Quebrada del Condoritas National Park

On Sunday John had the entire day off (hurray!!!) and I booked a trip with Condor Expeditions to Quebrada del Condoritas National Park.  The driver and two guides, Maria and Barbara, picked us up at the hotel at 8:30 am we were off for the almost two hour drive to the park.  We drove through the foothills (Sierra Chicos) and on to the Sierra Grandes.
Once we arrived, we made a quick pit stop at the beautiful new visitor centre and then began the 6 km walk to Balcon Norte to see the condors.  Condors have a wingspan of 3 meters, or nine feet, and we were quite excited about a chance to see these magnificent birds in their natural habitat. The landscape was a combination of grasslands and rocks, with a well marked path taking us up and down the mountain range. 

Can't remember the name of this bird, but we saw several of them
including this pair. The male was quite curious to see if we had any
scraps for him.

We finally arrived at Balcon Norte, and spent about an hour there, watching the condors and other birds, enjoying the spectacular scenery, and for me at least - gathering my energy for the long walk back to the visitor centre.  The high altitude and occasional steep climbs were not easy on my asthma.  Thank goodness for modern medicine.

Condors roosting on the steep cliff walls

Because of the high altitude and low rainfall, there are almost no trees in the park, and the few that do grow there are only about a metre tall.  They are twisted and have dark red trunks that reminded us of cedar.