A Day In Arequipa

Trip Start Sep 15, 2007
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Trip End Dec 13, 2007


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Flag of Peru  ,
Saturday, October 6, 2007

Arequipa really is a remarkable city.  About a million people live here.  It's clean.   It looks and acts very much like a typical european city of a similar size, but at a fraction of the cost.  The people seem friendly and genuinely appreciative of turistas.  There's tons of gringos here, mostly european, more french than I've seen elsewhere so far.  The weather is fantastic. Some of the architecture is outstanding.  And love the people watching. Whatever sort of food you are after, it's here, mexican, burgers, crepes, turkish, you name it.  Tipico meals run you somewhere between two and four bucks!  Fine dining, $10.  My room, a single private with shared bathroom, $5 a night.

I moved into my new hostel just before lunch.  After settling in and then enjoying one of my favourite SA meals, pollo and papas fritas, I dropped in on the Museo Santa Catalina to see Juanita, the famous Ice Maiden.  Well worth it.  I spent the rest of the day floating, around, looking into tours and other travel arrangements and ran into Maria from Virginia on the Plaza!  How cool.       &nbs p;

Now I'm trying to organize a three day trek into Caņon del Colca, leaving maņana de lunes, then a hit and run over to Nazca on Wednesday night to see the lines on Thursday and then back to Arequipa Thursday night to catch a flight to Cusco (apparently only $90) on Friday morning.  This would involve back to back overnight bus trips to and from Nazca.  The other option is to go from Nazca to Cusco overland by bus, about 15 hours and not come back to Arequipa.  The advantage of returning here is that I could keep my room and leave most of my stuff. The Colca Canyon trek sounds amazing.  It's the second deepest canyon in the world.  The deepest is also located here in peru.  The two nights out involve home stays with locals.  Three days, two nights, all inclusive--"the only thing you have to bring is walking", $85!  I guess it's about a six hour drive out of Arequipa to the starting point.      

Off to find another amazing meal...
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