Sabancaya

— On our trip to Peru, one of the most impressive moments was traveling to the Colca Valley and Colca Canyon to see Andean condors. On our way to the city of Chivay, we reached the highest point on our stay in Peru: 16,109 ft (4,910 m) above sea level! Yes, when I got off the bus for this shot, my head felt very light, and it was also very cold. I had to walk slowly around this area and drink plenty of water. I guess that magic tea and leaves we got on the bus might have helped, too.  Everywhere we went, in fact, including the hotel lobbies, coca leaves tea was readily available. We never got sick while in Peru thanks to careful planning, too. We started in Lima and gradually climbed our way going from city to city using ground transportation. The point in the photo above is at the Mirador de los Andes. From this location we can see 6 volcanoes: Hualca Hualca, Sabancaya, Ampato, Chachani, El Misti and Ubinas. Sabancaya (19,606 ft / 5,976 m) is an active volcano, and its name means “tongue of fire” in Quechua Indian language. Besides the colorful display at this vendor’s booth, I also like the tranquility we experienced at this altitude in spite of the looming danger from an active volcano.