Arequipa turned out to be a lovely town, 2380 metres above sea level but it was very warm and sunny when we left. The clocks went back another 2 hours when we crossed the border into Peru and we are now 5 hours behind UK time. After breakfast we replaced a dodgy ball joint (on the car) and gave The Mighty One a good service. Later we wondered into town which was a pleasant experience, many of the buildings are colonial era Spanish style and the focal point is a big square which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, it's where everyone seems to meet up on Sundays afternoon.
After a quick lunch - alpaca and chips (this should be on the Brompton Lakes Christmas dinner menu?) we set off for Chivay, a relatively short drive of 160 kms with no controls or timing as it's a transit day today. We reached the highest point of the rally, 4886 metres above sea level, predictably the views were stunning, and it was easier going down the other side than going up. Our bodies are better acclimatised to the altitude now and we didn't suffer any real side effects, just a bit tingly and a slight headache. The trick seems to be drink masses of water, the downside of this is we had to stop 3 times on the way up!
Chivay is an amazing place, no more than a large village really, and very rustic. It's at 3700 metres, so it's easy to get out of breath. It is in the Colca Canyon, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon at 4100m deep but the walls are not as vertical and it's wider so perhaps not quite as dramatic. The local people are very Inca and maintain their ancestral traditions and there are lots of stepped terraces which they cultivate. This place is VERY rustic! Colca is the official source of the Amazon, there is a small spring about 40 kms north of here but it would take 3 days to walk there and back, so maybe next time.
Apparently there are huge and magnificent Condors which can be seen at close range two villages down from here but it meant leaving at 5 am this morning, maybe tomorrow.
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