So far I am very impressed by Peru - the scenery is breathtaking, the food is tasty and the locals are very helpful and genuine. With a population of just under 900,000, Arequipa is Peru's second city after the capital, Lima. I have been looking forward to Arequipa as I had heard it being dubbed as 'The White City' thanks to its large amount of whitewashed colonial buildings. The city retains a very pleasant and relaxed vibe consideing its importance and population. I arrived at 5am on Wednesday morning after a sleepless 9 hour coach ride from Cuzco. The bus itself was awesome - television with good film, music, dinner served by attractive hostess and even a game of bingo. It was more like being on a plane. However, the driver was a maniac and was obviously due for an early breakfast in Arequipa as he sped the whole way, spending a long time overtaking on blind bends and even when it was obvious that another vehicle was coming. By the time we arrived on the outskirts of the city the situation was bordering upon ridiculous with the driver showing no concern for road safety - thankfully the hostess had advised us to slip our seatbelts on the previous night! On my first day I sat around in the plaza before heading back to my hotel to watch France v Italy. I fell asleep halfway through the second half and didn't awake for 18 hours! I spent yesterday visiting various places of interest including an impressive convent called Santa Catalina. The convent takes up a whole city block! After a knees-up with the nuns I headed down to a museum where I saw a preserved Inca mummy. The mummy was the frozen body of a 12 year old girl called Juanita. She was sacrificed after a volcanic eruption as a sign from the Incas that they respected the mountains and believed that they were God's who could destroy. I learned about many more small children who had been taken to the summit of various mountains for sacrifice in the 15th and 16th Century. Juanita was discovered by a yank exactly 11 years ago to the date of this journal entry. The tour was very interesting and I learned even more about the Incas, their belief in duality and also their respect for 'Pachamama' mother earth. Today I visited the well kept district of Yanahuara before chilling out in a suprisingly peaceful city centre park. I have a story about being followed by the police and a seperate story about being followed by a local boy in search of food - both funny but to be elaborated upon at a later date! Tonight I am heading to Ica from where I will rickshaw my way to Huacachina for some birthday sandboarding.