As I arrived after midnight in Arequipa, I took a taxi and, even if I had choosen already a hostel from the Lonely Planet Guide, I took the recommendation of the taxi driver (a former professor) ans stayed at a nice hostel (Hostel Colonia), where, for 35 soles ( USD12) I got a double room with bathroom and TV... Yeeeyyyy!!! After the other night spent in the Bus from Cusco to Puno (the floating islands tour),and the other 6 hours in the bus... the shower, the beds ( I could choos in which one to sleep :o) ) and a little TV worked miracles.
Nevertheless... I woke up various times in the morning: 5h20, 5h45, 6h25, 7h40 and finally, 8h20, when I finally got out of bed for a long shower and a "session" of taking care of my "wounds" from the Inca Trail.
Then checked internet near the hostel and got the great news from my Arequipenian friends in Sao Paulo that I could stay at one of them's place (Edgardo, Pablo S.: muchas gracias por la ayuda!!!!).
So I had a hous to stay in Arequipa... with a great company (Pablo - Edgardo's brother, which I had already met in Sampa, Ruth - Edgardo's mom, Alexandra - the maid, and her son - El Gordito :o) - all are incredible persons, to which I would like to thank for their hospitality!!!)
They were very nice to me, taking good care of me :o) (I think I put back in Arequipa all the kgs I had lost during the Inca Trail ;o) ).
It was Saturday, and Pablo and his mom were still working at their travel agency, so I left my backpacks at the agency and went for a walk around the "Plaza de Armas" - really beautiful!! - and the Church and Museum San Francisco.
At noon, we went home, ate in the hose (mmm... soup, salchipapas - heheh... a combination of sausage with omelet and fries - very good!!!).
After shower, some movies on TV (I finally got to see "Anna and the king") and some Internet, we went for dinner: me, Pablo, Yahayra (his girlfriend) and 2 other friends of them: Tata (Renata - si!! Pablo S. - encontre a tu prima!!! ;o) - and her boyfriend... we went to a Polleria, wehre they fry chichen in the "rotisserie" style, not using gas owens, but carbon based ones... reallllyyyyy good!!!! One portion was about 5 soles, (USD 1,7) and was consisting of a quarter of chicken (I took the leg :o) ), fries and salad!! Good deal, I would say :p
Afterwards we went to Yahayra's place, wehre 3 other friends of them came (Antonio + girlfriend and Ahab). We started to play a game of cards where, at every card we were playing, somebody had to drink... heheh... I'll have to remember this one :o)
Then, as all the girls were in the mood for dancing (and especially me!!), we convinced the guys to go to a disco (Deja Vu), in Calle San Francisco - where many of the best discos are to be found), where we stayed until about 3:30 am.. uhuuu!!! It had a lot of Latino music (which... I happen to LOVE!!!) and also some commmercial music (which... I can actually get to miss from time to time...) so I must say it was a great night!!! Thank you all!!
Sunday morning (I woke up around 8:30), Pablo and his mom were already out to buy the things for the bi8g family lunch that was supposed to take place that day, and also for the ADOBO, a kind of Brunch Pablo was telling me to be a tradition on Sundays...
The adobo was (again) very good, and with a full belly and a light heart I went to the center to buy the ticket for my trip to the Colca Canyon. Again, "consumista" as I am, I had to spend a lot of money also on some broided stuff... could not resist... they were way to beautiful!!! Mea culpa!!! The bad thing is that everything I buy, I have to carry... and my backpacks are already heavier than they should be allowed to be!!! :o).
I came back to the house and joined the merry crownd of people (Ruthe, Edgardo and Pablo's mother has other 3 sisters and 1 brother, and they were there with their children and nephews). Again - good traditional food, and a desert (cheescake with strawberries) that was so good it almost took my breath away... and I am not a person that usually likes cheeskake... but this one... mmm... I got the recipe :o).
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