Casagrande Arequipa

... which is snow capped and quite spectacular. Hoping to head out this afternoon to visit the Museums which have been suggested and take photos. Then I will attempt to upload some photos later on this evening. Internet seems relatively good here.<br><br>We have a 8.30am start tomorrow where we are heading into the Colca Canyon to seek out some Condors (yay!) and then up to 4100m. My first taste of altitude. Should be interesting. We stay overnight ...

... same number there are not many people to choose from. The girl takes an instant liking to Phil much to his dismay and tries to drag him up, he´s having none of it until Al intervenes explaining that he is keen just shy. The girl wastes no more time and takes Phil by the hand to dance with her. Hillarious is the only word the describe what follows next...Phil trying is best to dance whilst the girl flounces around, Phils dance can only be described as a DJ trying to mix with ...

... process from shearing the animals to the end weaving and design of the garments themselves. All very well done, so well that Virginia was back here the next day to buy a very elegant baby alpaca scarf for a knockdown price.<br><br>We were then showed round the rest of the city's other main sights,the most impressive of which was the grand main square, the Plaza de Armas.This is a beautiful colonial centrepiece for the city with a fountain in the middle,Spanish arches ...

... 8211; I don&#8217;t think there is a capacity limit. I&#8217;d say there were easily 25 people packed into this little cardboard box on wheels. I was &#8220;standing up&#8221; &#8211; basically hunched over at the waste with my back up against the ceiling &#8211; for about 20 minutes before I was able to steal a seat when someone got off. Never again will I go to Alto Cayma on a Saturday afternoon!<br><br>When someone needs to get off a kombi, the driver ...

... called the Kodak shop and the bloke said my camera was fixed, so me and Claire got a taxi back into town while Nicki chopped vegetables. On our return we helped make dinner, which was lovely. We then tried to watch Tropic Thunder but the combination of loud music from the next room and the fact that the pirated DVD was scratched to **** and constantly skipped and stuttered made for a very frustrating experience, so we gave up. here`s a tip: don`t have your TV ...

... there is a good possibility to spot some Andean Condors.<br><br>On the evening before we were supposed to depart we get a phone call from the excursion company telling us that because of the "potential" strikes the bus driver wants to depart at 03:00AM! At 02:25AM the owner of the hotel woke us up as the excursion company was there already! 5 Minutes to get changed and we were in the bus. The trip to CC was awful. The bus ...

... it did not disappoint. One of the most captivating things up there was an old man sitting on one of the ledges overlooking the farmlands below (see pic). The views were absolutely breathtaking. We walked around a bit and finally hailed down a taxi so that we could get back to the main square of the city. <br><br>We slapped our bags on our backs, took another taxi to the terminal de autobuses, and waited for our bus ride to Ica.<br>

... in traditional costumes doing dances. <br><br>After Cusco we caught the overnight bus to Arequipa. It was a really nice city even though we didn´t do a great deal. Mainly just walked around and checked the city out. The architechture here is fantastic- loads of buildings made of sillar (white volcanic stone) with nice carvings above doorways etc. and really cool archways.

... blocked out by the thick walls but it´s not true. I asked her if there are any rooms in the back off the pretty terrace available and she said no. Maybe someone will leave tomorrow and I can move. But I can´t complain because it´s only 25 soles per night, less than $10, and includes breakfast. And it has a lovely rooftop patio with gorgeous views of the surrounding snow-capped volanoes where we eat the breakfast! Plus I get 10% off because I´m a member of the South American ...

It's hard to believe it, but April 9th was the one-year anniversary from the night Cynda drove me to the bus station and I officially hit the road. One year is 365 days! As I sit here thinking about what that means I quickly tell myself to stop thinking about it...I can get all philosophical and poetic after arriving home when it's all over, right? <br><br>Why waste time with **** like that now? <br><br>I couldn ...