Su Majestad Hotel Arequipa

... Picchu... which make a great background! WE got a taxi back to the plaza and finally sorted out posting a few bits back home (postage is a fortune here, so postcards are likely to be sent later.... sorry guys!), we then had some more of our "DIY" palta y queso sandwiches (after recovering from feeling really sick on the bus this morning...with full blast dvd on in spanish, of revolutionary road, and a loud buzzing noise from the speakers!=<br><br>We went for a drink in a ...

... house syndrome that you see everywhere in Peru (and other developing countries I have to say). Most houses particularly in outer suburbs have the top floor unfinished with pipes and metal rods sticking out everywhere. Its really ugly and I never understood why they wouldn´t just finish it off... but the people don´t pay tax if their house is not `finished`... <br> <br>It was an overnight trip and we stayed in a little town, Chivay, on the ...

... forwarded message:From: Victoria Mallon &lt;v.mallon@comcast.net&gt;Date: October 2, 2009 9:26:58 PM MDTTo: "vmallon.secretword@travelpod.com" &lt;vmallon.secretword@travelpod.com&gt ;Subject: PackingUghhh....I so hate packing. I'm the worlds best procrastinator. My bag weighs about 40 lbs. Not too bad for 6 weeks. Really hard to pack for weather extremes - cold Andean mountains to hot, humid Amazon.Sent from my iPhone

... bis zum Basecamp auf 5400m, aber auch da keucht man schon. Dann werden Zelte aufgebaut und bezogen man trifft sich im großen Küchenzelt zum gemeinsamen kochen und besprechen. Die Gruppe bestand aus zwei Australiern, zwei Brasilianer und mit mir drei Deutschen. Zu Essen gab es erstmal Suppe und danach gekochtes Fleisch mit Gemüse und Kartoffeln. Wenn man Hunger hat und es Kalt ist schmeckt alles prima. Ja und dann gegen fünf Bettfertig ...

... Afrikaner) außerhalb der Stadt wohnen mussten oder weil sehr viele der Kolonialbauten gekalkt waren, also weiße Wände hatten.<br><br>Das Kloster <br>Einer der bedeutendsten Momente und Monumente der Stadttour war unser Besuch des Klosters Santa Catalina. Dieses Kloster wurde 1579 gegründet und beherbergte 150 Nonnen und 400 Dienstmädchen, welche überwiegend aus Indigenas, Mestizinnen und Afrikanerinnen bestanden. Die Nonnen selbst waren gewöhnlich die zweite Tochter einer ...

... of the next. We also learned about the different crops that are grown in the area. I thought the farmers were just perfect. The canyon isn't exactly what I thought it was going to be. The fact that I have seen the Grand Canyon, I just thoguth this would resemble more of a hole in the ground like the Grand Canyon. It is still very beautiful and impressive place. The contrast between the snow capped mountains and the desert of the surrounding area is great ...

... me, where they have natural volcanic springs. The water is filtered down to 2 swimming pools and we stopped there for an hour. I thought that the water would be warm, but it was just like stepping into a massive hot bath. Amazing! It was just what our poor litle aching bodies needed. After that we went for a luxary buffet lunch and then back to Arequipa on the bus.<br>Stay tuned for more, simply awe inspiring blogs from the twisted minds of your favourite travelling gurus...<br>

... Grund die Stadt den Spitznamen "Die weisse Stadt Perus" traegt. Viele Gebaude um den Hauptplatz wurden naemlich aus weissem Sillar-Gestein vulkanischen Ursprungs erbaut. Der ueber der Stadt thronende, 5822 Meter hohe Vulkan El Misti traegt weiters zum unverkennbaren Stadtbild Arequipas bei. An unserem ersten Abend entschlosssen wir uns die gemuetliche Atmosphaere der Stadt zu nutzen um Arequipas ...

... entered for a grand old time, before the Dominican priests installed some tougher rules!). It fills about 2ha of land and is like a minature town. Unbelievably cute with its maze of cobbled streets, fountains, blue, white and deep red walls, and red potted geraniums. However, the grand religious artworks and somewhat grotesque statues of Christ made it a bit of an austere place too. All considered ...

... stunning, but pretty to look at. It was obvious we were transitioning to more of a desert type of climate as the area became dryer and lots of cacti dotted the small mountains through which we were winding. The bus seemed pretty safe, which was a relief. My guidebook advises to take only the more well-known bus companies like Cruz del Sur or Ormeño or Civa...but none of them had morning service to Arequipa! I was a little nervous about buying a ticket on the first company ...