Arequipa, Peru

Another stop along the Andes means another visit to a picturesque town set in a valley below snow-capped volcanoes. So far Arequipa is pretty cool - decent size town with the most beautiful Plaza de Armas I have seen so far (I think most South American towns have this centrally located square/plaza). But I came here for the canyon trek, and after some initial setbacks last night and today (tourist low season = less availability for 2 day treks, the bus route to Cusco is shut down due to striking workers, etc.), I just booked my trip and am set to leave on a two dayer to Colca Canyon tomorrow morning at 3:30am. There will be lots of hiking so it should be good prep for Machu Picchu next week, and tomorrow night will be interesting as I rough it in some bungalow in the bottom of the canyon. Also, Colca Canyon is over twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. I am psyched.

Getting here yesterday from Chile was a bit of an adventure. To cross the border into Peru, one has to hire a collectivo which is a group taxi - not many buses make the relatively short trip from Arica to Arequipa. Thankfully two other people from my hostel were going the same way so the three of us pulled up to the bus station in Arica and were instantly mobbed by collectivo drivers trying to get our business - they were literally sticking their heads in the windows of our cab and yapping at us before we got out. It was a total mess, and once we picked a driver one of us had to watch our bags by the car, another had to take our passports to get tickets, and another had to pay some b.s. parking lot tax in Arica before we could leave. Anyway, we made it through the border along with two other Chileans in our cramped car (six in the car, total) and then boarded a bus for Arequipa a little while later. And that six hour bus ride was the scariest one yet as our driver apparently did not feel the need to use the brakes very often. Some of the turns this guy made around the sides of the mountains were incredible/terrifying. But we made it.