Hostal Astorga Arequipa

I arived in Arequipa the 31 in the evening. Halloween, of course. streets packed with a young disguised crowd and old women selling food. Not the nicest moment to play the tourist, and I'm way too tired to party (just out of 15h bus...).<br>The next day in the morning I have a clearer view of this big city. The center is like any colonial town : main palza, big church, ...<br>Nice little shops, restaurants, ... This is a rather beautiful modern city, very lively.<br>I go to the ...

... s 2nd biggest City. It was definately worth a visit and I will try and get some photos of it up.<br><br>Walking out of the Convent it is only a couple of blocks to the main square which is as beautiful as any I have seen so far. This is further enhanced when the sun goes down and the Cathedral lights up.<br> <br>It has been a short stay in Arequipa but it seems a nice enough place. The Canyon and Bolivia awaits.

... that fly over it. We spend and anagonising half a day trapsing around tour companies with the sole aim of finding a tour that doesn´t involve any walking! We succeed and the following morning we´re off. We get collected by minibus at 9am and we quickly realise we´re on another sort of trip entirely- it is very civilised and the average age is 50 years. At least we know there wont be much walking! The only other youngsters (yes, Al and I are still under thirty so can be ...

Virginia woke up with a bad case of "Delhi Belly" or to be more geographically correct "Peru Poo".So she was left in bed recuperating and off the remaining 4 of us went with our guide Betty to see the city sights of Arequipa.First stop was their pride and joy - the Santa Catalina de Siena Convent, built in the 16th century by the Spanish to house the Dominican nuns. The kids were convinced it was another Alcatraz on first viewing as,although prettier than a prison,it had ...

... get off and go back to a part of the route where they think they will get more passengers. Yesterday, I had gone about a mile or two when suddenly everyone else on the kombi got off. I thought this was a bit strange, but the boletero did not tell me I had to get off, so I stayed on. A few minutes later I decided to ask him if they were still going to Alto Cayma. He, of course, said no, and told me I needed to hop off and wait for another bus to come. My host ...

... to the side. The scenery is wonderful and it was great to get back out walking again. Even the hike back up the canyon (a steep climb up 1200m) was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I just took it slow and steady and only needed to stop for one break for just a couple of minutes to catch my breath. Even the day after my legs felt fine, not even achy which is a miracle for me.

... a lesson in having patience with myself. I had a few moment where I was very frustrated, but once I just let my group go on ahead, it was much better. I didn't feel like I was being waited on. We reached a point about 1 hour in and Roy said we were halfway. That made me feel a bit better because the hike was suppose to take 3 to 3.5 hours, which meant we were going fast. About 3/4 of the way Roy offered his walking poles to me. It made things a little ...

... name) and the Hotel allowed me to have a seat until I decided to go which was very nice of them! Walked around the hotel and found a casino so I decided to play slots to pass the time before I goto the bus station.<br><br>Took a taxi from the Casino to Bus Station, it was open! The Cruz Del Sur bus which I bought VIP seats were awesome and had a pillow and blanket. Slept soundly.....<br><br>BUDGET:<br>Buffet Lunch at ...

... was good at what he was doing and dropped me off at Buena Vista Hostal, which I emailed to see if I can get in at this crazy hour which he said yes. Dropped my bags, on the floor and crashed into my bed since I was still sleeping in a way hehe :)<br><br>Woke up and got some complementary Peruvian breakfast. Then, mapped where I was gonna go. Since, the hostel was in Yuanhuara. I decided to visit ...

... was very grateful! <br><br>While driving me to Colonial House Inn, the taxi driver asked me 3 times if I already had reservations, did I know my hostal is a little far from the Plaza de Armas, and have I already paid? This is pretty typical, as the taxi drivers love to try and lead you to another hostal. I assured him I already had reservations (true) and I´ve already paid (not true) and I´m not worried that it´s a 5 minute walk from the Plaza (true!). We drove through the streets ...