Arequipa, Arequipa, Arequipaaaa! We had heard this plaintiff cry many times at bus terminals as spruikers from various companies touted for fares. It had subliminally given us a bad impression of the city before we even saw it. How wrong we were! Arequipa was one of the pleasant surprises of our travels in South America.

The use of white / pale grey sillar stone (compressed volcanic ash) as the main building material gives Arequipa its unique character and its nick-name of the "white city". The large central plaza (with more pigeons than Trafalgar Square), surrounded by colonades and the cathedral, and the many other colonial buildings and churches make the old centre of Arequipa a facinating place to spend a day or two wandering about. It was also a welcome relief not to be constantly harassed by street venders and restauranteurs as we had been in the more tourist-dependent Cuzco.

There are two other must-sees in Arequipa:

- the Museo Santuarios Andinos, housing the frozen mummy of "Juanita - the ice princess", an Inca princess sacrificed over 500 years ago on the top of nearby 6000+m Nevado Ampato (and only discovered recently when the ice-cap was melted by a nearby volcanic eruption). A fascinating insight into the life and times of a child born and raised to one day be a sacrifice to appease the mountain-gods (and proudly so). She died believing she would achieve immortality and, in a curious way, she has.

- the Monasterio de la Recoleta, built by the Franciscan monks; it has an incredible library of old books and manuscripts dating back to the 16th century housed in a classic musty "this is a real library" style of building, plus some more beautiful courtyards and cloisters in natural sillar stone, fascinating to compare with the pastel painted cloisters of Monasterio Santa Catalina.