Arequipa: The City of White Volcanic Rock

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Upon our arrival to Arequipa I was feeling a little under the weather. Luckily, I'm traveling with two wonderful amigas who took good care of me, making me a yummy dinner!!! After, I went to bed and the girls headed out for some proper food.

The next morning I was feeling better so we all went out exploring. Arequipa seems quite European, with beautiful architecture, a grand plaza, nice restos, and a main shopping street. It is a welcomed change from Bolivia. The buildings are built from sillar which is white volcanic stone. Before lunch we went to the Colonial House Museum. It was interesting to learn a little about the history of the area. In my opinion the most interesting was one of the ways the Inca slaves revolted against the Spaniards. The Spaniards enslaved the Incas and forced the artists to paint for them. The Incas painted discrete designs and pictures in the paintings to show that they were not fully under Spanish rule. We also learnt a few Inca legends of the area. One is the story of the mountaints which surround Arequipa. The legend goes that the mountain 'Misti' (the male) and the snow covered mountain 'Chachani' meaning the lady in the white veil got married and had a son named 'Misto Sito' which literally translates as the son of Misti. The last mountain, 'Pichu Pichu' which translates to peak to peak is surrounded by river which originated when 'Pichu Pichu' cried from sentiments of jealousy over the marriage of Misti and Chachani.

After, we went for lunch at Zigzag (Crepe place). It was delicious. Gali had a quinoa salad which was one of her best meals thus far on the trip. I had a chicken curry and pineapple crepe. It was so good that we had to go back so Dani could order one (I had it again too). We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around.

The next day we continued to explore, only this time we made a Christopher Columbus sized discovery: SWEET POTATO CHIPS AT THE MARKET! YUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!! That was by far the highlight of my the day. We also decided to sign up for the 2 day, Colca Canyon trek. With a departure at 3am, we ordered pizza, watched a movie (introduced Gali and Dani to Shawshank Redemption- solid film) and attempted to call it an early night.

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Photos

SWEET POTATO FRIES!!!!
Seth, Gali

Main Plaza
Gali, Seth

Streets of Arequipa
Gali, Dani

Table from colonial era
Notice the mirror. Women wore long and wide dresses so their shoes could not be seen from above. The mirror was placed there so the shoes could be admired.

Painting
The spaniards forced the Inca's to paint for them. In the bottom left hand corner, the Inca painter painted the face of an Inca as a protest

Painting
You can more clearly see the Inca revolt here in the bottom left corner.

Main Plaza
Gali, Seth

Comments

[ivan nault]

Awesome pics!
Hey guys! Sounds like you guys are still having an awesome time! You guys look great in the pics. Also, this place looks very livable- my favourite pics yet.