Arequipa- White city

On August 17th, we arrived in Arequipa in the morning around 6:00 am. The bus ride was not very relaxing as we had to transfer at midnight. However, we were lucky to get a seat with 180-degree adjustable seats on the second bus, so we could sleep a bit. When we arrived in Arequipa, we walked straight to our hostel, as it was only 100 meters from our bus stop. Unfortunately, we had to pay an additional 50% of the accommodation price at the hostel to check-in at 6:00 am. But it was definitely worth it! We were enthusiastic about our little lovely hostel with breakfast on the rooftop terrace. The toilets and showers are located one floor below in the open air, which we really like because the weather in Arequipa is beautiful and warm, so you can enjoy the sun while brushing your teeth in the morning. After sleeping for another hour and freshening up, we went on a free walking city tour. Unfortunately, we didn't like it that much because we were hoping that the guide would tell us something about the city and its buildings. Instead, we sat in an unknown building for about 20 minutes, where various things about Peru were explained to us, but the city of Arequipa was a bit neglected. After the city tour, we explored the city on our own. The city is situated between three volcanoes, one of which is still active. Arequipa is really different from all the other cities I have seen in Peru so far. Clean, spacious, modern, beautiful, and totally atypical for Peru. The city almost feels European.

On Saturday, we slept in and had a cozy breakfast on the rooftop terrace. Around 11:30 am, we were picked up for rafting on the Rio Chili. But what we didn't know is that "chili" means "cold" in Quechua. That's why we had to put on a wetsuit, life jacket, rubber shoes, and a helmet. Then we were ready to go. It was a lot of fun for about 1.5 hours. I almost fell out once because the seat for two people in the middle was too narrow. When the tour guide noticed, we switched seats. In the evening, we enjoyed the beautiful sunset over the Plaza de Armas from a rooftop terrace. We went to bed relatively early because we had to wake up at 2:15 am for a three-day hiking tour.