We had breakfast at the hotel, finished packing our bags and checked out. We were a bit displeased with the Casona as they charge an extra 10% on the advertised price. It is hidden in the t&c's on booking.com but not easy to see and certainly not visible when you compare the price with other accommodation. Still it's a nice place and will be good to come back to after our trip to the Canon de Colca. We got a taxi to the bus station for our 0945 bus (advertised as 0915 but the lady told us yesterday that it wouldn't be going until 0945). Infact we didn't leave until after 1000 with the delay appearing to be down to the driver screwing the wheel to the axle! The first part of the journey took us back on the road to Puno which was good given we hadn't seen it on our journey here a few days ago. Arequipa really is in an amazing setting surrounded by volcanos which create a demarcation between the plains to the west and the andean mountains to the east. The outskirts of the city lack the colonial charm of the centre and are very typical half built/half demolished ramshackle townships. Despite being Peru's second largest city only c1 million people live here compared to 10 million in Lima. On the bus, we stopped along the way to drop people off/pick people up, chugging our way up the hills with gears crunching and the occasional stalling! The road continues through the high, bleak altiplano passing through the Reserva Nacional Salinas y Aguada Blanca where vicunas are protected. Eventually we turned left leaving the road to Puno and heading west to Chivay. The road continues to climb to eventually reach a high point of 4800m, passing the mirador de volcanos, before dropping down into Chivay. We stopped at the bus station, picking up passengers who then got a bit frustrated that we didn't leave for another c30 minutes and started to stamp their feet and bang on the windows, not that it seemed to perturb the driver. The local dress is very different here to in Arequipa and Puno with embroided clothing and hats. The road from Chivay to Cabanconde follows the south bank of the Canon de Colca, passing several villages and pre-Inca terracing. We stopped frequently to drop people off and pick up passengers, including a lady with two mill churns and a man with his spade and rack. Cabanaconde is just west of Cruz del Condor, the popular mirador for spotting condors floating on the thermals in the early morning. We finally arrived in the late afternoon and walked up the hill to hotel Kuntur Wasi where we'd booked to stay. The hotel is a bit of a maze with more staff than guests but at least had a bit of character. Our initial room was on the ground floor built into the rock face and we asked to move to the first floor for more light and better views of the surrounding peaks. We walked back down to the square to get a drink, watching village life. A man tided up his llama outside the bar, another man walked passed with his cow, then another with his horse then a lady with her sheep! A real menagerie of animals! We had dinner at hotel which was surprisingly good and were treated to free pisco sours, before watching the last 10 minutes of the Peru v Bolivia game in the Copa Cup along with the hotel staff. Luckily Peru won and are now through to the semi final.
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| Cabanaconde set in the high Canon del Colca |
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| Our bus from Arequipa |
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| Enjoying a drink in the square |
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| The main square with the high andean peaks behind |
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| A moody sunset |
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