Day 5 (13-Dec-15) Paracas - Lima - Arequipa

Today was essentially a rest day, with a leisurely breakfast at 08:00hrs. We spent nearly 2 hours catching up on administration – blog, work and personal e-mails, Facebook entries, catching up on world news and swapping photos. We then spent an hour in the gym before then heading to our rooms to pack for the return bus journey to Lima. We again were assigned front row seats on the top deck – and once again found the entire journey fogged in. We considered ourselves very lucky that the fog had not encroached during our tour of the Islas Ballestas and Paracas National Park. This fog is also not normal for this time of year – another bad omen stemming from the powerful El Nino event impacting countries all around the Pacific Basin.

 

Once back in Lima we were met again by Ralph to escort us across town to the airport for the connecting flight to Arequipa. Following check-in formalities we enjoyed another Starbucks coffee in the domestic lounge before then boarding the flight at 19:30hrs. The flight to Arequipa was uneventful, though Simon was squashed in the back of the plane while Astrid and I were given seats at the emergency exit over the wings, which therefore have extra leg room. Clearly the Gods continue to smile on Astrid leading up to her 50^th birthday in a few days time.

 

On arrival in Arequipa we were met by our guide for the next few days and taken to our Hotel – a modest by brand new place in the centre of town. Set in the Andes this city of 1 million, which is the second largest in Peru after Lima, is just 1/10^th the size of Lima. However, it punches well above its weight due to its unique colonial buildings, the close proximity to the Andes, and the vast choice of wilderness adventures available. Given the late hour we simply dumped our luggage in our rooms and then headed out into the brisk fresh air to grab a quick bite at ZigZag, a famous local restaurant. Following some very fine dining, washed as usual with fermented grape, we headed back to the Hotel just before midnight. All-in-all a very quiet, with thankfully all arranged transport departing and arriving on time, and with no hiatus.