Cuzco to Arequipa to Buenos Aires - how?

Hi,

since my travel itinerary is now more constrained than I thought it would be, I have to think about a good way to get from Cuzco to Buenos Aires. I will start from Cuzco Nov 30th, probably, and I have to arrive at Buenos Aires Dec 7 late or Dec 8 in the morning. I really wanted to see Arequipa for 2-3 days and it's kinda on the way (as the bird flies, not necessarily as the bus drives :) )

What would be an efficient solution? I prefer spending less money over spending more, but I will take the plane and spend more if it makes sense.

Cuzco to Arequipa by night bus would be obvious, but then what? Continuing to La Paz and taking the plane from there seems kinda impossible, since all the flights La Paz -> BsAs seem to be 30 hours via 2 stops like Lima and Cordoba; or am I just searching wrong? (or too far ahead in time?) Should I go from Arequipa to Lima and fly from there?

Any bus riding options that involve some nice stops along the way? I'm not too keen on wasting 2+ days in the bus without even seeing anything along the way... Also, time is probably a bit limited for too many stops.

Originally, my plan was to go from Arequipa to La Paz, see Uyuni, go by bus/train to Salta, and make my way to Buenos Aires from there with more time; but I will probably postpone exploring western Argentina to early January and I might have to drop Uyuni altogether...

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Edited by: dvizard