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Arequipa
We arrived in Arequipa on St Patricks day, The journey was uneventful but I couldn't sleep so on arrival I fell into a deep sleep, We spent the first few days in Hostel Koala, a backpackers place, it was fine though noisy and would be more enjoyed by those wanting to party and meet other travelers, the rooms open on the the main courtyard so privacy is not high on the agenda but the staff are helpful and very nice to us.
It was Paddy's day so celebrating was a must, we went to Farrens , a wee pub on the only pedestrian street (known as hippy street) to find it full of revelers but only a couple of Irish which of course we soon hooked up with, The staff were very generous with those of us from the emerald Isle and plied us with cheap shots of free booze………….let the hangover commence, we ended up dancing to Reaggeton (of all things) to the wee hours of the morning. God bless Paddy!
Arequipa is a large historical city, home to about 1 million residents, The centre of the town is quite beautiful with Peru's usual share of
Cathedrals and churches made from a white stone named sillier, the spanish have also left their mark here and religion is never far away, the city lies in a valley surrounded by volcanoes and mountains, The beautiful Volcan Misti rises majestically above the town, now dormant it has an open crater on top and often has snow on its highest faces..
I spent a lovely afternoon in the monastario de Santa Catalina, this place is a town within a city, beautiful colored walls in blue red and yellow run along cobbled streets where the nuns of the convent have lived and worked for centuries, some still reside within its walls, for years the nuns took in women and girls, teaching them and taking care of their basic needs, many of them went on to join the order, The streets lead off into little rooms where the novices and nuns lived, some are small cottages with cooking sleeping and living areas, many of these lead to the grand kitchen which is like a rabbits warren with passages and larders, the main area has a huge earthenware stove next to the open fire which above hangs griddles and pans.
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the streets are beautiful courtyards, brightly painted with murals and paintings of flower gardens and fruit, colorful bright and cheerful this place is unlike many other places of worship I have visited in Peru where scenes of torture hell blood tears and damnation are more commonplace and I left feeling happy rather than spooked.
My birthday came and went with a few drinks with Aiden an Irish pal I knew from Ecuador and Gaz an English chap living in the town, Food, a few beers and a sprinkling of "craic"
Arequipa like so many towns in latin America has its own little idiosyncrasies, for example the men who come to collect the rubbish play Beethoven to let the people know to bring out their bins……….how sophisticated, In Cusco a bell was rang to announce their arrival.
While walking through the market area of town I noticed a curious thing that again is commonplace throughout the region, All the same shops are lumped together, You need a hardware store there are 2 adjoining streets of them, you need a haircut, all the salons are together plying their trade side by side, Pharmacies, DVD stores, bakers, windowmakers, underwear stores
all together, Now this to me defies the laws of commerce, would it not make sense that if one was to make a living you would open your business as far away from the competition, not so here, One street is full of sex workers although this I suppose is commonplace throughout the world.
I sat to have a juice one day watching the world go by when I noticed an elderly lady across the street encouraging passersby to avail of her tarot readings, I found this interesting in a country so devoted to Rome and watched carefully, One young bedraggled man stopped looking the worse for wear, She handed him a bag of a white substance and only as I realized my naivety that she looked up and caught me watching, she launched an evil eye at me with true malice, time to move on……
Found the best restaurant as far as good food and value for money, It is called Mankulu on Jeresulem and a wee bit up from Grau, beside Hostel Compania our new Hostel, the food is amazing, often quite different, hearty and tasty and at 6 soles ($2) its well worth the trip
up there, The service is excellent though I am a little confused as to how they remain in business when they charge so little. Try the cerviche…….. "muy rico"
We had since moved hostels over Santa Semana to a wee place just up the street called La Compania, its an old sillier building which is safe and quiet, the views from the roof are beautiful and the sunsets over the desert stunning, they had the the most powerful hot shower I have had since the beginning of the journey, Ingrid is the lady that runs the place during the day, She was a star always helpful and always smiling.
Peru has a love affair with all things plastic, you buy a bottle of water and it is automatically placed in a plastic bag, bags full of flour, corn, wheat, beans and many more will always be placed in a second bag, I was frowned on when I refused to have another sheath for my already sheathed item.
Everyday from the hostel one can hear the police exercising in the street, Is it a show of their capabilities or a lack of facilities I am unsure, About 50
officers in gym clothes run by with a drill sergeant shouting "pretty girl" 'PRETTY GIRL' "naughty girl" 'NAUGHTY GIRL' "dirty boy" 'DIRTY BOY" and so on…. When this happens early in the morning your not long waking up as their shouts could wake the dead.
Peruvians like a lot of Latin Americans love their parties, Lavish decor and gaudy cakes are bought with abandon, the chinese make a fortune here with cheap plastic Knick Knacks, Festivities are long loud, ballsy with generous lashings of booze.
Once again pirate DVDs are a big thing here, There are shops everywhere, one can browse for the latest film while its still in the flicks along side an affable cop who is there doing the same thing, Hollywood is suffering loses here in S.A.
Another interesting thing I have seen is the Topicos, These are walk in clinics that specialize in Pregnancy testing, Injectables and ominously, enemas, One could assume that the residents of Arequipa suffer the plight of constipation.
The police here are polite and helpful and the lady cops are very fetching in there slick uniforms with white belts and white cowboy hats.
Traffic as with all
towns is a nuisance, once again emissions are a problem and it would seem that busses and old vehicles belching out black smoke is perfectly acceptable although I'm lead to believe that there is such a thing as an MOT.
Got a haircut for the princely sum of 3 soles ($1)
John has been plagued with continuing computer problems so much of my sight seeing has been solo, Arequipa is a pretty town with good people, good food and a good vibe, On Monday 26th we are off to Chile.
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