Stylish Arequipa and the canyon country

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Day 62: Saturday 30th August - Arriving in Arequipa

Arrive in Arequipa early in the morning after a 9 hour bus journey. After a week or so I'm up at altitude again with Arequipa being at 2500m. At the bus station meet a couple of Brazilian girls who are getting a taxi to the same hostel as me - unfortunately I think I must find the only unattractive girls in Brazil! They end up being nice girls though. Just laze about the hostel in the morning - there's only about half a dozen staying at the hostel, so it has a really friendly feel, and get talking to Johnathan, an English guy who like me has quit a good job and gone travelling, so we have a lot in common.

In the afternoon, walk into the centre of Arequipa and look around the Plaza de Armas, the main square in Arequipa. Its packed because there is a national celebration today. The Plaza is beautiful, the buildings are constructed out of a white rock, sillar and look stunning on a sunny day. The cathedral stands on one side of the Plaza, which when you stand in front of it you can see El Misti volcano towering above it at almost 6000 metres. Later in the afternoon I visit the colourful Santa Catalina Monastery which is even more laid back than Arequipa, which takes some doing. Santa Catalina is almost lika a city within a city, occupying an entire block near the centre.

In the evening myself, Jonathan, the Brazilian girls, Sophie and Kieran (an English girl and Aussie guy who have just arrived from Chile) go out for some drinks. Start off the evening with a Turkish meal (there's a good number of Turkish restaurants in Arequipa) before heading to a bar where we meet a mad American guy Aggy who wants us to help with his Pisco harvest and then starts expressing an interest in buying my house (he's clearly drunk though!). Finish the evening with a kebab in the early hours - this is just like home!!

Day 63: Sunday 31st August - A lazy Sunday in Arequipa

Having booked a Colca Canyon tour for tomorrow and having seen most of the highlights of Arequipa yesterday and having had a late night last night as well, today is going to be a typically lazy Sunday. Spend the morning chilling in the hostel before the four of us (me, Jonathan, Sophie & Kieran) head into Arequipa for lunch and to visit the Juanita museum. Can't be bothered to wait for a tour in the museum so settle for lunch instead.

After lunch ring home - it's my Mum's 60th birthday today - happy birthday Mum! Its good to catch up with the folks - haven't spoken to them for 6 weeks or so. In the evening have another kebab......Arequipa is packed with good restaurants but keep seem to be attracted to Turkish restaurants for some reason! Not really a heavy night but ends up being a late one nevertheless, just talking back in the hostel.

Day 64: Monday 1st September - The Peruvian Altiplano

Get picked up at 8am for a tour to Colca Canyon which is a few hours from Arequipa. The bus stops several times on the way to Chivay the main town in the canyon region where we have the opportunity to admire the stunning scenery of the altiplano (the Andes highlands), the indigenous people and also various wildlife that live in the region (llama's, alpaca's, vicuna's). On the way to Chivay, drive over a 4800m pass and also see the mountain where the source of the Andes flows from. Arrive in Chivay in early afternoon where we get an early lunch - try Alpaca steak (good) and Recoto Rellena (a stuffed pepper which is too hot for me). After a few hours of free time we get picked up to go to the hot baths just outside the town. They're okay, but because its late afternoon with a fading sun and also because of the altitude (we're at 3500m) it is quite cold as soon as you move any part of your body outside the water. In the evening we are treated to a local show of song and dance which once you've seen one you've seen them all. Evryone disappears to their individual hostels after the show for an early night.


Day 65: Tuesday 2nd September - Colca Canyon, Condors & a cancelled bus journey to Cusco

Get awoken at 5am ahead of being picked up at 6am. The breakfast is a waste of time apart from trying Coca tea (which consists of Coca leaves and hot water, the Coca leaves being from the Coca plant which is infamous as being the plant they get Cocaine from. The Coca plant is used in South America to combat altitude sickness - I also had Coca toffee's yesterday and thankfully suffer no ill affects due to the altitude.

Before we arrive at Colca Canyon at 8am we pass through a couple of local villages where the locals are selling their wares, and aren't that interesting. Also, because the sun is yet to rise fully, its absolutely freezing. The Colca Valley has stunning scenery - deep valleys with terraces to grow various crops. The Colca Canyon is equally as stunning when we arrive - it is the second deepest canyon in the world at 3500m deep. We only visit the canyon at its depth of 2700m, which is deep enough - you can barely see the floor of the canyon. The canyon isn't that wide and resembles a very deep valley rather than a canyon to me. The Colca Canyon is home to Condors which is the largest bird of prey in the western hemisphere with a wingspan of over 3 metres. I am fortunate to see several of them really up close as they glide close to the side of the canyon looking for dead animals to eat.

After spending a couple of hours at the canyon, head to a few villages on the way back where there is the opportunity to get photos with the local wildlife (llama's, alpaca's, eagle's). Arrive back to Chivay at lunchtime before making our way back to Arequipa for late afternoon in the scorching sun. Enjoyed the tour, the scenery was fascinating and was well worth the 2 days even though the tour was manufactured and drawn out and that I had a mixed bag as a tour group. A couple of English guys were sound but the rest of the group was a couple of Doris's from Australia, a Spanish speaking couple who never mixed, a Japanese couple who packed the entire contents of their wardrobe for an overnight trip and a couple of Swedish girls who unfortunately kept themselves to themselves.

I only have a couple of hours at the hostel when I get back at Arequipa before my bus to Cusco at 8pm. Go on the internet when I get back to realise I've managed to upset and offend a resident of Lima with my blog - however my opinion is shared by almost every traveller I've met so far. The guy who has posted a message on my blog must be the first unfriendly Peruvian I've had contact with so far and frankly I can't be bothered to rise to his abuse.

After no more than an hour back at the hostel, Miguel the guy i've booked my ticket through turns up at the hostel to say that there are no buses to Cusco tonight due to strikes and roadblocks. One of the girls who works at the hostel tells me that her brother travelled in the opposite direction last night and his bus was stoned. Guess its another night in Arequipa then......I'm a bit disappointed as I'm looking forward to Cusco and there's a lot there I want to do ahead of my Inca trail but equally I really like Arequipa as a city and the people I've met here are really cool. Go out for dinner and drinks with Jonathan who's still at the hostel and an Aussie girl called Rebecca who is also cool. End's up being turkish again before we hit one of the local bars for a few games of pool.

Day 66: Wednesday 3rd September - Face to face with Juanita

In a way quite pleased I didn't have to deal with a 9 hour overnight bus journey last night after having spent most of the previous day on the bus as well as having a very early start. Have another lazy morning - this hostel seems very conduisive to those - before heading into town to check whether the buses are running to Cusco today. I'm assured they are so book another ticket for Rebecca before visiting Juanita at a university run museum. Juanita was an Inca girl of 12-13 years who was sacrificed on one of the nearby volcano's 500 years ago as an offering to the Inca gods. She was found last decade, remarkably well preserved along with a number of other mummies on the mountain. Its fascinating learning more about the story and about the Inca culture in general.

Miguel picks me and Rebecca up at 7.30pm to catch the bus to Cusco. Quite unsure what awaits with the journey (I've booked a really cheap bus - which is not advised with Peru's road safety record, and will we actually be able to get through to Cusco?). However, the bus turns out to be fine and with myself, Rebecca and Jonathan all heading to Cusco looking forward to spending some more time in their company. The last few days have been really good, good hostel, met some nice people and Arequipa is probably my favourite city on the trip to date - stylish, good restaurants and bars and would not look out of place in Europe.

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