Blogs from Arequipa, Peru, South America - page 116

Mountain-biking is Peru´s second favourite sport (No prizes for guessing it´s first. A clue - it´s not netball.). Today, one of the nation´s enthusiasts led us on a "city tour" around Arequipa. He was also a big Radiohead fan, with particular likings for Street Spirit, Paranoid Android, and the latest Thief album. So it was not off-road, single-track stuff, but given the condition of the roads and unruliness of the traffic, it was effectively off-road, and very technical. We got a fair way out into the countryside, into the oldest parts of Arequipa. When they say something is old, however, they mean that in olden days there were also houses here. There have been so many earthquakes that nothing actually is old, and you just have to take your guide´s word for it. The strikes are ... read more

We weren´t turned back or dropped at any borders and arrived in Arequipa, freezing cold (Just add another quid on the ticket price and use the heating!) at 4 am. This isn´t the liveliest hour of the day here, nor was I feeling at my liveliest. We managed to cajole a bus station cafe into giving us coffees, then later breakfast, before it seemed a reasonable hour to be checking into a hostal without paying for that night but only the coming night. Put ourselves straight to bed. You know how when your feet are cold it feels like there are pebbles tucked under your toes? Well, that feeling persisted in me for the entire hour and a half I stayed in bed. The strikes didn´t stop us getting here, but they do exist, and we ... read more

After a 5 hour road trip in cama style, and passing thru more desert landscape with a scattering of lakes we arrived in Arequipa. This is Peru's 2nd largest city, and stretches for miles. The old colonial buildings are built from the white volcanic rock called sillar which dazzles in the sun. The volcanic mountain, El Misti, towers above the city @5822m, and is flanked on either side by 2 other mountains which are taller. It's a lot warmer here, especially at night, and the sun continues to shine every day. Arequipa is just a stop over for the next adventure so no more news.... read more

Argentina won and yesterday we all bought football strip T-shirts for about 2gbp! (i think they saw us coming) That night we went out to an itallian place on the beach where they did great ice cream and they had Ice Magic! I hadnt had it in so long so i was well chuffed! Were in Arequipa just now in Peru. Its a quick stopover between Chile and Cusco. We shared a collecivo with the hot surfer dude we met at the cool hostel in arica. the collectivo took us over the border and then we got a bus to Arequipa. The bus journey was quite interesting as they played dubbed films really loud. They showed "White Chicks" a crappy american film that was so awful I could still appreciate it even though it was in ... read more

Hi everyone! After the disconcerting start of our visit to Peru (being watched over VERY carefully by the tourist office rep & security guard in Tacna), we arrived in Arequipa. Arequipa is a large city (pop. over 1 million) teeming with tourists. It is nick-named "La Ciudad Blanca" ("The White City") because of the many colonial buildings constructed out of sillar, a white volcanic rock. It was quite picturesque and relaxing. We had a couple unexciting days in town during which we caught up on laundry, email, and the like. We tried to have some traditional Peruvian food. However, other restaurants were easier to locate. So we ended up having Mexican (tacos, burritos), French (crêpes), Italian (pizza), and Chinese. Who would have thunk it? This place doesn´t quite feel like what we thought Peru would be ... read more