So I left Simon and Paul in Mancora and boarded the bus for Trujillo, where I had to make an overnight stop. Upon my arrival the taxi driver informed me that the hotel I intended on had closed down, but smelling a scam I insisted that he took me there. It had indeed closed down.

Trujillo itself was nothing to write home about...so I won't . The following day I took the busup into The Andes and the mountain town of Huaraz,from where I envisaged trekking, mountain biking etc but alas the weather was rubbish so I blew it out and hopped on the overnighter to Lima instead. Here I hooked up with some English lads who had met Simon and Paul in Mancora, and we had a right night of it in one of the local discotheques.

Onwards and upwards (thought geographically downwards) I returned to Arequipa for some more adventures and Spanish lessons. I enrolled once again at RICO School with Alan as my trusted professor. I decided to stay in the accommodation that the school provides, in the shape of an apartment above the school itself. This turned out to be an inspired move, I shared with two Dutch girls and an Australian, and I had my own large room, so much better than shared dormitories!

The first week of Spanish lessons went swimmingly, I can now consider myself an advanced beginner! It was also great to have some routine, the lessons were four hours a day from 09.00 with the afternoon free for homework , exploring Arequipa or lazing on the large sunny roof terrace that the apartment enjoys. We also made the Peruvian dish Causa with some of the teachers and students to finish off the week's lessons. That weekend I fancied some adventure so took a bike halfway up the nearby mountain of Chachani and threw myself back down the rough trails and pathways.

Week number two and more of the same, though Simon was in town having managed to claw himself away from the evil clutches of Mancora. We had dinner one eve then Simon was off to Colca Canyon for a couple of days, but before he departed we hatched a plan to climb El Misti, Arequipa'sguardian volcano.

5882m above sea level, the traditional volcanic shaped cone of El Misti is higher than any mountain in Europe. It also offers no technical challenges, the only risk to climbers is that of altitude. A fair number who attempt it are beaten back by pounding headaches, vomiting or worse. Undeterred, Simon and I signed up with a local agency who provied a guide, equipment, food and a Spanish couple interested in climbing the volcano too.

The trip was to be over two days. We were collected at 08.00 and headed off in a 4x4 for the starting point at approximately 4000m. From there it was a hard six hour upward slog with full backpacks to the base camp, which was already set up. We enjoyed dinner, sunset and a distinct lack of oxygen until the cold became unbearable and we hit the tents, fully clothed and smothered in sleeping bags.

At 01.00 it was time to get up, take in some breakfast and start the five hour slog to the summit.It was darn cold, but the full moon allowed us to forgoe the head torches and make the attempt in glorious moon light. This was really tough, the lack of oxygen meant that we had to stop for a breather every 15steps or so, and we all felt a little weird and trippy. We must have been mad to have actually paid somebody for this torture!

Nonetheless, with daybreak creeping over the horizon we made the summit. The viewsacross the Altiplano were magnificent and the crater itself, though inactive, let off token puffs of steam. We all agreed that this had physically been the most challenging endeavour we had ever undertaken, but also one of the most rewarding.

Back in Arequipa that night, basking in our glory, we downed several beers, pisco sours and vodkas before getting home at some ungodly hour. The next day we took a tour of the Santa Catalina monastery, which itself is a city within a city, and took loads of great photos.

The following day Simon and I parted company for the last time, the former heading south and the latter heading north. All in all I was sad to say goodbye to Arequipa, but was looking forward to heading back up to Huaraz and the activities the weather had previously denied me.