Casa Varela Arequipa

... me with my little legs, I could even fetal position in the seat so I was more than comfy. 5 stars must go to my kathmandu blow up pillow - I salute you! The roads got very narrow and twisty, but we made it here....and ahead of schedule. A first in Peru!<br><br>Watching the sun rise was something else this morning. Brilliant colours over the desert.<br><br>My tablets haved worked a treat so far - the intro on the bus for amenties, evacuation ...

... Phil is punched. All is well though and luckily the scousers see the funny side of it and come back with accusing Phil and Alex of breaking their camera (the view finder is cracked) through bedroom antics.<br><br>We reach our hotel for the night and after a quick shower we head out for dinner and a show that the tour organises. The show consists of a peruvian band and two dancers that perform this wierd dance that is similar to a mating ritual. The girl dances round, the guy ...

... which acted as a backdrop for a shop selling all sorts of modern Peruvian "knitwear" . We were shown the local animals from which the various garments were sourced - various breeds of llamas and alpacas basically. The kids loved them and were extremely keen on giving them all a gentle stroke and pet - all went well until one of them took a dislike to Fynn by spitting at him with a full on faceful - nice!!A swift exit from the pen was followed by a demo of the full ...

... aldea. So, my boletero told my new driver that I wanted to go to the aldea. Then, we passed by where I actually wanted to go, and I told him I wanted to get off. He almost wouldn&#8217;t let me because he said we weren&#8217;t at the aldea yet and there was nowhere here that I could possibly want to go. They try&#8230;<br><br>Its always funny when you hop on a packed kombi. People like to sit on the aisle seat, not by the window. So, for example, yesterday, I had ...

... that the hostel´s price was best, we went back, via a big supermarket opposite the plaza where we bought noodles and vegetables for a stir-fry.<br><br>When we got to reception we were told that we couldn´t book for the next day as it was after 5pm. The woman we had spoken to that morning had helpfully neglected to inform us of this deadline. Useless bint. The girls weren´t happy at the delay as they only have two weeks left. It was shortly after this that ...

... with lots of churches, squares and small streets full of restaurants and bars. The atmosphere is quite relaxed. We also visited the Santa Catarina "womens only" monastary. This is a sort of a city in the old town of Arequipa. It is quite large and has streets inside. The architecture spans accros the lifetime of the monastary approx. 300 years. I felt quite inspired by the communal bath where the nuns must have showered ...

... river shrimp. Poor, poor shrimp.<br><br>Our next stop was the cultural center directly across the street from the hostel. It was interesting as they were teaching English in almost all the classrooms. Wonder if they got into the cuss words.<br><br>Following the cultural center, it was off to Yanahuara, one of Arequipa's neighborhoods to the northwest known for the Mirador de Carmen Alto. The Mirador de Carmen Alto is a viewpoint ...

... to the hostel and slept.<br><br>BUDGET:<br><br>Taxi to Hostal in Arequipa: 30 soles (gave him extra for a safe trip)<br>Recoleta Museum: 5 soles<br>San Francisco Church: 5 soles<br>Monasterio de Santa Catalina: 30 soles<br>Banana Split: 16 soles<br>2 Pisco bottles: 52 soles<br>Night at Buena vista Hostal: 19 USD<br><br>View pictures of my trip to Peru:<br><br>http://www.flickr.com/phot os/jlcalgary<br><br>

... Arequipa and I was a bit shell-shocked at all the traffic and noise. I had forgotten that Arequipa is the 2nd largest city in Peru behind Lima. I´m not on the Inca Trail or the electricity-free island of Amantaní anymore! <br><br>We arrived at the hostal and a young woman answered the door and took me to my room. Hmmm, it´s basic but fine with a private bathroom....but off the reception area and closest to the loud street on which the hostal is located. She assured me the sound ...

Arequipa is like a cross between Lima and Cuzco, part colonial part indigenous, not so big but not so small, not too hot and not too cold. I guess it's a Cinderella city, just right. How boring; that means it&#8217;s a nice place to live, but maybe not so enticing touristically speaking. There&#8217;s Volcan ...