And suddenly, it is 22 april! So many things to do and see in Peru, incredible!

WeleftNorthChile and headed viathe ever-so-exciting city of Tacna in Peruto the 2nd biggest city ofPeru: Arequipa!The hostel we stayed had a garden-of- Eden-like garden andthe wheather was great most of the time. In this garden, there was a pet-tortoise, which guests could feed. Ever seen a tortoise eat a banana? Well, it takes awhile......... :)

Arequipa (2450m) is a beautiful city, the town centre is completely made of white sandstone, hence its nickname ¨La ciudadblanca¨! Very nice colonial buildings, churches, and a city-in-a-city convent. The city is surrounded by majestic mountains like the El Misti volcanoe.

We went to the Juanita museum, which displays sacred rituals of the Incas and where the mummy ofthe sacrificed Inca girl Juanitacan be seen.

The other main attraction around Arequipa is theColca Canyon, 3100m deep, and the 2nd deepest canyon in the world. (In case you are wondering, the deepest canyon, El Cotahuasiis also in Peru, close to Arequipa, and is 150 m deeper than the Colca Canyon).Beat that Grand Canyon!We did a 3-day tour and combined travelling by bus and hiking. A short impression: Small indigena villages, with people still living in a traditionalway, as farmersor shepherds,jaw-dropping views of the canyonand the high mountain scenery, plains with vicuñas, shepherds with herds of llamas and alpacas, crossing a mountain pass at 4820 m, hotsprings :), and of course, claro que si: El condor!

Late afternoon we were on the top of the deepest part of the canyon, the wheather was cloudy, foggy, but wewere very lucky: at least 20 condorsflying aroundand above us! Very impressive! Beautiful, majesticanimals and they flew pretty close, so we got some very nice pics!

The next day we hiked 1200m down into the canyon, towards the river and stayed in a kind of bamboohuts. Pretty rustic and soothing :) Our guide Carlos told us lots and lots about the flora and fauna. For instance, did you know that the red pigments/dyes for lipstick and nailpolish are the blood of some lice that live on certain species of cacti? These lice live in many places around Arequipa and Arequipeños are making a decent living of it.

Carlos also told us about the presidential elections in Peru, which were on the last day of our trip. Peruvians have to vote, if they don´t, they have to pay a tax which is of course very high. Fingerprints are made and everything is very official. When Carlos went inside a school to vote, and invited us in, we weren´t allowed on the premises, actually we were kicked out. The guard shouted at us, that this was an official and serious voting procedure, and we -foreigners- had no business there!

But before our guides could vote , we hadto hike back uphill the final day :1200m uphill, which was a very, verysteep climb. By the way, did I already mention that it was a very steep climb? ;) Breathing above 3000m becomes pretty difficult!

All in all some very beautiful days and we learned a lot about Peru and Peruvians from our guide.

Next post will be about Cusco!

Take care, and ciao!