Arequipa

10 hours overnight from Cuzco and we arrived bright and early in Arequipa. Arequipa is Peru´s second largest city and lays claim to having 360 days of sun a year! Arequipa also boasts one of the more impressive skylines we have seen so far, with the almost perfectly conical peak of the volcano El Misti dominating the horizon, flanked by the slightly higher El Chachani and the slightly lower Picchu Picchu.

The route from our hostel to the main Plaza was along a very busy street along which it seemed possible to get anything from knock off DVDs to knock of shoes and everything in between. The main plaza itself was a hub of activity and has the only cathedral in Peru to take up one entire side of the plaza. First stop was the Santa Catalina Convent, described as a photographers dream, we managed to take several hundred pictures between us in the course of the 3 hours it took us to explore the maze of buildings. The convent is often described as a city within a city and takes up an entire city block. The convent was in total seclusion for 4 centuries before finally opening its door to the public in 1970.

MT http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/trip35/Arequipa/Santa%20Catalina%20Convent/

We didn´t spend much time sampling the local cuisine instead we had some of the best falafels either of us have ever had and spent far too much time in the local Mexican tucking in to burritos, tacos and enchiladas whilst enjoying jugs of cheap but very tasty local wine. Cakes are obviously very big in Arequipa and it seemed that every second shop was dedicated to creating some of the most extravagant cakes we have seen for a while. On the whole we resisted the cake temptation but did give in on occasion to enjoy some fabulous lemon meringue pie – for breakfast!

Next stop on the tourist trail in Arequipa was the Museo Santuarios Andinos, home of Junaita the ice mummy. Juanita was found in the crater of the volcano Ampato in 1995. She was a sacrifice to the mountain who the Incans believed was a god. Since the discovery of Juanita numerous other child sacrifices have been found on mountains in Peru and Chile.

The day before we left Arequipa having decided we were fed up with wandering around in our trekking gear we went clothes shopping. Consequently we ended up investing in a pair of jeans a couples of t-shirts and a pair of cheap trainers each. Probably the best money we had spent for a while as we no longer have to bum about looking like we have just fallen of a mountain!

MT http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/trip35/Arequipa/

RW http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/dd7/trip35/RW/Peru/Arequipa/

As before click on the links above to see more photos of Arequipa