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Published: October 12th 2008
Having arrived in Arequipa on a night bus from Nazca we struggled out of bed at 2am the following day (a ridiculous time to get up for anything!) and sat on a FREEZING minibus for a 3 hour drive out to the Colca Canyon - the temperature in the Andes can get to below -20 at night and +20 in the day. It was worth it for the amazing scenery and we even saw some Condors flying in the valley.
Arequipa itself is really attractive city, with grand colonial buildings around the Plaza de Armas made of a white volcanic rock which shines in the sun. There is also a good selection of cool bars and an excellent museum, Museo Santury, which houses Juanita ´the ice princess´; the preserved body of a girl who was sacrificed to the gods at the summit of Ampato volcano over 500 years ago. She was discovered around 15 years ago when the neighbouring Misti Volcano erupted, producing enough heat to melt the ice that surrounded her.
After a couple of days in Arequipa we got a bus to Puno on the edge of Lake Titicaca from where we got a boat to the
Uros islands. These floating islands are made entirely of the reeds which grow in the lake. The Uros people originally built the islands to escape from the Spanish conquistadors and there are still a large number of them living there today. They use the reeds to make their houses and boats as well as constantly having to renew the "islands".
There´s not a great deal to do in Puno and the rest of our time was spent in the Museum of Coca and Folklore (1 hour) and watching repeats of American TV programmes on cable tv in our room (13 hours).
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Plaza de Armas
