I arrive safe and sound at 8am in Peru´s second largest city, Arequipa. Catching a cab to the hotel with Eric from Bermuda (nobody in Peru has heard of Bermuda) we settle in and walk around the city for the day. The architecture is quite appeasing to the eye and is Colonial at it´s best. Theres not much to see here in the way of tourist attractions except for overpriced museums so we mosey through local markets and treat ouselves to pastries and beverages...namely Coke or Inca Cola (which is roughly 70% sugar, but very tasty).

Along our walk we encounter many school kids, who seem to finish quite early in Peru. They are quite curious about gringos and the bravest one will usually call out ´hello´as you pass them by. This sometimes eventuates into requests for photos and small conversations but is always a funny experience. Quite often I will get requests from more mature folk wanting to have their photo taken with me. I assure them that I am not Matthew McConnohey but they still persist.

We have a night on the town and thanks to my basic spanish and Eric´s more than basic spanish we manage to mingle with the locals and have a smashing time dancing to Salsa, Regaton and Cumbria.

After 4 hours sleep were up at 7am for our two day tour to the Colca Canyon. The group is roughly 25 strong and consists of people from most continents and strangely I am the token Aussie. The scenery on the first day is mostly óf arid, stoney and open plains and mountains, but interesting none the less.

An afternoon of relaxation is had by most as we soak up the warmth of the local thermal springs whilst sipping a cold one. Life if tough! There is a local festival on in the town of Chivay, where we stay and we watch the locals dance and drink the equivalent of mulled wine before heading to another discotequa for some dancing followed again by 4 hours sleep.

The second day we venture right up to the start of the canyon, which to me is more of a big valley after seeing the Grand Canyon, but still quite nice. At the lookout we have giant condor birds (up to 3m in diameter) fly by us as they hover in the wind hardly even flapping their wings. Along the way we also see old Inca retaining wall systems in the canyon valleys, tombs carved into the rock face and more beautiful mountain scenery.

Back in Arequipa I hope on yet another night bus and head for Cuzco....the land of the Inca....