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Published: March 6th 2014
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1 March 2014 - Saturday – Puno to Arequipa, Peru
Noisy vibrant bus station; Arequipa-quipa-quipa-quipa-Arequipa! Vicuna zone; volcano; 295 kilometres. Drop in elevaton from 3830 km to 2380 km above sea level. Arequipa second largest city in Peru, population just under one million people. Like the ‘Republic’ of Cork, the people here fondly refer to themselves as citizens of the ‘Republic of Arequipa’.
The scenery between the two cities is flat prairies and mountain plateaus with long-range vistas of distant volcanoes and one snow-capped mountain peak called Nevado Mismi Mountain (5597 meters, 18,363 feet above sea level). The road descends from the Altiplano highlands through the Salinas and Aguada Blanca Nature Reserve to the ‘white city’ of Arequipa. . Along the way is the natural habitat of the vicuna, one of two wild South American camelids and directly related to the llama and alpaca and distantly related to the camel, goat, giraffe and deer. Vicuñas live exclusively in South America, primarily in the central Andes and they are native to Peru which has adopted it as their national animal. They were once an endangered species, their population has recovered and we saw herds of them grazing in nearby fields.
Although we did not see any of them running, they can quite easily be mistaken for gazelles.
We arrived at the Villa Melgar hostel ...
Trip Advisor Review: Villa Melgar Hostel - We enjoyed our two nights in this small hostel. The manager has excellent English, having lived in the US as a child. The room was of a good size. We had an extra bed on which to open our suitcases. It was relatively quiet, except for a few barking dogs one of the nights (but we have experienced his most places in Peru). The shower curtain kept falling down even when replaced with a different one on the second day. We had only intermittent hot water; it seems the earliest bird awake gets the hot water. The staff were very helpful and well informed about where to go, what to do, and the best restaurants to try. Recommended.
... and caught a restful nap and then went for a brief introductory walk around the town and then to Hataunpa for dinner.
Trip Advisor Review: Hatunpa - Joan had read about this restaurant and the manager of the hostel we were staying also recommended it. It
is a potato restaurant! Apparently there are hundreds of different kinds of potatoes in Peru and this restaurant uses them as a basis for each and every dish. I wasn't too keen on this concept, but I was convinced after eating my wonderful meal. The dish contained slices of about 5 or 6 different kinds of potato covered with a delicious, spicy mince bolognese sauce. There was a fresh salad accompanying the dish. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.
2 March 2014 – Sunday – Arequipa, Peru
Sunday in Arequipa. Most shops closed. Slow walk around city. Lunch at Crepisimo.
Arequipa is called the ‘White City’ because many of its buildings are built with a volcanic stone called ‘sillar’. It is the second largest city in Peru and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It has nine churches cathedrals and convents, most in the neo-classical style, one of which still contains ‘cloistered’ nuns who have no contact with the outside world. There are also nine museums or important mansions. All are within the compact downtown around the fabulous Plaza de Armas. We visited the magnificent Basilica Cathedral whose frontage takes up one entire side of the square. The cathedral
is also considered one of Peru's most unusual and famous colonial cathedrals. It contains a massive and beautiful Belgian-made pipe organ, manufactured and installed in 1854, that I wish we could have heard played.
We spent the quiet Sunday slowing walking up and down the streets and admiring the fine buildings and watching the local people. Most of the shops were closed. We sat in the Plaza de Armas for an hour watching children feeding and chasing pigeons.
We lunched at Crepisimo, a French bistro at the entrance to the local Alliance Francias. Most dishes were crepe-based. I had one called ‘Crepisimo Jazz’ which contained ham, cheese and spinach and Joan’s contained pear and Roquefort. We shared a large goats’ cheese salad that was pile-high crisp lettuce, hardboiled egg, walnuts and thin spears of avocado. There was a great selection of music playing softly in the background. The room was very nice. There was an option to dine in an open balcony or outdoor terrace. The only complaint was the light-handed bartender who served Joan about half a glass of sauvignon blanc wine and called it a ‘full pour’; it was more a shot of wine than a
glass!
Dinner was at the Istanbul Lounge Bar Restaurant. Trip Advisor Review: We fancied something different and tried another recommendation from the manager of our hostel: a Turkish restaurant with a Peruvian influence. We enjoy Turkish food and we pleased with our selection here. Joan had a falafel wrap and I had a plate of kofti (spiced Turkish meatballs). Both were very good and plentiful. The falafel wrap was plump and full of hummus filling and as good as we have had. The meatballs were surrounded by a fresh salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and red onion. Joan's Pisco Sour was delicious and the Peruvian lager called Cusquena is a bright and refreshing accompaniment to the spicy mince. Highly Recommended.
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