Arequipa and Colca Canyon, Peru

The main plaza in Arequipa.

These are pics of the inside of the huge convent.

Jessica and I had a couple of days rest back in Cusco before getting the nightbus to Arequipa. A sort of niceish town with a frozen Inca girl and a convent but what it's most known for is being close to the Colca Canyon where you can trek in and out in 2 or 3 days. It is supposedly bigger than the Gran Canyon but many said it's not as impressive. It was pretty but getting down was a bitch it has to be said and my knees were in a bad way. A really kind Italian guy who wasn't even in our group lent me his walking sticks. The guide suggested that I get a mule to get back up but there was seriously no way I was going to do that. There are plenty of crosses on the way up marking the deaths of people whos mules had gone over the side. Actually going up was fine as it doesn't hurt the knees so much. We managed it in 2 hrs 45 mins which is pretty good going as most people take over 3. We celebrated in style that night at a nice Mexican restaurant with lots and lots of tequila shots and then onto Puno in the morning.