Arequipa, Peru - 1st to 7th January

2012 started with an early morning flight from Santiago. So we stepped over the mess from the previous nights party at our hostel and caught a taxi to the airport. We had bought our ticket online very cheaply, so were relieved when we were allowed to check in and board the plane.

 It was our final week in South America and we were spending it back in Peru. We flew to the southern city of Arequipa and found our way to a quiet hostel on the edge of the city. The owner was an Italian guy who made us feel very welcome.  Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru and is surrounded by volcanoes, which was the main reason for our visit. Our mission was to climb Chachani - a 6075m volcano.  Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, it rained continuously for 3 days. Due to the height of the volcano, the rain fell as snow in the mountains and the tour company cancelled our trip. So we spent the time seeing the sites of the city and relaxing at the hostel.  

Arequipa is built from volcanic stone so the buildings are particularly impressive. They  are also pretty sturdy so they can stay standing when earthquakes strike. The last one happened about 10 years ago. Our favourite building was the cathedral so we went for a tour- fortunately the guide spoke English. The views from the roof of the main square and surrounding area were impressive.

After leaving Arequipa, we caught a bus to Lima for our final night in South America. By now we were getting very excited about the next part of our trip to the USA. To make sure all went smoothly with my emergency passport, we arrived extra early at the airport. A few extra questions were asked and it took us longer than normal to clear security, but we were soon on our way to Lake Tahoe, USA (via Miami and San Francisco airports).