Arequipa

This Gap tour has been so action packed that I’ve had little time to myself & little time to write up what I’ve been doing. Today I make amends with the passed 10 or so days worth of news.

We left Nazca on the 9pm night bus bound for Arequipa at 10.30! We settled into the bus journey & had various levels of successful night sleep. A combination of ear plugs, eye shades, herbal drinks & Valium were the most common choice of sleeping aids. I opted for the first two & slept pretty well considering the continuous turning bus as it climbed up into the hills. South American night buses are a luxury affair, with fully reclining leather chairs & leg rests, a hostess & breakfast served in the morning. It helps make the long journeys slightly more bearable.

We awoke at 6, sorry, were awoken at 6 am to rock concert volume Pan pipe music & were served the driest sandwich on earth for brekie – Hum yum-yum & luxury!! The outside scenery had changed significantly as we’d climbed high up into the base of the Peruvian Andes. Arequipa’s landscape is surrounded by 4 snow capped mountains all around or over 6000m giving Peru’s second largest city the name, “the white city.” Built on the South American fault line there is little left of original colonial architecture as frequent quakes since 1548 have sort to redesign the city since Spanish conquistador times.

We transferred from the bus station to a hotel where some people went back to bed, others to explore the town & shop. Determined not to waste dayas wandering around towns, 4 of us went off to White water raft the narrow Rio Chili. Javier had run ahead & booked us in so we were picked up soon after check in & were driven high up the river valley, to spent the day squeezing past or over boulders, dodging rapids & avoiding sun burn.

Our late departure from Nasca meant a late arrival into Arequipa so we were thus off schedule all day. Our half day rafting finished at 3pm & no sooner were we back in town than we were off an a half day Mountain biking ride. Rob opted out but Javier, Sean & I hopped on suspension bikes & rode out around the original Inca terraces & streets of the town until the setting sun robbed us of any more time. The scenery was fantastic & the exercise well needed. I slept like a log.