We travelled from Cuzco to Arequipa via a local and very bumpy flight for our exploration of the second biggest city in Peru and also the nearby Colca Canyon, one of the deepest in the world. The city has a small town feel with very little high rise, a bit like Santa Cruz in Bolivia. Its main plaza, Plaza de Aramas, is claimed to be one of the most beautiful in South America and awash in sunshine it is hard to argue. A majestic white Cathedral that looks more like a palace stands on one side and huge white archways adorn each other side hiding shops and restaurants. It is, like Sucre in Bolivia, called the "White City" because of the white volcanic rock used to form the Plaza de Aramas as well as many other parts of the city.

In the distance a huge cone shaped volcano, El Misti, flanks the city . Near the summit of the volcano was found six bodies given to the Gods as sacrifices by the Inca's as they believed the mountains were the place you could get closest to the Gods, who lived in the clouds. To find out more about this we visited the world famous "Juanita, the Ice Princess" in the Museo Santury, the frozen Inca maiden sacrificed 500 years ago on the summit of Ampato, which is over 6,200 metres. It is the best example of its kind in the world and the one hour tour of the museum, culminating in seeing Juanita, it is unforgettable. She is tiny and the ice clings to every part of her clothes and body bar her head. The Inca's made these sacrifices, which included other artefacts, which you can also see, to prevent future earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In the evening we had a BIG night out in a few bars, one suitably titled Deja Vu, it is a cool place with a great roof terrace but unfortunately one of the girls put her camera down and never saw it again.

We spent a couple of days visiting Colca Canyon for a bit of trekking and Condor spotting, the largest bird in the world with wing spans of up to 3 metres . At the Condor look out we were very lucky to spot three as they glided above the rocky, arid mountainsides and into the Canyon itself. The area hs numerous snow capped peaks and rolling hillsides, many with pre-inca terracing. It is an enchanting place. We also spent a couple of hours soaking in some natural hot springs outside of the town of Chivay. They are natural but it feeds a proper 50s style swimming pool with bright buildings and wooden lockers around it.

Back in Arequipa, on our return, we visited the Monasterio Santa Catalina, a city within the city. It is a nunnery and covers an entire city block with its own streets inside. It was founded in 1580, it housed women from wealthy spanish families, always the second child (providing it was a girl). The women were only allowed out of there rooms three times a day, were encourgaed to self-flagellate and could speak with there family once a month, under supervision, behind a wooden mesh. Apparently it was an honour to be a nun here... It is like a maze inside, with beautiful flowerpots and brightly coloured walls. It was a good tour.

After feasting on Turksish food in El Turko, a restaruarant our guide recommended (there is quite a Turkish influence in Arequipa) we head to the night bus for Nazca.