Arequipa, Peru

This week's dilemma.

To finish my entry regarding the bus to get here - it only got worse. The bus drivers were on island time and extended the journey length by any means possible. The other passengers (our first introduction to Peruvians) were pushy, smelly and rude (a western opinion - most likely none of the above from a Peruvian perspective) but definitely a culture shock from the lovely Bolivians. The bus was a double decker, only the entire lower deck was for baggage - a space our friends did their best to fill with all kinds of junk but most consistently an average of at least 100kg of potatoes each. I am still baffled at why one needs to bus with 100kg of potatoes and this curiosity was only deepend when we disembarked to find several stacks of live chickens (as high as me) being loaded into an adjacent bus. And if that wasnt enough, the lady next to me had her ill mother carried aboard in a blanket and tossed onto the seat by two burly blokes who swiftly disappeared. It was an absolute debacle and poor old Cat had to battle through it all (including the smell of trout - last night's poison) with monkey's in her stomach and unbearably slow progress. We arrived two hours late and had to stay clear of the murderous mob for another 15 minutes whilst the container ship was unloaded. I honestly would have prefered a chicken bus. I hope this isn't normal.

But that's not a dilemma. We've come to Arequipa to visit Colca Canyon and the question is how do we do it. The simplest way is to do a tour but that requires at 3am wake up and being herded around like sheep. Gringo sheep. The next best way is a semi-private tour which, despite offering all that and a piece of cake, comes in at a cool $200 for two days. Both of these options bring us back to Arequipa which, as nice a city as it may be, getting in an out of it is a gear grinding ordeal in more ways than one - I really don't want to have to do it twice. Hola option 3: catch the local bus and spend our time figuring out how to get from A to B to C once we're there. Sounds a little more adventurous than being tour cargo, if you ask me.

Arequipa has a reputation for being the 'white city'. Not because of population demographic but rather the colour of the locally sourced stone from which many of the colonial buildings are made. That is if you can pick it behind the Starbucks, Pizza Hut and plentiful bustling retail that smothers the heart of Peru's second largest city. The backdrop to the city, if you can find yourself a rooftop or large expanse of correctly-orientated street to see it, is nothing short of magnificent - 6000m peaks in all directions. Peaks that we have absolutely no desire to summit and will happily watch go orange in the sunset from our rooftop with a beer in hand. Our visit was brief and uneventful so I won't bore you with anymore nonsense. I do however have to note that when I describe these colonial cities, I'm more often than referring to a few dozen downtown blocks. In itself, those blocks are obviously not a city. Those blocks are what draw the tourists and provide opportunity for the chancing busker, pickpocketer, tour operator and souvenir salesman. The rest of the city (all 99% of it) is invariably a chaotic, unplanned mess of half finished red brick buildings and traffic. At least that is what I can tell from the second storey security of a passing bus (more often than not). If you're looking to get off the beaten track, leave your wallet, watch and belt in a hostel and go out for a beer in the real Arequipa. If you dare.Read more