Sylvie and I took the evening bus from Puno to Arequipa. The bus was comfortable but we were both very cold because these type of buses don’t have any heat. I was huddled under my blanket with it pulled up over my head.

We arrived in the Arequipa bus station at 12.30 in the morning, got off the bus and found a ’secure’ taxi to take us to our hostel which was near the center of the old town. Silvie had made a reservation at a local hostel. When we arrived at the hostel Sylvie rang the bell for about 10 minutes. Finally we managed to wake the owner (who was not very happy) and he opened the door for us. We were expected we thought. Sylvie had told him we would be arriving after midnight but we arrived later than he had expected so he had gone to bed. Fortunately our taxi driver waited for us until we were safely inside the hostel.

The main plaza in Arequipa

The next morning we had breakfast on the balcony of a large building overlooking the main plaza. The plaza was very pretty with a large fountain in the middle. Most of the buildings were white because they were built using the local white rocks…a very different look from Cusco. The city also felt open not having the narrow cobblestone streets that Cusco has.

Having breakfast on a balcony overlooking the main plaza

Arequipa lies in the Andes Mountains with the snow-capped volcano El Misti overlooking the city.

In front of the fountain in the main plaza in Arequipa

The people of Arequipa are said to be very independent and strong minded.  I hoped that we would be able to visit the Santa Catalina Monastery which is a small walled city with a colorful history. There are still nuns living in the convent. But we didn’t have enough time to explore and then catch our bus to Colca Canyon.

The entrance to the Santa Catalina Monastery

We took the local bus from Arequipa to Chivay a small village on the edge of the Colca Canyon. It was a 4 hour bus ride through desolate country with some areas heavily covered with rocks. the city of Arequipa has been destroyed many times by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and we saw the results of this activity in the landscape.

A highlight of our bus ride was sighting a vicuna grazing next to the road and packs of domesticated lamas.

Vicuna (copied from Wikipedia)

As we climbed higher up the mountains I saw high alpine meadows fed by springs and many rock cairns created by the local people.

Rock cairnes high in the mountains above Arequipa

We arrived in Chivay late in the afternoon and booked into our hostel which cost us around $5 each. It was clean and comfortable but definitely a budget hostel.

Rumi Wasi Inn

We walked to the main plaza of Chivay and had a coffee at a very nice restaurant overlooking the plaza.

The plaza at Chivay

The town is surrounded by many terraces most of which are still under cultivation. It is winter here so many fields have been harvested and we saw locals digging potatoes on the bus ride into town.

Local people harvesting potatoes outside of Chivay (photo taken through the dirty bus window)

The next morning we arrived at the bus station in Chivay at 7 am to catch the bus to Cruz de Condor, a well known point overlooking the canyon, to look for Andean condors. The bus left a little after 7.30 and we arrived at the condor site a little before 10 am after stopping in three pueblos along the way. We saw condors flying overhead but they did not stay for long. We were very late in arriving at the site. But I did get a few photos.

A male Andean condor flying overhead

A female Andean condor. Look at the wingspan!

The site was spectacular. The canyon is considered the deepest canyon in the world with a small river snaking far below and high steep mountains rising sharply to snow capped peaks. Amazing. It was breathtaking. We both wished we had had more time to spend here.

Colca Canyon from Cruz de Condor

We returned to Chivay on the local bus sharing the ride with local women dressed in embroidered skirts and hats, children and tired men.

A local woman carrying her trade goods to catch the bus.

At the bus station we booked a bus back to Arequipa at 4 pm. We were lucky because there were only a couple of seats left and it was the last bus out of town. We had dinner in Chivay and took a motorcycle taxi back to the bus station.

Motocycle taxis in Chivay

Looking back at Chivay through the bus window.

We arrived back in Arequipa just in time for me to catch my overnight bus to Cusco which was departing at 8.30 pm. Sylvie had an extra day to spend in Arequipa so she was taking the all night bus the following evening.

My bus ride back to Cusco was comfortable and unexciting. I arrived in Cusco at 7 am and took a taxi back to my hostel. The next morning Lisa, Jo and I were leaving for Machu Picchu.