Libertador Arequipa - A Summit Hotel

Tues 27th Oct, morning after Inca Trail, first stop Jack´s Cafe for a good old English breakfast - scrambled eggs, bacon and baked beans - just what the doctor ordered!!<br><br>Then time to move on from Cusco and fly to Arequipa. After the quite breathtaking Machu Pichu it is hard to imagine anything on the rest of our trip can surpass it.<br><br>Arrived Arequipa Tues afternoon. Arequipa city of the taxi!! Quite unbelievable. Pretty much every car on the road is ...

... seatbelts that don´t work. Paulo has some vision problems and his wife and daughter had to alert him when the light changed colors and I had to warn him when a speed bump was approaching. A few close calls didn´t seem to faze Paulo or his wife so I tried to be as calm as possible and gave into the faith that this family has been driving like this for years.<br><br>Sunday, I awoke early to visit the plaza de armas once more. I ...

I´ve completed 4 days of classes and I am pretty sure my head is going to explode by the end of 6 weeks. Classes are going well with Carmen and Henry though I wonder if I am actually regressing a bit as I try to learn the correct way to speak. My teacher Carmen is using our classes as an opportunity to get some free medical advice which is fine with me. Änyway, I am looking forward to the 3 day break from school. <br ...

... help an old lady across the street.<br><br>After two and a half hours walking in the midday heat, we reach the rickety bridge at the bottom of the canyon that crosses the river. Despite drinking gallons of water, we feel dehydrated and in need of a rest. Next to the bridge there are half a dozen local women who shout at us when we appear, drawing our attention to the bottles of water and fizzy drinks they sell. At twice city prices they are doing OK for themselves and, under their ...

... it used to be. Gloria and Jim have told me that it is a process with all of these people to teach them to be thankful for the support that they are getting and really try to better themselves through the programs provided, instead of thinking of their sponsor and the program in general as an endless flow of stuff. Some people they just cannot get to fulfill their end of the bargain &#8211; and they are forced to kick these people out of the program. Tough love. <br ...

... come to every morning. Every morning Jim and Gloria come down and hug each of the girls and ask them how they and their family are doing and if they have shown the same affection for their kids. The hope is that the affection they show to the girls will be translated to the girls&#8217; kids and family. A side note &#8211; in Peru, hellos and good byes are always done with a hug and a kiss &#8211; no matter how well you do the other person. These hugs ...

... the 16th century rich nuns used to arrive with servants and lived quite a life - but then one extremely strict nun reformed the convent and extinguished a lot of the fun. The laundry set up was quite ingenius with a sort of mini canal running through the convent which they channelled into some giant terracotta pots where they washed their clothes.<br><br> We then did a spot of shopping and ...

... elder has an heart attack or over eager photographer loses their footing so the carrion-eaters -- same as Vultures -- can have their free meal. It really is amazing watching them lazily expand there wings some which can span 20ft to catch the riding air below. We leave and arrive at Copaconda for lunch and to start the first leg of our trek into the canyon. Now my first observation is ...

... traffic whizzing by outside) and soaking up the silence. And despite everything it was not nearly as touristy as expected, with us only seeing maybe five other people in the two hours we were there. <br>After a few days spent hanging out in Arequipa, seeking out icecream and good coffee, Nikki and I decided it was time to get our legs moving and head to Colca Canyon, the deepest in the world, and just a mere five hour bus ride away. And this was by far the absolute worst bus ...

... br>For three days, I went on a hiking trop to Cañon del Colca or Colca Canyon - the world's deepest canyon. I went with a tour agency called Land Adventures, and I definately don't recommend them.<br><br>We left at 06:00 and boarded a seriously cramped public bus, with our guide Vladimir, to Cabanaconde, where we got to eat and then started our descend into the canyon, lowering some 1000 m (3300 feet) in altitude, down a very steep slope. Our group consisted ...