We had a very hot overnight bus ride to Arequipa...the heating was on all night and we were all dressed up in our llama fashion. We arrived very early at 6.45am and when we caught the taxi to our hostel we woke up the owner. He came stumbling down the stairs half dressed and bleary eyed to greet us. His name was José and the hostel, La Posada del Casique, was a small business that he ran with his father. José was incredibly kind to us and very hospitable. We were way too early to check in but he made every effort to get our rooms sorted ASAP. Meanwhile we went to have some breakfast in Plaza de Armas and found a great place that overlooked the plaza from a balcony in the sun. It was so nice to be warm again!! We spent the morning on our roof terrace back at the hostel just enjoying the sun and calmness.

In the afternoon Jane, Kate and I went to explore a bit and went to visit the Museo Santorinos Andios which is a museum administered by the Catholic university and contains amazing artefacts of sacrificed Inca mummies that have been found at many of the surrounding Andean mountain summits. Its most famous exhibit is "Juanita, the Ice Princess". She was found on the summit of Ampato (6288m) and was sacrificed in the belief it appeased the gods from causing volcanic eruptions. We watched a video first which interviewed the main explorer and archaeologist responsible for finding Juanita and then took a tour with a guide who showed us the artefacts in great detail. The items were in such pristine condition even though they would be over 500 years old. It was unbelievable.

Unfortunately, Juanita wasn't on show as they keep her on "ice" between Jan-April and perform other tests if they need to. We did get to see another mummy though, "Solita", and she was just as fascinating. You could clearly see her hair, skin and nails etc. The scientists have been able to do DNA tests and other tests on their organs, as well as know the last meal they had given food found in their stomachs! They can also tell from the clothes they were wearing, as well as the items found with them, what standing in society they held. Juanita was from a wealthy family due to her colourful clothing and the fabric it was made from, Vikuna, which was more expensive than llama and alpaca. Whereas, Solita was a peasant girl and dressed very plainly in brown.

It was a very well organised museum and they are constantly in need of further funds to assist in future expeditions as they know there are many more mummies to be found and research to be conducted. Their greatest fear is looters beating them as many people go in search of the artefacts and mummies for their own financial gain and to build private collections.

The next day Mark was excited because there was an FA cup semi-final on between Chelsea and Everton so he and Jane trotted off to the Irish pub to watch that after breakfast. Kate and I decided to continue our cultural tour and visited the Monasterio Santa Catalina. It occupies a whole block and is like a citadel. The size and beauty of it completely blew us away.

The convent was founded in 1580 by a wealthy widow who chose her nuns from the richest spanish families and so once they arrived they maintained the lifestyle they were accustomed to. After almost 3 centuries operating this way a strict Dominican nun arrived and changed it so they were living a much simpler existence! The convent remained shut from the public until 1970 when it was opened up for tourism and restoration. Now its a wondrous place to step back in time to a forgotten world of narrow twisting streets, tiny fruit-filled plazas, hidden staircases, beautiful courtyards and modest living quarters. Kate and I took so many photos as it was just so beautiful. All the streets were named after spanish cities and we even treated ourselves to a coffee in the internal cafe! It was just gorgeous.

From here we went to visit one of the colonial mansions, La Casa de Moral. It is named after the 200 year old mulberry tree in its courtyard. It was a beautiful building that is now owned by a Peruvian bank. It is well maintained and had some beautiful living and dining rooms.

We hit the town on the Saturday night and, after a great dinner with too much Sav Blanc, hit a bar called Deja Vu!! I moved onto Pisco Sours and lets just say that was a big mistake! I paid dearly the next day!

Arequipa, being Peru's second largest city, is actually a very calming and beautiful place. It was very different to what I expected after the pace of Cuzco. There is a lot to do and its easy to navigate. We had perfect weather which I guess always makes a difference but I would thoroughly recommend this city to visit.

Hope everyone is well...sorry the blog entries have dried up again...i am trying to cram some more in now so be prepared. Once again internet access has been hit and miss! xx