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The night bus to Arequipa went smoothly. We arrived early in the morning and headed to Marlon's House, which was situated quite close to the square and reasonably priced at $6/night.
Once in the town we grabbed some breakfast and headed out to explore. After just a few minutes I was glad that I had decided to come here. The town itself is beautiful, with beautiful architecture, especially the main square with the stunning cathedral. We strolled arpund and grabbed some delicious ice cream to fight off the heat. We strolled around the town until lunchtime and then grabbed lunch for $2 - a huge plate of rice, chips, meat and salad.
One of the main attractions in Arequipa is Juanita. This is a mummified Incan girl that was found in the glacial peaks of the nearby mountains. It had been very well preserved by the ice, with hair and skin very much intact. Sounds creepy but I was intrigued to see her and understand the history. We visited the museum but unfortunately she was not available for viewing. We had a very interesting tour, talking through the ceremonial process that culminated in Juanita's sacrifice, seeing various sacrificial ornaments and clothing. Finally, we saw a different mummy that had been found. She was not quite as well preserved but it was fascinating to see nonetheless.
The rest of the day was spent booking our two-day Colca Canyon tour for the next day (with Peru Schweiz) and relaxing in the hostel.
The following day we were up well before sunrise to get on a bus towards the canyon. Our first stop was Condor Point. Here we stood atop a cliff looking down into the canyon (the second deepest in the world) waiting to see the condors in full flight. We waited for 15 minutes and just as I thought my luck wasn't in I saw a huge bird swoop from behind a cliff and soar up into the air. It is impossible to comprehend how huge these birds are until you see them in the flesh. The wingspan of this bird was equal to that of a fairly large car. To see it soaring was amazing. At one point, there were 6-8 of them soaring at once. I could have stood there all day but we had to move on and begin our hike. We started right at the top of the canyon and made our way down. There were just three of us in the group, with Caroline and I being joined by a Swiss guy called Marco. It was a tough but stunning 3-hour hike down to lunch, with beautiful views of the valley above and below. We enjoyed some alpaca meat for lunch before setting off on another 2-hour walk to an Oasis at Sangalle. Here we were able to take a dip in pools fed by a nearby waterfall. The water was freezing so I only managed ten minutes or so before heading out and grabbing a much needed drink. Caroline, Marco and I had a couple of cocktails before a spaghetti bolognese dinner. We dropped off early as we had to be up at 5am to set off.
It was a 2hr climb to the top the next day. The canyon was stunning in the dusk light. It was tough going getting up there and we stopped several times to catch our breath and take in the views of the canyon. Once at the top it was a 15-minute walk to the nearest town and breakfast.
That was the last of our walking as we jumped on a bus for the remainder of our tour. We saw alpacas, llamas and vicuñas (an animal that looks a bit like a deer), as well as driving up to a viewpoint at an altitude of 4,900m above sea level. The view here was stunning, with snow capped mountains on the horizon. Finally, we stopped at a restaurant for an amazing buffet lunch with soups, chicken, beef, ceviche, salad etc before heading back into Arequipa.
The following day was spent relaxing around the town before catching a night bus to head out of Peru and into Bolivia. The south of Peru, and particularly Cusco had really won me over after an average experience in the north. I would have loved to have spent more time in Lima but I was also very excited to be heading into Bolivia.
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