Arequipa,
Peru
Sunday, May 31, 2009
We arrived in Arequipa tired, cranky and hungry. We were able to secure lodging for the night at Los Andes Inn, so the tired complaint would be satisfied soon enough. We figured we could cure the cranky part by satisfying our hunger. If you should find yourself in Peru with what seems to be an insatiable hunger at any time of the day, I have three words for you: Chifa Chifa Chifa!!!!! Chifa, or as we now refer to it "the best damn chinese food south of the equator", is Peru's take on cuisine from the far east. The restaurant is usually owned by a local, cooked by locals, and served by locals, while the dishes resemble something you would expect at any chinese place in the States, only the taste is a whole lot better- Maybe it just seemed that way after not eating anything since our excellent omelette breakfast some 15 hours earlier, but I'm writing about what I remember. For a little more than $3US, we both gorged ourselves on mountains of rice, noodles, chicken, steak, and an assortment of stir-fryed veggies, all washed down by a liter of Coca-Cola's finest.
It was a Sunday night so I'm probably being a bit critical, but the college student part of me who expects things to be open
and deliver 24/7 was disappointed to see everything except the chifa places and a few bars closed by 9pm. This included our lifeline to the outside world- internet cafes, most stores except a few drug stores, and anything else that might help us unwind after 5 hours with a screaming child in our ears. So after our feast, it was back to Los Andes where we called it an early night.
