We arrived in Arequipa, not too far from the Bolivian border (well 6 hours) two days ago. The city is a step in the right direction from Pisco, as it's really pretty, safe and the food is good. They even have a KFC and Pizza Hut (when the national dish is guinea pig you're thankful for such things)! The first day we visited Juanita, the ice mummy who was sacrificed to appease the mountain Gods five hundred years ago. She was found ten years ago on the top of a near-6000 metre mountain, and judging by the articles left in her tomb she was an aristocrat chosen from birth to be sacrificed, possibly in response to volcanoes or earthquakes. Juanita was 12 years old when she was taken to the top of the mountain, drugged and then clubbed around the head with a spiky stick, before being burried in a foetal position. Two other children were found nearby. The Inca's believed this would satisfy the mountain Gods and restore equilibrium, and the children were taught to believe they were to become divinities themselves and live with the Gods, especially Juanita who was burried at the very top of the mountain. The mummy itself is tiny, partly because of the position she sits in with her legs tucked in, and partly because of the confined space she was in. You can still make out skin on her arms and her hair is still intact. Luckily you can't make out the wound that cracked her cranium. It's pretty eerie seeing a 12 year old child sacrifice in such good condition, but the museum does a great job of telling her story and showing the artefacts found with her, so it was well worth a visit, especially as they expect her to detoriate soon and not be on show much longer. Today we headed to Canyon del Colca to see the Andean Condor's in flight. Apparently the biggest birds in the world, they are 1 metre tall and have a 3 metre wingspan. They fly in the mornings in the thermal currents created in the Canyon, which is the second deepest canyon in the world, closely behind a neighbour by about 160 metres. It is 3000 metres deep. After waking at 1am we got picked up at 2am and took a 5 hour bus journey to the canyon. After about 20 minutes we panicked they were having a day off, until suddenly these two magnificent birds started swooping down over everyone's heads. It was an amazing sight. After about 30 minutes they called it a day and we headed back via some Inca ruins, but the 10 hour bus journey was worth it for 30 minutes of bird watching. Tomorrow we head off to Puno on Lake Titicaca, near Bolivia.