AREQUIPA, AREQUIPA, AREQUIPA
We only had 24 hours in Nazca before we were off again heading south on an overnight bus to Arequipa (which we christened 'Arequipa, Arequipa, Arequipa' in memory of the bus conductors in Lima who call out at high speed like a market stallholder the names of the main roads on which their bus will be travelling - one of the key roads into the centre of Lima is called Arequipa). We had the front seats on the top deck of the bus this time which turned the first half of the journey into something similar to a rollercoaster ride in the dark as the driver overtook cars and negotiated tight turns all in the pitch black. Fortunately we were soon able to close the curtains and fall sleep.
We arrived in Arequipa x 3 at around 7.30am and, in an unprecedented burst of organisation for Team West, by 8.30am we had booked into a hostel, bought a bus ticket to Tacna two days later, and had got ourselves onto a two day tour of the Colca Canyon which was leaving immediately. We jumped straight onto the tour bus which gave us a great view of the three imposing volcanoes which surround Arequipa en route to the Colca Canyon. The Canyon is home to the condor and is one of the deepest canyons in the world, apparently twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.
The tour was well worth it as the valley and canyon were spectacular and, although we didn't actually get to see the elusive condor, the steep mountains, pre-Inca farming terraces and great views were amazing. Being at altitude took it's toll on us again so we tried chewing coca leaves again but this time with the delicious additional component of a lump of chalk which is supposed to act as a catalyst. After it failed to have any effect on the Inca Trail, this time all the chewed green goo seemed to do was make Emma's jaw numb.
The only thing we might have changed about the trip was the slightly naff touristy evening which was laid on with the now compulsory rendition of Simon & Garfunkel hits played on the panpipes followed by some folk dancing which Emma was persuaded to join in with, dancing a jig with one of the locals.
When we made it back to Arequipa we had an evening to explore this attractive city with its large main square, where Emma furthered her slightly worrying tendency of photographing Peruvian children playing with pigeons, an activity that would probably get you arrested in the UK. The sun was low in the sky and reflected against the beautiful buildings of the square which were made out of the local white volcanic stone, very different to other cities we'd seen so far on our travels..