WEEK FOURTEEN 

Tuesday we were back in Cusco and after a night out, we didn't leave our hotel till after 11 for a big breakfast at Jack's cafe (we almost lived at this cafe during our short time in cusco!). We spent the day wondering around the place and in the late afternoon we ended up at a cafe popular for their hot chocolates - and it was probably one of the best I've ever had, particularly because it came in a soup bowl so it was huge! 
That evening Rudy had organized a little 'pre-carnivale' celebration, so we were dressed in silly hats and went for dinner armed with streamers and cans of string. We had a table booked at 'Fallen Angel' - a very funky and expensive restaurant decked out like heaven and hell. Since leaving Melbourne, I am yet to turn down a meal consisting of an 'unusual' local animal.. So tonight was no different; I had a lovely alpaca steak. 
Following dinner, we headed up to Paddy's Irish pub for a drink - the highest Irish pub in the world! 

Wednesday  we had another full free day in Cusco before catching an overnight bus to our next destination. Again, we spent most of the morning wandering through the beautiful city. cusco is probably my favorite Peruvian city that I have visited thus far; it's extremely pretty, the streets are cobble stoned and at night the place is spectacular. 
We stopped off for a quick hot chocolate and cake before going for a 1 hour full body massage which was amazzzzzing! A little weird at times, as they massaged everywhere and every muscle! The other girls in particular really appreciated it after the inca trail hike. 
In the late afternoon we ended up at Jack's (again) for our final meal in cusco before walking down to the iglesia de santo Domingo colonial church, which is part inca ruin, part Spanish work. The incas had once covered the entire worship building in gold, before the Spanish invasion in which they built over it. So inside, it was a real odd combination of Spanish and inca architecture.
At 830pm we caught the worst overnight bus yet, through to Arequipa. A 10 hour ride  through the windiest of roads and pathetic air conditioning system!

Thursday we arrived to Arequipa before 6 am and every one of us had had a max of 2 hours sleep, so we weren't in the best of moods! We got to our hotel by 7 and obviously it was too early to check in so Rudy took us all on a walking tour and to get some breakfast. Arequipa is an extremely beautiful city with 3 volcanoes only kilometers from the city centre - one of them still active. The city appears to be very well developed and quite exclusive. There aren't many locals dressed in the traditional clothing and very few beggers. 
After Rudy was finished with the tour, a group of us headed of the museo santury, which usually has Juanita on show - the frozen inca girl sacrificed at the summit one of the volcanoes in Arequipa. unfortunately Juanita wasn't on display (preservation work is done around this time to her body), but they did have another girl who was sacrificed afterwards, on display. Regardless, the museum was fascinating and it was really interesting to learn a little more about the inca culture. 
We were there for about an hour and by the end of it we were all absolutely b*****ed and decided it was best if we headed home for a sleep. I was up and showered by 3pm and Rudy had strongly recommended a visit to the old convent - monasterio Santa Catalina. A convent for nuns, opened in the 1800's and still being used today. It occupies an entire block and is like a city inside a city, with intimidating high walls, cobble streets, plazas, several courtyards and it's own cemetery. I took a guided tour where the lady took me back in time to how the nuns lived under the Spanish rulings, prior to a Dominican nun coming through and straightening things out. It was a very beautiful town and I ended up spending a good couple of hours here. 

Friday we were checked out by 830 and on our way to the Colca Canyon. It was a pretty uneventful ride, except for a quick stop at the highest peak along the way - just short of 5000m above sea level. It was snowing at this point which was pretty cool! In the last afternoon, a few of us went on a small hike to the top of a hill that gave us some really pretty views of the town. There was also a small inca ruin here as well. 

Saturday we had a 530 wake up call and were on our way to the touristy part of the Colca canyon. By 8am we arrived here.. It was a popular area for sightings of the bird, Condor (not dissimilar to an eagle or a vulture). We were warned that we may, or may not sight them though. However, within 5 minutes of us being there, we were lucky enough to see several hovering around near us! Their wing span is up to 3 metres long, so as they were flying over head of us, it was quite intimidating. After about an hour here, we then went for a couple of hour hike along the rim of the canyon. The Colca canyon is one of the deepest in the world and provides spectacular views. We could see several small towns scattered along the valley.. One that is only accessed on foot. It takes tourists 3 days to hike there, while it takes a local 7 hours to reach. 
That evening we went to an Irish pub for dinner and pool, which ended up being quite a late and big night. 

Sunday we were up at 7 and out of the hotel by 8 to head back to Arequipa. It was a very quiet and uneventful drive, mainly as we were all nursing hangovers. The whole day was pretty uneventful, actually, as we all had to physc ourselves up for our overnight bus ride through to Nazca! 

Xx