Bloody busses!
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Arequipa,
Peru
Sunday, June 15, 2008
I am actually going to start twitcying every time I see a bus....I couldn not be more over the washing machine effect, knees squished to ears and loud karyoke style music!! Hey ho I managed to contain myself and we all reached the pretty town of Arequipa unscathed!!
Our hostel gives us a great view of the large volcano looming over the city and more importnantly free breckie! Other than the stunning architecture including an enourmous cathedral located on a large square and another very ornate church on the opposite side, people use Arequipa as a base to visit the Colca Canyon (the second deepest in the world) and its condors (the national bird of Bolivia!?!).
So with 2 girls who we met at the hostle (one of whom it turned out I was tenuousily related to via the Scroupes) we set off for Chivay - a small town near the Canyon, where we dined on the best pizz iīve had in South America!
It was an early start the next morning when we were picked up in a very smart although still crampt (clearly South Americans donīt believe in the sanctity of ones knees) minibus! We were driven from Chivay to Cruz del Condor - hoping for good traffic (ie. not too many cows)!
Cruz del condor is home to 33 of these awesome birds which stand at 1m and have a wing span of up to 3 1/2m. We could not believe how close to us they flew and how many we were lucky enough to see, as they spiralled up out of the canyon, gaining height as the wir warmed - it was a truly exhillarating experience.
All too soon our time was up and we headed back to Chivay taking in a few view points incluing one that overlooked pre-incan terraces!
More yummy pizza and chocolate and it was bck on the bus heading for Arequipa, via some Vicunas - the prettier and more valuable cousins of alpaccas and llamas, who appear on perus coat of arms!
A good restful day or so later and it was time to make the gruelling journey to Cusco ...for the great reuniting with my beloved sister...!
