Blogs from Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru, South America - page 3

Drifting, dreaming, I wandered the labyrinth of geranium-lined, cobbled streets, sinking into cool azure cloisters, exploring century's old kitchens, baths, patios and the cells of long-dead nuns, servants and slaves. The 16c, high-walled Santa Catalina Convent was a huge city unto itself, and a tranquil respite from the traffic and noise of big city Arequipa. Entrance was pricey, so I took a book on the lives of women mystic saints and spent the day lounging, reading and exploring. I walked mindfully around the various cloisters, feeling both rooted in the present and open to infinity. After sundown, I stepped back in time as fireplaces were lit and rooms illuminated by candle. Heavenly! The buildings of this World Heritage Site, like many in Arequipa, were of sillar, a soft, white volcanic stone, and had beautiful, barrel roofs ... read more

Distance driven today: 348miles/560km Cumulative distance driven: 11,560 miles / 18,604 km Today’s trip: Nazca to Arequipa, Peru We left Nazca early this morning, with the feeling that we could easily have spent a few days there, exploring the region and signing up for a variety of tours. Some of the thing to do around the Nazca region include dune sandboarding, various trekking tours, a full day of touring archaeological sites, desert rides with 4-wheel-drive dune buggies, countryside biking tours etc. However, our schedule does not unfortunately allow us to spend extra days around the region. We lost two days in Lima due to the malfunctioning electronics (which we think is the result of the sudden extreme ascend and descend) and the long Independence Day holiday. Taking extra days to explore surroundings is something that we ... read more

Well, here I sit in the north of Peru and I am hopelessly behind with my blog updates. The previous 3 weeks have been so busy and much happened that I really didn’t have time to update my blog. Carla has been with me the last 12 days and we had better things to do than sit in front of a PC and compose articles. That is called priorities. Nonethtless, let’s begin on my experiences in Puno and Arequipa After a fantastic time in La Paz it was time to move on. The day I choose to make the move was the 1st of May, a national holiday in Bolivia. So the city was dead in the morning when I went to the bus station to get my ticket to Copacabana. I purchased my ticket, went ... read more

We passed through Puno en route to Arequipa. I found Puno to be a bit uninspiring. As Peru's most famous lakeside town, I was surprised that they lived with their back to Lake Titicaca. The land becomes more industrialised as you move from the town centre towards the shore. The main point of interest around here are the floating islands, made of bound reeds, on which indigenous people used to live to avoid marauding enemies.These days they are subject to marauding tour groups. Arequipa is Peru's second largest city and the dusty outskirts do not look particularly welcoming. However, as usual, the colonial city centre provides a pleasant focus for visitors. The main plaza is quite large and is flanked along one edge by a beautiful cathedral. A fair number of old buildings survive, some of ... read more

After another long bus journey we arrived to Puno - with few colonial buildings and mainly concrete-block buildings, the city blends into hills. Unfortunately we were there during winter and was bitterly cold despite blue skies! Following day we made a trip to fairy-tale floating islands. It really looks like Disneyland! First islands we visited was Islas Uros - around 50 reed islands in all. It was very interesting to listen to local talking about their tradition, life style and how the islands are built. Later that day we explored Isla Taquile - 7-sq-km island feels like own little world. After traditional lunch at locals home and talk about women skirts and men woollen hats ( that represents social status), we went for a wander. The islands is very beautiful! I really recommend staying there ... read more