Arequipa

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A flight at 10:30 this morning from Lima to Areqeuipa gave us our first real taste of altitude (2,000m) as we disembarked. A warm sunny morning, we took in the sights of the terraced cultivation in the valley and the volcanoes surrounding the city before checking in at our hotel and having a light lunch nearby. Mauricio, our genial host, was at pains to tell us that he had worked for a British company, Rio Tinto, and that we could come back in the evening for a free pisco sour, listen to music and enjoy the food. It has the advantage of being close to the hotel...This afternoon, with our Arequipa guide Helmut, we walked around the square, visited the Monasteri de Santa Catalina (a "city" with a city) which has been open to the public since 1970, the dedicated museum to see Juanita the ice princess and the neo­­­­­­-classical cathedral which features a fine Belgian pipe organ from the mid­­­­­­-nineteenth century.We both ate alpaca for supper - Jen's was grilled and David's casseroled and enjoyed our first pisco sours and a bottle of Arequipeña (local beer) each. See

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