Day 9: Cusco After a horrible night on the night bus, an older, crapper version of our earlier luxury buses, we arrived in Cusco. With relief (and a hurried need for a wifi fix after 3 days in a wifi blackspot), we checked in to our lovely accommodation, the rooms centred around large, bright atriums. After setting down our bags and freshening up, we headed out with our guide Gino. We headed down hill towards the Plaza de Armas, the rainbow coloured flag represe...

Day 8: Arequipa A good portion of today was spent on a bus - firstly making our way back from Chivay to Arequipa and then on to Cusco. We did manage to squeeze in a few sights though. En route to Arequipa we stopped at a mirador at 4,800m above sea level from where we could see the volcano Sabancayo smoking, plumes of smoke slowly billowing into the distant sky. Back in Arequipa, hungry and tired, excitedly a bunch of us went hunting for the pizza place that th...

Day 7: Colca Canyon Early start today to make it out to Colca Canyon in time to see the condors particular to the area. Knowing there wasn't much in the line of breakfast for me, I popped out to the market and, with curious locals eyeballing me, ordered a hot quinoa and apple juice drink... which came in a plastic bag! Given how cold it was, my breakfast in a bag also doubled as a hand warmer! Aboard our little bus once more, absorbing yet more of this gorgeous...

Day 6: Chivay So, BA finally got their s*** together and located my bag. But in keeping with their crappy performance so far, they would not send my bag to my accommodation, so I had to go collect my bag from the airport in Arequipa. In a comedy of errors the flight delivering my bag was late and the taxi broke down, and subsequently the tour was delayed. Regardless, I got my bag back! Whoop! And we were off... Bus bound for Chivay, a small town nestled in a va...

Day 5: Arequipa We woke up to Day 5 on the night bus, passing through the spectacular scenery of the Andes. Our destination was Arequipa, also known as "The White City" for its white buildings made from volcanic ash. Too early for check in, we went for breakfast. At this altitude, 2,400m above sea level, I felt a bit breathless and a touch of a headache. We'd have to take it easy so we could acclimatise. Some people drank cocoa leaf tea, which is supposed to h...