Arequipa

After an overnight bus from Cusco we made it into Arequipa at around 530am!! We thought that we were to arrive at around 7, but we were early.

We took a taxi to our hostel and were dumped on the street outside. After 5 minutes of ringing the door bell, we were feeling a little exposed and wandering what to do? However, after a couple more minutes whilst consulting our Lonely Planet, the door opened and we were shown inside. Phew!!!

Main square Arequipa

Arequipa itself is a lovely town, built mainly of volcanic stone (sillar), hence the name of the white city. It has a great backdrop consiting of a volcanoe (El Misti 5822m) and a number of big mountains, such as (Chachani 6075m and Picchu Picchu 5571m).

We really enjoyed the vibe of Arequipa. Compared to Cusco it was very laid back. We had a great day wandering around the Santa Catalina Monastery in the city, which we pretty much had to ourselves.

After deciding not to climb the big mountains, I (Chris) decided that going into the Colca Canyon was a good idea. (It is the deepest canyon in the world and there are Condors to be seen). Of course I wanted to get there!

Colca Canyon

Getting to Cabanaconde entailed a 5.5 hour bus ride, which took us over one of the highest roads being 4800m. A very scenic drive, where we saw wild Llamas and Vicuñas.

Street scene Cabanaconde

Cabanaconde is a very small adobe village, although it does have its Plaza de Armas!! We arrived at around lunch time and found ourselves the best hostel in the place (there was only really two to choose from!) For those that don´t know, Adobe just means that the houses are made from mud, hence looking quite rustic.

Corinne in Cabanaconde

We were planning on hiking into the canyon to visit the Oasis, however Corinne wasn´t really feeling up to it, so we decided that we´d only stay the one night there intead of two and go see the Condors in the morning on our way back to Arequipa.

Condor in flight

The Condors were amazing. They really are huge animals with a wing span of around 2m and seem to effortlessly glide on the thermal currents. We spent a good hour and a half watching them take off and cruise around. we were surprised as to how close they got.

Flight of the Condor

Flight of the Condors

After our bird watching we headed back on the local bus to Chivay, where we spent an hour waiting for the next bus to Arequipa. Although the birds were great, we were thinking at the end of the 11hr round trip if they were worth it!!

Entrance to Monastery

Another interesting thing we did in Arequipa was to see ´Juanita´ the ice princess at the Museo Santuarios Andinos. She is a frozen Inca maiden who was sacrificed on the summit of Mt Ampato over 500 years ago. Considering how old she is, she looks great!! You can see most of her facial features, nails and hair.

Santa Catalina Monastery

All in all, we had a very nice time relaxing in Arequipa, sampling some of the local dishes, including llama. We also found a good burger joint, which helped settle our upset tummies!! Nothing like a good ´ol burger to put things right!!

Next stop, Puno, Puno, Puno...... (for those who have travelled these parts do you recall the crazy bus touts calling out?)

We hope you are all keeping well. Keep the comments coming.

Lots of love,
Chris and Corinne xx