12th May 2005 Having spent half the night at the bus terminal in Nazca, bus finally arriving at 2am!!! We arrived in Arequipa at around 11am. Arequipa is is set in a valley, dwarfed by the active volcano El Misti (5822m), the more ragged inactive Chachani (6075m) and the lower peak of Pichu Pichu (5571m). The hostel was lovely, a few blocks from the main Plaza de Armas, courtyard style colonial building and the bonus was it had hot water!!!! Bliss! We really didn't get up to much today, just had a wonder around, the city is beautiful, just how I imagined Peru to be! We have lunch over looking the Plaza de Armas and watched the world go by, the older folk tend to wear the more traditional clothing, big skirts and hats. You can also feel the altitude here, out of breathe just walking around!!!