Thursday
A very interesting night bus trip that continued longer than it should.
At 3 am we stop. No one knows exactly why. But something to do with a road blockage. We try and sleep. It is surprisingly hard to when you are unable to elevate your legs.
At about 6:40am it is so hot and stuffy in bus we get out and discover it is flooding across the road that has stopped traffic and not expected to be passable until at least 12pm.
We nibble on snacks and try and conserve our water; now having to last an extra day of hours.
We walk down to the river where it is raging and definitely not passable. There is a lone digger managing the fix it mission with lots of spectators.
The buses have let out their watery bodily discharge ( no no. 2 allowed) out and it leaks across the road. It's a mission to avoid it. The trucks cars and buses stretch beyond sight. We vary from resting on the bus and enjoying cooler air outside. Eventually after 12pm the line slowly moves. Stopping and starting as they let others from the other side across as well. When we reach the flooding it is still significant and some cars appear to be struggling. Mal got a good video. They play films in the bus and we drift from reading subtitles and sleep. We at last reach our hostel in Arequipa about 7pm. Exhausted and hungry. 20hrs after we left. Double the journey. This is our first 'altitude' stop in prep for the Machu Picchu. We shower and prepare to go out to eat. The internet is good at the hostel and I can post days of blogs. It is much cooler here and I am glad to get out my jeans and warm tops.
Looking forward to bed!