Arequipa

Arequipa has really nice architecure. We went to see a giant monestary which was like a small town.

We went on a 3 day treck down the Cañon del Colca. This is nearly the deepest canyon in the world, at 3191meters (they recently measured one next door to be 163 meters deeper). The bus goes as high as 4800 meters above sea level before dropping to the first town of Chivay. Then a tyre change and on to Cabanaconde making a 5 hour bus on unpaved roads from Arequipa. Then a 2 or 3 hour treck down to the villages at the bottom which don´t have road or electricity. Their major crop is a parcite that lives on the cactus and is used as a red colouring agent. We stayed overnight down at the bottom in really rustic accomadation, mud bick and floor and one candle. We picked up the dinner from the river on the way, (fish). The next day after a nice swim at an oasis the 3 hour hike out of the bottom part of the canyon climbing over 1100 meter back to Cabanaconde where we stayed the next night. Then to the Cruz del Condor lookout point to see the wild andean condor, one dutifully showed up, we had seen some flying just after the hike. Some hot springs to relax and back to Arequipa. A great tour.