Peru Day 5 – Arequipa Fast n Furious....

After the 11+ hour coach journey (which involved waking up to snow-capped mountains and no human civilisation within a 360 degree view) the team headed off into the depths of Arequipa to our hostel in three separate taxis. This hostel is full of character with plants creeping up the front and a small courtyard. We spent the next several hours acclimatising to our new, higher altitude and settling in by carrying out tasks in small groups such as buying food for the next few days and travel arranging.

A huge lunch was then prepared by the ‘food people’ which consisted of spaghetti with tomato sauce and an assortment of vegetables and chillies...hot chillies. I learned a valuable lesson today: when you don’t know how hot the chilly is, it is perhaps not wise to take the largest piece on your plate and chew. Rhona and Katya also learned a valuable lesson: very spicy things make them feel sick.

After sitting around for some time basking in the glorious sun and digesting the huge and –for some- unforgettable lunch, a large group of us walked into the old part of the white city where we not only had the chance to wander around in the cathedral, but had some wonderful ice-cream. For dinner we found ourselves at a fast-foodesque pizza place where..hmm..how can i say? ....some of us were a little bit too lively! :D (Ed: for a change) Now we are in bed preparing for the 2:30 wake up tomorrow morning for our first acclimatisation trek. Can’t wait :-)

Lucy