From Lima to Arequipa

We sludged slowly into Lima, tired and still smarting from farewelling Montanita we were surprised to be greeted with sky rise buildings, heaving traffic and a fairly modern metropolis.  After 20 hours of bland scenery it was a sensory assault and did nothing for our already dismal frames of mind.
Having prepared ourselves for two days of nothing, we were all happy to find our hostel and settle in while we braced ourselves for the next leg to Arequipa.

Mira Flores is most definitely the nicest part of Lima...ritzy, upmarket and maintained, we spent two grey, cold days strolling through the Plaza, checking out the main shopping centre and relaxing.

On the 15th we were packed and champing at the bit to head to Arequipa...for me, it was the beginning of the most exciting leg of the trip, the famous Canyon country had me excited and it was with much leaping and wahooing that I boarded the bus ready to go.

The scenery South of Lima was amazing.  Miles of desert, yet where the north was dirt and sand, this was white and when bathed in twilight, was eerie and surreal.  An endless horizon of white on grey on blue.
We rolled into Arequipa at 6 am the following morning (just in time to see the All Whites score woopa!) and immediately booked a two day tour round Colca before hitting the city to explore.

Arequipa...words cant come close to describing how mind blowingly, mesmerisingly beautiful this city is.  Complete with ancient Spanish architecture, collosal churches and monestaries and an immaculate central Plaza, Arequipa is nestled amidst the Andes mountains...a backdrop that literally left us speechless.  To one side, snow capped mountains glistening behind the canyon, to the other, ragged, mars like hills and peaks.
We spent an excited day strolling the streets, sitting atop a rooftop cafe drinking coffee and basking in the sun and celebrating our new found paradise.

Colca Canyon...

The next morning we were up at 6.30 ready for our tour bus to pick us up.  Itching with excitement we ignored the sleep deprivation and hunger and set off.  There were 20 people on the bus and by the end of the two days, we had made life long friends.
We drove for four hours out of Arequipa, through the Andes in what I can only describe as the most amazing,  different and rugged terrain I have ever seen.  We reached 3900 metres and got out to óoooh ahhh woowwww´at the view...I  suffered a mild onset of altitude sickness (dizziness, throbbing headache and fuzzy vision) but was not deterred.  Standing amidst the mountains was amazing!
We then carried on to the town Chivaz, set deep in a valley amidst the mountains, where we had lunch before carrying on to Maca.  Maca, a pre Incan farming village, is set in a valley of ancient terraces, is as óutlandish as anything I had seen.  Dome thatched rooved mud and ash huts, rock walls and terraced farming made for sheer beauty and I was gripped  with butterflies at how amazing it all was.
From Maca we climbed up around the valley, scaling rocks and cliff to 4000 metres (exhilerating but exhausting) to visit ancient tombs (complete with mummies, skulls and skeletons) .  A truly spiritual experience, the sacred ness of the place was palpable and with the sun setting behind us in the valley, it was a moment of true reverence and personal reflection. 
We spent the evening soaking weary but elated and excited bodies, under the stars in natural thermal pools...which, in all accounts, was the perfect ending to the most incredible day.  Something words and photos will never do justice.
The following morning we set off at six, stamping in the freezing cold, to the canyon itself all expectant and anticipating to see the famed majestic Condors.  The drive up yielded the most amazing scenery I have ever seen making the previous days seem bland and secondary.  Rattling high into the moutains we had a perfect view over the whole valley, rivers, lagoons, terraces as far as the eye could see...it was like looking down onto a model of some far away ancient land.  My pen has been limply poised trying to find words to describe the view but words fail me.Upon reaching the canyon, we spent two heavenly hours perched atop the cliffs, 3200 metres above a raging river below, watching the Condors soar below and above us...again, like writers block, I am rendered incapable of describing the experience, all I can say is it was the greatest day of my life...not only did I climb new heights, but I reached new heights of emotion and elation.