Fakarava-South Pass
11 June 2015 | Fakarava-South, Harifa
06 June 2015 | Fakarava, North Pass
Chivay and the Colca Canyon, Peru
15 September 2013
Please visit our new Photo Gallery
The trip from Arequipa to Chivay, Colca Canyon, was completed on a small twenty seat bus. We stopped on the outside of town, at the suggestion of our tour guide, for water coca candy or leaves. These things are highly recommended to help with altitude sickness. We started drinking the coca tea before arriving in Arequipa, our first town at high altitude. The tea does seem to help with the headache part of altitude sickness and the toffee candies taste pretty good. One of the stops on this route was one of the most amazing in our trip. Remember, from the rooftop of our hotel in Arequipa we could see four volcanoes, one still considered active. From the highest point on the route called the Mirador de Andes located at over 16,000 feet as we stood in the snow consciously thinking of every step and every breath, we could see eight snow covered volcanoes. The volcanoes were positioned in a semicircle position and offered a view that was truly amazing. The volcanoes towered above our location and reached into the crystal clear blue sky to heights above 20,000 feet. One of the volcanoes was active and steadily smoking. We could see this volcano from our room and it's name is Sabancaya (see photo above). This particular part of the road, and there is only one road, was closed a few days due to heavy snowfall. The flat area directly in front of us was filled with small rock pyramids that our guide said the locals and the tourist following suit, erected to the gods. With a slight headache we climbed back into the bus.
The other interesting part of this trip was the vicuña. The vicuña is not a domesticated alpaca. They roam free at high altitudes in the plains and feed on the yellow grass, at least at this time of the year. They are rounded up every four years and their fur sheared. Their fur is said to be the finest and the warmest. The cost of a woman's scarf is around 1,500 US dollars. In the stores you can only feel a sample of the fur and not the actual scarf because they are all in locked cases. We learned in Arequipa the difference in the fibers. The adult alpaca fur is the least expensive fur due to the coarse feel. The second is the baby alpa which is much softer and finer than the adult alpaca. Finally, the royal alpaca is a selection of the finest of the baby alpaca fur. The ultimate in feel, warmth and cost is the vicuña. The garment should be cool to the touch. If is not cool to the touch and very soft it may not be the high quality. On our trip these animals were very close to the road. We stopped a few times for photos. We were lucky enough to see a nursing baby and a pretty big group. They usually live in groups of ten to twelve. The like the flat areas by day because they like to run and cover large areas in a day.
We arrived at Colca Canyon and started our descent into Chivay. We could see the town and the valley from the switchback roads leading down from the mountains. We had lunch and checked into our hotel. The rooms here as the sunset were freezing. We had to ask for two heaters. Two heaters made it bearable in long underwear and buried under several large blankets. The air is definitely thinner here. We realized that we may hold our breath at sea level during certain activities and not even realize it. Tying your shoes requires active breathing. We may have been holding our breath at sea level. We took Ibuprofen three times a day, with each meal two tabs, to help with the headache and the inflammation. It seemed to help and we really did not have a headache most of the time. There was a big jump in altitude from 8,000 to almost 13,000 here. We had already spent part of the day at around 16,000. We took it easy for the afternoon, which is the suggestion for high altitude. Don't overdo the first twenty four hours. What we noticed the most or maybe what was the most irritating about the altitude was sleeping. We both felt we had to wake up at night to breathe. If you roll over in your sleep, you need a few extra breaths. If you go to the bathroom you may need a minute to recover and feel your breathing is back to normal.
The next day we were up early for our trip to see the condors fly. The condors were also effected by the cold weather and the snowfall. They are looking for the warm thermal drafts and do not fly when it is too cold. Our travel agent warned us that they may not be out but she had sent a check to the condors and a request for them to be working on Sunday. The day was beautiful, crisp blue skies and warm sun. Perfect! The birds were right on time at 8:28. First two, then four then maybe twelve to fifteen. They flew right in front of us and right over the top of us. Steve was able to capture a fight between two birds in a great series of photos. We believe it may have been a mature male and an immature male. The Colca Canyon is said to be the deepest in the world. It is twice the depth of the Grand Canyon at 13,650. The condors leave their nests in the canyon face, find the thermals and head of to find food. They are very heavy birds and need the help of the thermals to lift themselves into the air.
All of Peru is prone to earthquakes. The restaurants, the hotels all have seismic safe zones. On our trip to see the condors we went through a tunnel carved right through the mountainside. Our guide said the only damages in an earthquake was to the mouth of the entrance. This tunnel was not supported on the inside it was just cut straight through. We did notice one night in the hotel the beds moving a little and we could see the water sitting in a glass on the nightstand moving. Thank goodness that has been all. Many of these ares have many small tremors a day. There were a few when we were in Arequipa too but we felt nothing. A local told us you have to be sitting very quietly to notice any of the daily movements. I guess that's why we felt the one here while we were in bed.
The trip from Arequipa to Chivay, Colca Canyon, was completed on a small twenty seat bus. We stopped on the outside of town, at the suggestion of our tour guide, for water coca candy or leaves. These things are highly recommended to help with altitude sickness. We started drinking the coca tea before arriving in Arequipa, our first town at high altitude. The tea does seem to help with the headache part of altitude sickness and the toffee candies taste pretty good. One of the stops on this route was one of the most amazing in our trip. Remember, from the rooftop of our hotel in Arequipa we could see four volcanoes, one still considered active. From the highest point on the route called the Mirador de Andes located at over 16,000 feet as we stood in the snow consciously thinking of every step and every breath, we could see eight snow covered volcanoes. The volcanoes were positioned in a semicircle position and offered a view that was truly amazing. The volcanoes towered above our location and reached into the crystal clear blue sky to heights above 20,000 feet. One of the volcanoes was active and steadily smoking. We could see this volcano from our room and it's name is Sabancaya (see photo above). This particular part of the road, and there is only one road, was closed a few days due to heavy snowfall. The flat area directly in front of us was filled with small rock pyramids that our guide said the locals and the tourist following suit, erected to the gods. With a slight headache we climbed back into the bus.
The other interesting part of this trip was the vicuña. The vicuña is not a domesticated alpaca. They roam free at high altitudes in the plains and feed on the yellow grass, at least at this time of the year. They are rounded up every four years and their fur sheared. Their fur is said to be the finest and the warmest. The cost of a woman's scarf is around 1,500 US dollars. In the stores you can only feel a sample of the fur and not the actual scarf because they are all in locked cases. We learned in Arequipa the difference in the fibers. The adult alpaca fur is the least expensive fur due to the coarse feel. The second is the baby alpa which is much softer and finer than the adult alpaca. Finally, the royal alpaca is a selection of the finest of the baby alpaca fur. The ultimate in feel, warmth and cost is the vicuña. The garment should be cool to the touch. If is not cool to the touch and very soft it may not be the high quality. On our trip these animals were very close to the road. We stopped a few times for photos. We were lucky enough to see a nursing baby and a pretty big group. They usually live in groups of ten to twelve. The like the flat areas by day because they like to run and cover large areas in a day.
We arrived at Colca Canyon and started our descent into Chivay. We could see the town and the valley from the switchback roads leading down from the mountains. We had lunch and checked into our hotel. The rooms here as the sunset were freezing. We had to ask for two heaters. Two heaters made it bearable in long underwear and buried under several large blankets. The air is definitely thinner here. We realized that we may hold our breath at sea level during certain activities and not even realize it. Tying your shoes requires active breathing. We may have been holding our breath at sea level. We took Ibuprofen three times a day, with each meal two tabs, to help with the headache and the inflammation. It seemed to help and we really did not have a headache most of the time. There was a big jump in altitude from 8,000 to almost 13,000 here. We had already spent part of the day at around 16,000. We took it easy for the afternoon, which is the suggestion for high altitude. Don't overdo the first twenty four hours. What we noticed the most or maybe what was the most irritating about the altitude was sleeping. We both felt we had to wake up at night to breathe. If you roll over in your sleep, you need a few extra breaths. If you go to the bathroom you may need a minute to recover and feel your breathing is back to normal.
The next day we were up early for our trip to see the condors fly. The condors were also effected by the cold weather and the snowfall. They are looking for the warm thermal drafts and do not fly when it is too cold. Our travel agent warned us that they may not be out but she had sent a check to the condors and a request for them to be working on Sunday. The day was beautiful, crisp blue skies and warm sun. Perfect! The birds were right on time at 8:28. First two, then four then maybe twelve to fifteen. They flew right in front of us and right over the top of us. Steve was able to capture a fight between two birds in a great series of photos. We believe it may have been a mature male and an immature male. The Colca Canyon is said to be the deepest in the world. It is twice the depth of the Grand Canyon at 13,650. The condors leave their nests in the canyon face, find the thermals and head of to find food. They are very heavy birds and need the help of the thermals to lift themselves into the air.
All of Peru is prone to earthquakes. The restaurants, the hotels all have seismic safe zones. On our trip to see the condors we went through a tunnel carved right through the mountainside. Our guide said the only damages in an earthquake was to the mouth of the entrance. This tunnel was not supported on the inside it was just cut straight through. We did notice one night in the hotel the beds moving a little and we could see the water sitting in a glass on the nightstand moving. Thank goodness that has been all. Many of these ares have many small tremors a day. There were a few when we were in Arequipa too but we felt nothing. A local told us you have to be sitting very quietly to notice any of the daily movements. I guess that's why we felt the one here while we were in bed.
Comments
| Vessel Name: | North Star |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Tayana 52, Center Cockpit |
| Hailing Port: | Clearwater, Florida |
| Crew: | Steve and Kim |
| About: | |
| Extra: | North Star is a 1988 Tayana 52, center cockpit, a Robert Perry design. |
| Social: |
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North Star's Photos - Main
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Dive Sites Eagle Rock, The Zoo and the Great White Wall
52 Photos
Created 2 July 2019
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39 Photos
Created 29 March 2018
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Curio Bay and Yellow eyed penguins.
60 Photos
Created 18 March 2018
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O'nou Tahiti Graffiti Contest, Michael tattoo, roulottes
26 Photos
Created 2 June 2015
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Panama Canal Crossing and Shelter Bay Marina
31 Photos
Created 1 January 2013
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Back to the marina we go. The damage done by the lightning strike.
14 Photos
Created 7 May 2012
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Caouan, Tobago Cayes, Union Island, Mayreau
39 Photos
Created 25 May 2010
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Trip from Jolly Harbour north to Deep Bay
25 Photos
Created 16 March 2010
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old photos from Virginia to USVI'S
65 Photos
Created 12 March 2010
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additional photos from earlier in trip some of BVI's to St Kitts
120 Photos
Created 7 March 2010
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About Us
Who: Steve and Kim
Port: Clearwater, Florida
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