Holiday

We're taking a couple of days' rest cure in Arequipa (at least, that's what it feels like).

Having been in Cusco long enough to marvel at what a beautiful place it is, and having done the trip to Machu Picchu, and been to see Lake Titicaca even higher up in the Andes, we needed a little break. Sadly we have been dogged by illness of one kind or another (not me so much, but it's not nice to have someone you care about unwell), and so we have skipped a bit from place to place without getting the full experience of each one. It's now quite questionable whether we will see the Nazca lines, too, but the first priority is health, obviously. Besides, our friends in Lima are waiting for our return, and going back there feels like going home. They are eager to see us again apparently!

But here in Arequipa we are also more comfortable than weve been since setting out on our travels. The city feels more sophisticated than most of the places we've visited, and the architecture is old ornate colonial, with a lot of white stone and bright paint glowing in the sun. We're in an old area, with cobbled streets so narrow that our taxi gave up trying to turn from one into another, and the house itself is built around a central courtyard so that you go outside every time you go from room to room, and the courtyard and roof terrace have exotic plants and cacti around the furniture. Our host here has real style. She has also looked after us extremely well, given us an extraordinary special rate, cooked us breakfast, and given us fascinating information. And our room is bigger and plusher than any we've seen yet.

So we've taken it easy while we're here, and it feels more like a genuine holiday than before. Most people who come to Arequipa take a journey out to the Colca Canyon, which is bigger and deeper than the Grand Canyon, but we've been sunning ourselves on the roof terrace and wandering gently down to the city centre and back. It's not such a Peruvian experience, but more of a holiday.

People everywhere here are really great. We've been taken care of wherever we've needed it.