Arequipa

---

On the way from Cusco to Arequipa we stopped in Chivay to visit the Colca Canyon. The canyon was originally thought to be the deepest in the world at 3191m, but its neighbour, Canon del Cotahuari was recently found to be a further 163 m deep. Interesting, eh?
You can watch the condors catching the thermals here, and I was lucky enough to see a couple soaring high.
Arequipa is called the "White City" due to the colour of the volcanic rock from which it is built. Three volcanoes overovershadow the city, El Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu. I thought Arequipa was lovely and we had a great time here seeing the colourful Monasterio Santa Catalina and touring the Museo Santuarios Andinos to see "Juanita" the frozen ice maiden. She was a 14-year old Inca noble who was sacrifice at the top of Mount Ampato at the end of the 15th century and her body was preserved by the ice until its discovery in 1995. It was an excellent educational and moving experience!
The Santa Catalina monastery is in fact a convent and was also very interesting. It is a massive complex built in the late 16th century, and had been closed to the public until the 1970s. It is unusual because originally the novice nuns came from rich Spanish families who paid for their daughters to live in "houses" in the convent complete with servants and many comforts of home. It appears they didn´t take the vow of poverty!
From Arequipa we travelled north along the coast to Nazca, stopping off for a couple of nights in Puerto Inca - the major port in Inca times and from where fresh fish could get to Cusco by runners in a day. The sea here was absolutely freezing due to the Antarctic Humboldt current, but I did brave it for a bracing dip and then warmed up playing volleyball during the day and chilled out toasting marshmallows round the campfire at night.

---

Photos

The White City
Plaza de Armas

Puerta Inca
Camping on the beach