unexpected stop over in Arequipa

Wednesday 6th November 1985

Arrive in Arequipa at 10am to change buses, but bus does not leave until 6pm. That explains why it is going to take 30 hours.

Have an unexpected but welcome day in beautiful Arequipa. Attractive town with huge snow capped volcano, Misti. Spent several lovely hours in the convent Santa Catalina. Founded in the 1500s and a closed order since then. At its peak there were over 400 nuns, now there are only a handful, and much of this beautifully preserved mediaeval miniature town within a town is open to the public. Dormitories, bathrooms, laundry, little bedsits, geraniums, narrow streets, muy bueno.

Get overnight bus, no longer luxury coach, and hereafter unsurfaced roads up into the Andes.