Yesterday was what we could honestly call a "Traveller's Experience". We went through a rough ride to be rewarded with a real gem of a Peruvian town.After paying $45 each for our tourist bus tickets to Puno, we took a local bus for $7 for a similar length journey to Arequipa. We paid the 1 sol (20 pence/25 Euro cents) tax we headed for our bus, and the first thing that struck me about it was the bullet hole in the windscreen. The second was the smell - it was heavy... Strangely, we were almost the only ones on when as it left the bus-station 15 minutes early - until it became clear that, to avoid the tax, the bus allowed people on round the corner. As we drove out of Puno, the door of the bus was open and one of the crew shouted “Arequipa!” to passers-by. A couple of people waved, the bus stopped, let them on and carried on down the road.
The bus half- filled up with locals, carrying anything from boxes of goods to a d
ead bird in a plastic bag. We settled down into seats at the front with the panoramic view - maybe that was why we had paid 20 soles and locals, I realised, were paying only 10... Fair enough, it was very cheap for us. Unfortunately the panoramic view was partly obscured by the big cracks in the glass on one side of the glass frontage of the bus.
We drove on for an hour and came to Juliaca - and I can only describe it as a hellish experience. The city is rife with illegal trading, due to proximity to the Bolivian border where goods are cheaper. As a result, the bus filled completely with people piling on boxes of cheap coffee and cooking oil. The roads were a complete chaos, and women kept coming onto the bus selling ice cream, bread and "Chucarron" in a plastic bag - a meat and vegetable mix which had been rustled up in a pan just outside the bus in the dusty street. At one stage while we were waiting, a smell of pure sewage filled the air
and Nicki and I were left to breathe through her scarf to survive.
Thankfully, the most eventful aspects of the remaining 6 hours journey were incredibly fearless driving as our bus leaned over when careering round tight bends, and an engine that conked out a couple of times. A guy reached down into the bowels of the engine, visible from my seat, and seemed to wiggle some important piece of engineering. This seemed to restore the bus's ability to be put into gear, and all was well again.
As time went on, we were treated to stunning views across the mountains and lakes. There were no towns for over 200km from Juliaca to Arequipa, and we reached our highest altitude yet, 4800m
above sea level. The landscape became almost desert-like at times and habitants were no more than a few farm workers and dogs chasing everything that moved. Finally as the trip came to an end, we descended fast for the last hour or so and came to the outskirts of Arequipa - I want to focus on the positive, but one comment about the outskirts - it was another shock to us to see what seemed like townships of tiny mud-houses being built in wave after wave across the hillside.
ead bird in a plastic bag. We settled down into seats at the front with the panoramic view - maybe that was why we had paid 20 soles and locals, I realised, were paying only 10... Fair enough, it was very cheap for us. Unfortunately the panoramic view was partly obscured by the big cracks in the glass on one side of the glass frontage of the bus.We drove on for an hour and came to Juliaca - and I can only describe it as a hellish experience. The city is rife with illegal trading, due to proximity to the Bolivian border where goods are cheaper. As a result, the bus filled completely with people piling on boxes of cheap coffee and cooking oil. The roads were a complete chaos, and women kept coming onto the bus selling ice cream, bread and "Chucarron" in a plastic bag - a meat and vegetable mix which had been rustled up in a pan just outside the bus in the dusty street. At one stage while we were waiting, a smell of pure sewage filled the air
and Nicki and I were left to breathe through her scarf to survive.Thankfully, the most eventful aspects of the remaining 6 hours journey were incredibly fearless driving as our bus leaned over when careering round tight bends, and an engine that conked out a couple of times. A guy reached down into the bowels of the engine, visible from my seat, and seemed to wiggle some important piece of engineering. This seemed to restore the bus's ability to be put into gear, and all was well again.
As time went on, we were treated to stunning views across the mountains and lakes. There were no towns for over 200km from Juliaca to Arequipa, and we reached our highest altitude yet, 4800m
above sea level. The landscape became almost desert-like at times and habitants were no more than a few farm workers and dogs chasing everything that moved. Finally as the trip came to an end, we descended fast for the last hour or so and came to the outskirts of Arequipa - I want to focus on the positive, but one comment about the outskirts - it was another shock to us to see what seemed like townships of tiny mud-houses being built in wave after wave across the hillside. 
Then we came to the centre of Arequipa - what a beautiful place! It is known as the "White City" as many of the buildings are made from a very strong white stone. The main square is absolutely charming, food is great everywhere with juice bars, nice restaurants and attractive little alleyways all over. Our bed and breakfast room is pretty huge, just a few steps away from the main square. The city is over
shadowed by the dormant volcano, “El Misti”, as well as some other beautiful mountains. Arriving here yesterday in warm sunshine was like finding an oasis.Today we had a fantastic slow wander around the Monasterio de Santa Catalina and I can honestly say it was one of the best sight-seeing experiences I have ever had. The monastery has been preserved and restored since the 1970's and has endless little streets and hidden alcoves where the nuns used to live, pray and cook. Recent colouring of terra-cotta and light blue gave the whole place a real charm, and the peace and solitude of the place is a great contrast with the bustling verve of the city. The squares and plants dotted all around the place made it so attractive.
We are nearly at the end of our 3 weeks in Peru, and we can say we have had mixed experiences. But the beauty of Cuzco, and now Arequipa, are things we will never forget.
