Arequipa felt like a world apart from La Paz: clean, calm, organised, pretty. Such a contrast to the chaos and pollution I'd become accustomed to! Peru also felt immediately more touristy than Bolivia. Not overwhelmingly so though, and even in the most touristy spots you don't get annoyingly hassled.
Peruvian food was also a welcome change. It's good and there's a lot more variety.
Arequipa is a very pleasant city. Nicely laid out, well preserved colonial architecture and with a backdrop of 3 big volcanoes guarding the city.
I spent a few days exploring the city. The walking tour was interesting and found a few good bars for a drink. The most interesting fact I learnt was about how loyally romantic condors are: mates for life, the male will plunge to his death in a kamikaze dive if his partner dies. The female isn't quite as terminally loyal, but does have the future of the species to look after. Seems a raw deal however if you're a young stud Cóndor and you pick up an older chic...
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| Peruvian take on the last supper (...not the usual main) |
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| Sorting the Alpaca from the Llama |
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| El Misti |
Had a fun afternoon rafting trip too on the Chilli river, just outside Arequipa. Only an hour on the water but some decent rapids including a grade 4 to keep us entertained. And it was cheap: £12!
I was mainly hanging out with a young English guy Matt who I first met in the jungle and then ended up on the same bus from Copacabana.
Back in Arequipa after the Colca canyon I spent a cultural day visiting Juanita (the eerily well preserved young girl sacrificed to the Inca God's around 500 years ago, found frozen in the crater of one of the volcanoes) and the expansive self contained Monasteria de Santa Catalina in the heart of the city, only relatively recently opened up to the outside world (every girls dream house I'm sure) and (apparently) the most important and prestigios religious building in Peru.
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| you heard. |
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