We have spent the last three days in La Ciudad Blanca - or the White City - of Arequipa, relaxing, soaking up the atmosphere and hurling ourselves down a mountain on bikes.

The city itself is absolutely beautiful. The official line is that it is named the white city because all of the buildings are made from white Sillar, or volcanic rock. This gives a dramatic effect in the city centre, especially with the snow-capped peaks of El Misti and Chachani towering above everything.

We were also given a slightly less savoury version of why the city has this name. The city was founded by the Spanish, being one of the few Peruvian cities not to have been founded on an original Inca city. In a census done by the Spanish in the 16th century the city was inhabited by mainly white people - over 90% of the population were white - partly due to the king of Spain banning other ethnic groups from entering the city because they brought with them disease. Now there is a diverse mix of people, with people from the highlands migrating to the city to look for work. This has led to the city becoming a vast sprawiling affair, reaching far up onto the volcano sides.

Yesterday we went mountain biking down the side of Mount Picchu Picchu - but before you become too concerned that we may have exerted ourselves we should point out that it was all down hill. We were driven up to 4250m on the side of Mount Picchu Picchu where we were treated to awesome views of El Misti. We then hurtled down the rocky side of the mountain, through small rural villages where they still farm on the ancient Inca terraces carved into the mountains, to finish up at 2800m. Getting to see this landscape and these communtiies up close in this way was absolutely amazing, even if the biking did turn out to be more energetic than we had anticipated!

Today we have been looking around the city at the various cathedrals and plazas - yes, there definitely is a theme across the whole of South America in Spanish Colonial towns. Two places stuck out however. The first was the Museo de la Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria where they have the frozen body of an Inca girl found up in the mountains.

Although a little creepy it was actually fascinating. Whenever there was any kind of natural disaster - be it earthquake, volcanic eruption or drought - the Inca believed the Gods were angry and needed to be appeased by offering up a sacrifice - and the ultimate sacrifice was a child. Over 500 years ago one such sacrifice was made atop mount Ampato during a relatively warm spell when there was no snow on the mountain. The child was sacrificed and buried here before the snow returned, to be perfectly preserved by the ice. She was found by chance when a nearby volcano erupted, clearing the snow on top of Ampato once again. In the museum we saw explanations of the rituals along with the ceramics, jewellry and weavings found with the girl, as well as in the graves of two other children found on the mountain. Everything had been perfectly preserved by the ice - with some of the clothes and festhers looking like they had been made yesterday. And finally we saw the body of the girl. It really was fascinating to see these things preserved as they had been 500 years ago, giving us a real insight into this ritual.

The other place that stood out was the Monastery of Santa Catalina. This convent is a massive sprawling citadel within high walls in the centre of Arequipa. The nuns here in the early 17th centruy lead the high life, with visiting musicians, parties and servants. The ´cells´were more like 2 or 3 roomed apartments, some with their own little courtyards. The place is a sprawling mass of cloisters, cells, common areas and plazas and offered a unique look at the life of these nuns.

Arequipa has been amazing - the city has such a good atmosphere, with amazing places to eat and drink or simply chill out and amazing scenery around it. We really wish we were spending more time here, but sadly we have to move on. Cuzco here we come.