Detour To Arequipa

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December 18th 2015

Published: January 17th 2016

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Delek Delek

Cathedral

Arequipa's main landmark in Plaza de Armas.

Arequipa wasn't my the original plan but then again neither was Merian.
Having originally met her in Buenos Aires and then randomly again in Colonia del Sacramento, we enjoyed each other's company so much that we decided to meet up again further down the road. Having been a couple of weeks behind me on the gringo trail, Arequipa ended up being the most convenient place for us to reunite before making some tracks up the coast. I also got word about Huacachina - a literal oasis in the sand dunes outside of Ica. This was also on the route up north, I have never been to an oasis before and having missed out on sandboarding down in San Pedro, it was the logical decision to change route and make amends.

Getting to Arequipa would involve an 9-11 hour bus ride - something best done overnight, even if Lonely Planet advises against taking them thanks to the ropey reputation of Peru's buses.
Which is why I decided to go premium and travel with Cruz del Sur - Peru's best and safest bus company. I wasn't taking any chances.
Things looked good with this company from the start, from the airport style checking in of baggage

Colonial Arches

In Plaza de Armas, Arequipa's main square.

to the curious filming of every passenger getting on the bus. Smile, you're on Candid Camera!
And then I saw the inside of the bus - it was like first class on a plane. There were even personal entertainment systems for each passenger!
Running low on cash, I had not budgeted enough money for the first three months of my journey and was relying on Visa a bit to helpl get me through. Despite this, I think I might start making a habit out of travelling with Cruz del Sur!

Arriving early in the morning, I was in time for the brilliant breakfast served at the hostel - a huge banana pancake the size of a Pringles jar. Good wifi too.
It seemed that I had also arrived in time for the final of the Peruvian football league championship, taking place in Arequipa that very day. The deciding game was between local side Melgar and frequent past champions Sporting Cristal, from Lima. A two-legged final, Melgar were ahead on away goals after securing a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Lima.
The game had brought the city to a complete standstill and the hostel owner was a avid

Orange Tree Cloister

Inside the Monasterio de Santa Catalina. Notice the awesome paintings underneath the arches.

Melgar fan, as we settled in to watch the match in the hostel lounge. It was an exciting but crazy game, that was literally end-to-end - neither side seemed to know how to defend and there were chances galore. In the end, it was the home team that secured a dramatic win with a last minute goal for a 3-2 win and a 5-4 aggregate win, leading to the hostel owner taking off his shirt and waving it around his head in a moment of pure delirium.
It sparked celebrations in Arequipa's main square that made it a sea of black and red. It was reminiscent of the celebrations sparked by Boca Juniors' win in the Argentinian league a few weeks earlier. This is now the second time that I have been in town when the local team has won the league championship on this trip.
Funnily enough, Merian was also in Buenos Aires that night and she was here again today - her celebrations were almost as wild when saw me again back at the hostel!

We were back at the main square again the next day, which is as pleasant a square as any. Just around the corner in what was possibly the darkest museum I have

Patio, Casa de Moral

I love the richness of the blue walls in this shot.

ever been in is the preserved mummy of "Juanita" - an Incan girl that was sacrificed at the top of a nearby mountain. Having learned in Machu Picchu that children were gently 'put to sleep' when sacrificed, I was surprised to learn that poor old Juanita was killed with skull-crushing blow to the head. Seeing her actual mummified remains - which are in remarkable condition thanks to the icy conditions in which her body was buried on the mountain despite being sacrificed over 500 years ago - was probably one of the more freakier things that I have seen.
Continuing our tour around the city, the Casa del Moral is an old house that was the official residence of the city's mayor in the 1700s but was only really interesting for the historic Peruvian bank notes on display thanks to the house's bank sponsor. It was cool to see how the upper class lived in 18th century Peru though.
The last sight we saw that day was the ultimately disappointing mirador which we walked for thirty minutes to visit. The platform was never really high enough although it did have a good view of the nearby volcano of El Misti -

Silent Patio

One of the pretty plazas in the Monasterio de Santa Catalina.

all 5,822m of it.

By far the coolest thing we saw in Arequipa however was later that evening.
The Monasterio de Santa Catalina is a 20,000 square metre city within a city, hidden behind walls about five metres high. Established in 1580 by a wealthy widow who chose her nuns from the richest Spanish families, no-one really knew what happened behind the walls until the monastery was forced to open its doors in 1970.
Taking a night tour of the place, the complex is huge and there was a slightly eerie atmosphere inside the place. It really is an awesome maze of narrow alleys, colourful buildings, beautiful cloisters, bland living quarters and kitchens. Lots of kitchens. Lots of kitchens with medieval-style woodfire ovens. There were also some great views over Arequipa from the top of the church.

As mentioned earlier I was running low on cash so I spent an entire morning and a lot phone credit arranging the sale of some shares I own and getting the money wired to my bank account. If you're wondering how I will be able to afford my next year and a half of travel when I am already running out

Dancers In The Market

A troupe of dancers complete with brass band decided to parade through the market.

of money; I will only gain access to the rest of my funds on New Year's Day 2016. In the meantime, making sure I had enough cash was proving stressful.

Arequipa's central market was fun and interesting, where we managed to enjoy a two-course meal with the locals for just S/6 (£1.20) - the cheapest I have had so far. With all the different foods on sale (including papa rellenos and delicious looking cakes and pastries) it is always bad idea to take me to a food market when poor!
With different sections selling everything and anything, there was even a row of fruit stalls with all the female stall owners beckoning you to buy their delicious fruit smoothies or massive salads. We opted for the latter, which we enjoyed while sitting at the stalls, watching the chicken stall owners opposite us fall asleep, almost onto their own produce. In terms of both the fruit salad and the overall market, I would still say that Sucre's was better.
What Sucre's market didn't have however, was a dancing troupe complete with brass band parading through it, which seemed to bring joy to everyone present.

Apart from the observation that about two

Avenida Ejercito

Busy street in the non-touristy part of Arequipa.

out of every three cars in Arequipa is a taxi, there isn't really much else to say about Arequipa as we spent most of our time just chilling out, writing blogs (well, me anyway) and playing Uno. Something I needed to do after the epicness of the jungle trek to Machu Picchu and my altitude sickness in Cuzco.

Next, Merian and I are heading to Huacachina - a literal oasis.

Hasta luego,
Derek

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Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces defeated in 1...more history