We finally made it onto a bus out of Ica and on to Arequipa. However, spending 11 hours on a coach is not ideal but the highlight was definitely the onboard bingo. To continue our bout of bad luck with transport, our taxi broke down half way to the hostel meaning we were further delayed but eventually made it in one piece.

After a few hours sleep we were up early again to start our tour of the Colca Canyon. We saw some familiar faces, bumping into the Swiss sisters again. We made our way through the national reserve stopping off to observe vicuñas, alpacas and llamas as well as the stunning volcanoes. We continued up winding roads to an altitude of over 4900m, the altitude sickness slightly alleviated by the Coca leaves we had been chewing.

Our next stop was for lunch in the town of Chivay where we sampled the local delicacy of alpaca which was tastier than expected. After a quick nap, we made our way to the hot springs where we bathed among mountains in 39 degree volcanic water. After this much needed relaxation we headed into town to explore the markets and have dinner. Shortly after we made our way back to our freezing hotel room, comforted slightly by the hot water bottles provided.

The following day, we rose bright and early at 5am only to have further transport problems as the battery in the minibus had frozen. This did however mean that we were able to enjoy the sunrise over the volcanoes. We eventually set off through the Canyon (the deepest in the world), passing incredible pre-Inca terraces on our way to watch the flight of the condors.

After a 3 hour drive back to Arequipa, we had a little time back at the hostel to organise ourselves before a further 10 hour night bus to Cusco. We arived feeling very sleepy and had 4 hours to kill before our check in at our hostel. After our first hot shower for a while, we ventured into town to see the sights and enjoy the sunshine. We plan on a chilled out evening before starting our jungle trek to Machu Picchu tomorrow.