A cactus at the top – Arequipa, Peru

This picture has been taken while I was finally exiting the arid Nasca desert to enter the fertile valley where Arequipa, the second biggest city in Peru, is located. The road suddenly took a sharp turn to east and start climbing from sea level to 2600m. I left the sand dunes and the Pacific Ocean behind me to find the Andes that I had left two weeks ago.