We were off at 6am to go to Arequipa. We stopped at the Nasca Lines, but didn't take the flight for an overall view. We went up 2 miradors (a tower and a hill) and saw enough to get the idea. We bought a decorated rock.
It was a very long drive to Arequipa and quite boring - mile after mile of sand, shale etc with overcast skies. It was very depressing. We saw Camana, the town near the epicentre of the June 2001 earthquake, and the remains of a shanty-town after the tsunami. There was barely a tree or any greenery to be seen on the entire trip.
We had one surreal moment when we came across a road worker sweeping sand off the road. He was on his own and there were miles and miles of road with windblown sand. It was like painting the Forth Bridge, a never ending job!
At around 3pm we reached Arequipa and we passed a group of school children marching in formation. It made an interesting photo.
When we got to the Control, once again, we were the first to arrive! We had a very good late lunch on the terrace of our hotel, the Portal - faded but OK, while the band played in the Plaza de Armas.
The cathedral next to our hotel which was badly damaged in the recent earthquake as was much of Arequipa.
The Plaza de Armas where I had my shoes polished.
Our hotel with its lovely open corridor on the first floor.
We were horrified to learn that Ed and Carolyn Hammond had rolled their car on rough road and have gone back to Lima. We tried to contact them, but couldn't. In the evening, a cheque for Earthquake Relief was presented by Jenny Dorey to the Mayor, on behalf of all on the Rally. We later ate next door to the hotel with Colin and the Robinsons.
Having driven 453 miles today, we have now passed the 5,000 mile mark. The total distance driven since Rio is 5,075 miles.
