Cuzco & Arequipa

When we arrived in Cuzco, the first thing we did was getting a pizza, everyone wanted something else to eat than rice and beans and potatoes which we had been eating the months before.
The next day was mostly relaxing; Marine, David and I spend the morning unpacking and internetting, we went to the market for lunch and at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon Ariana arrived in Cuzco! The rest of the day was used to relax and plan the rest our journey.

The following morning started with walking around Cuzco. We wanted to visit the white Christ statue looking out over the city, but the normal entrance was the same as for Saqsayhuaman, for which we had to pay 70 soles. We didn't want to pay that, so we decided to look for the back entrance, which led us through the poorer neighborhoods and up the hill via small and steep tracks that we had to climb rather than walk. Quite an adventure!

After we visited the statue, we were approached by a guy who wanted to sell us a horse back trip passing several ruins close to Cuzco. We decided to go there and it was really nice! The weather was good and the view was amazing. The ruins were nice as well.
We had lunch at a busy market near the bus terminal where we bought tickets for the night bus to Arequipa. We still had to get back to our hostel to get our backpacks, and during this trip it started to rain and hail really hard! The weather changed from hot and sunny to cloudy and storming in no time..
We slept in the bus, and unfortunately we slept so tight that someone was able to get into my bag and take my iPad.. So we had a good start of our journey together.. In Arequipa we went to the police station to tell them about the stolen iPad. There were some other tourists there whose bags were searched and valuables were stolen during their bus drive with the most expensive organization, so secretly we were relieved it happened to other people as well and that the prize of the bus ticket wouldn't stop it from happening.
In Arequipa we visited the mayor plaza and the monastery, and we went on an organized tour to the Colca Canyon. This canyon is bigger than the Grand Canyon and it is famous for its condors. Unfortunately, we missed the condors.. We probably arrived to late.. After that we hiked through the canyon for two days, and we stayed at an oasis with a swimming pool. The view was amazing! The hike got a bit though during the second day, when we had to hike uphill for three hours. We also visited some villages and viewpoints on the way back.
Now we are back in Arequipa, where we will stay for one more night before we leave to Copacabana. That will be the second country this trip!