Chivay and Arequipa

In the morning, we set off from Puno towards Chivay. When we boarded the tour bus, the guide briefly explained the route and the small stops we would make. But where were all the other passengers? To our delight, we were once again the only ones and had the entire bus to ourselves. The journey was very interesting in terms of scenery. Steppe, small lakes, llamas, alpacas, flamingos, volcanoes, and snow-covered mountains.

Upon arriving in Chivay, we were initially amazed by the beautiful Plaza de Armas and the large market. Such a small village nestled among high mountains, situated on the Rio Colca and right next to the Colca Canyon. For the next day, we booked a half-day tour to the Colca Canyon to see the huge Andean condors. For dinner, we had traditional Peruvian cuisine. Simon ordered Cuy (grilled guinea pig) and I had alpaca steak with quinoa-cheese pampe, it was delicious! As planned, we headed to the Colca Canyon the next morning, to the viewpoint where the Andean condors live. They are the largest birds of prey, with a wingspan of up to 3 meters. It's impressive to see them glide among the mountains without flapping their wings. When one of these birds flies above you, it can be quite awe-inspiring, especially since their heads look quite spooky. No wonder they are scavengers with that appearance...haha. On the way back, we made a quick stop in Maca and had a Colca Sour, which is made with the cactus fruit (Colca-Kiwi) - yummy! The tour was really great, the landscape was unique, and once again, it was just the two of us with the guide. By the way, the Colca Canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world, four times deeper than the Grand Canyon. The deepest canyon in the world is also located in Peru, but it is not accessible yet. Here too, traces of the Incas can be found, and their terraces for agriculture are truly admirable.

In the afternoon, we relaxed, ate our way through the market, watched football at the Irish pub, and saw Germany lose :( The real excitement came in the evening when Peru won against Iceland - what a football-crazed country. Fun fact: The entire country of Peru had the day off after qualifying for the World Cup!

The next day, we welcomed Arequipa - the White City. Second largest city after Lima but the most beautiful in all of Peru. Numerous colonial buildings made of volcanic stone and the fantastic view of the volcanoes give the city center a unique flair. There is so much to see, countless cafes, international restaurants, and historic buildings. We especially liked the Santa Catalina Monastery. You could call it a city within a city. Until 40 years ago, nuns lived behind the walls, cut off from the outside world. They mostly sustained themselves and lived quite medieval lives. The complex is beautifully designed and offers countless photo opportunities.

Next, we dedicated ourselves to our passion - food. We attended a cooking class for traditional Peruvian cuisine. On the cooking and dining menu were Causa, Lomo Saltado, and Quina-Flan.

In English: stuffed potato cake, stir-fried beef with vegetables, rice, and potatoes. We had a lot of fun in the group, the food was super delicious, and flambéing was a highlight.

And because we enjoyed it so much, we also visited another workshop. Here, chocolate is made from scratch. In a small backyard in the middle of the city, completely organic and 100% natural. We learned a lot about the history and production of chocolate. Real chocolate contains: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and sugar. Milk powder is added for milk chocolate. Cocoa mass and butter are obtained from the beans, which is very expensive. Cocoa butter, in particular, is the most expensive ingredient and is often replaced with palm fat. That's the difference between real and fake chocolate. It's amazing that we only find fake chocolate in the supermarket, but it tastes so good. After making our own chocolate pralines, we had a chocolate tasting. Fun fact: real chocolate is incredibly healthy, as long as you don't overdo it.

We watched the sunset from a rooftop terrace overlooking the Plaza de Armas and the mountain panorama. After these two impressive days, we can only agree - Arequipa is truly the most beautiful city we have seen in Peru so far.