Hello all!

Glad to hear the party went well and everything else is good back in blighty! Still loving the messages

So, we got the night bus from Nazca at 11pm and I bumped into Sian, who I´d met in Hucachina, at the bus station. The bus journey was the best! We didnt pay the extra couple of quid for first class, but we both still managed to sleep for most of the 10 hour journey as the chairs recline and you have leg rests that allow you to almost lie down.

Arriving in Arequipa at about 9am, Sian didn´t have a hostel booked so she got a taxi with us to our hostel. It is a really nice hostel, but about 5min walk from centre of the town and in a residential area. We had dorm beds, but they have curtains around each bed which gave a nice bit of privacy and peace. We checked in, then set off exploring Arequipa. There is a row of travel agents selling trips, so we visited them all and got the Colca Canyon trek for about 30quid cheaper than the hostel was offering! We grabbed some lunch which was nice, although half the time you order without really knowing what you are ordering! Haha. We walked around and was debating visiting the museum and cathedral and monastery, but you have to pay so we decided against. However, we bumped into another British girl who was debating the same and so she come with us and we tried the local speciality cheese ice cream. We sat in a pretty little square and the other 3 had Pisco Sours, which is a local drink. We then went on a free walking tour which started at 3. We expected it to be a bit shabby, but it was brilliant! We learnt all about the history of Arequipa and visited the church, museum, monastery, an alpaca/llama wool workshop, etc. The guide was very knowledgable and we learnt about the surrounding volcanoes, local people, food, etc. It lasted about 3 hours. We stopped for pizza and Harriet had chips, as a treat and to give us energy for tomorrows Colca Canyon trek! It is disputedly the deepest canyon in the world, twice as deep as the grand canyon with a depth of over 4km.

Sunday: Got picked up at 3am! We left our big rucksacks at the hostel and just took essentials. It was a 3 hour drive to Chivay, a village where we stopped and had breakfast. Then we drove on the Condor Cross where you can see the Andean condors. This was one of the reasons we had to leave so early, because it is the best time to see them. They are huge and have a wingspan of up to 10.5ft. We were lucky to see about 20 of them circling the canyon. We hoped back on the bus and got dropped at a random layby at the top of the canyon. Harriet and a German couple were doing the 3 day, 2 night hike, which is a more relaxed tour, where they hike for about 3 hours a day and take an easier route down the canyon. Me, Sian and 5 others were doing the 2 day, 1 night trek. So we bid farewell to Harriet and wished her luck as she went off one way, nicely equipped with her walking sticks!

We trekked down the canyon for about 4-5 hours. It was boiling hot and the terrain was very rocky, but it was a beautiful hike. There was a bit of drama as we had an older American woman in our group (early 50´s?) and she was a wimp! She was relatively slow and struggled a bit, so we had to keep waiting for her. Then she forgot (?) to drink and so felt ill and dizzy and then she reckoned the guide had told her we was all mad at her and that she was selfish, etc. So she got all emotional and over-dramatic. Haha! Once we got to the bottom we stopped in a tiny traditional village and had lunch- omelette and rice for me. Then it was another 4 hour hike through the canyon to our camp. The path was very up and down and we crossed the river Colca a couple of times, it was nice to bathe our feet in the cold water! The guide explained about the plants and wildlife. We arrived in our camp about 5pm. There was a little pool, which I paddled in and Sian swam in. The views up the canyon were amazing and me and Sian decided we´d like to live there for a while as it was so peaceful. We had dinner and then weren´t late to bed; I was sharing a hut with Sian and the American. I have never seen such a beautiful sky! There is no light pollution and the sky was clear, so we saw a sky full of stars! I never realised there was so many! You could even see the other galaxies glow. There were so many surreal and breath-taking moments- that is what it is all about!

Monday: We had to get up at 4.30am, as we left camp at 5am when it was still dark to avoid the worst of the heat and make it to the top in good time. I found it considerably easier walking up, surprisingly. There was less pressure on the joints and I guess my cardio level is quite good, so me and a Belgian couple led the field. It took about 3 hours to reach the top, so we were there just after 8am. The American was on a mission to prove a point after the guide said she should take a mule up, so she done a lot better! We had another short hike to a local village where breakfast was served. I was one of the only ones not to get blisters; thank you Vicky´s walking shoes! However, my legs have never ached so much! From the village we got a minibus to the highest point in the valley and then through a national park to see wild alpacas and llamas. We stopped at some hot springs and all went for a swim, which was lovely on the aching muscles and very relaxing. Then we stopped in Chivay for lunch. We ended up in a 'resturant' which was just a couple of chairs and tables in someones front room.

Arrived back in Arequipa about 5pm. Me and Sian come back to hostel and they had no dorms so we got a private room for not much more. Had much needed showers and spent the evening having a trivial pursuit championship!!!! I was in heaven! It was the American Genius edition, but it was good fun and I won 2-1! Pics of Colca Canyon are on Facebook!!

Tuesday:

Woke up and had banana pancakes: a nice free brekkie compared to the usual bread and jam! I don´t know what the plan is for today yet. Harriet is due back tonight at about 5, I think it is lucky she didn´t do our trek as I think she would of struggled, but I´m interested to see what her trip was like. I am still debating climbing Misti tomorrow, but Sian suffered during Colca and has the most horrendous blisters so she´s out, Harriet was definitely not interested and I don´t fancy doing it alone. Plus, it costs a lot of money and I am weary of the altitude sickness and still aching a little. Plus, it means staying here for a couple more days. I will try and speak to a few people and see if anyone is up for it. I was looking at booking the Inca Trail for January, as permits are already selling out. However, they need your passport number and are very strict about it. I panicked and emailed a few companies about my situation. Most said they couldn´t take the booking but two have said they can change my passport number if I let them know the new one asap. However, I need to check with Harriet if she thinks she can manage the hike, as it is a lot of money.

Take care guys!