Southern Peru

(Forgot to post this after writing it a week ago.)

I hadn't expected much from Peru. Before going all I heard was horror stories from other travellers about the dire state of the economy, the corruption, and the danger of getting mugged on the street or threatened in a taxi. Luckily for me, so far so good.

Anne and I decided to bypass Lima completely. Our overnight bus arrived at 11am, and we caught a 5pm bus south to Arequipa. Sometimes it pays not to be overly suspicious and hostile of strangers, which was proved when we met a very friendly Peruvian in our stopover time. Anne and I ended up spending a pleasant few hours practising our Spanish and walking around Lima with him.

As far as Lima itself, it seems to have some nice areas but my 5 hour impression doesn't make me regret bypassing it. Arequipa itself has a very nice center, equally as nice to walk around as Cuenca.t was the deepest).