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Published: October 17th 2010
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La Ciudad Blanca
The city of Arequipa, with a population of around 1 million, is Peru’s second largest. Most of the buildings in the city’s historical centre are made from the white volcanic stone silla, giving the city its nickname “La Ciudad Blanca” (the White City). The Plaza de Armas has the magnificent backdrop of two of Peru’s snow-capped volcanoes behind its Northern aspect which, combined with the Plaza’s almost exclusively white buildings, makes it one of Peru’s most photogenic plazas.
We arrived in Arequipa at 6AM on Monday morning. We agreed to the s/6 fare to our hostel (we later discovered it was only s/4) and checked in to La Reyna, two blocks from the Plaza de Armas. A twin ensuite with the best shower I’ve had in South America and fast, reliable internet, the place was a steal at s/28 per night. Our first day was a bit of a non-event. We slept for a large portion of it, got lunch at a sandwich joint on Calle Mercaderes just off the Plaza (the Boss was dismayed to discover that chorizo in hamburger form is a sickly pink colour and so her lunch ended up being a lettuce sandwich) and
La Reyna
The Boss entering the hostel then had a coffee and cake at a the Cyber Cafe (also on Mercaderes) where the cake was perhaps the highlight of the day. We spent the night sitting on the hostel’s rooftop patio drinking beer and enjoying the serenity.
Ritual Sacrifices
The next day we woke late and headed in to the plaza to check out the museum. The hour long tour cost s/15 and was centred on the 500-year old mummy of an Incan girl who had been sacrificed to the mountain gods. Named Juanita by the museum staff, she had been uncovered the nearby volcano Ampato during 1995 when one of the neighbouring volcanoes had been erupting, spewing ash in to the air and causing the ice atop Ampato to melt. She was one of several sacrifices discovered, each being aged between 12 and 14, healthy, intelligent, attractive and a virgin (I would have been in a lot of trouble for the better part of my life had I been an Inca).
We went to Mercaderes for lunch again, but this time to a sandwich place called “Mamut” (Mammoth). I got a chicken and avocado roll and the boss got a steak and cheese only to
(yet again) decide that there was something wrong with the steak. She picked it off, I ate it, and she enjoyed another lettuce sandwich for lunch.
From there we went for a walk to the town’s bus station to buy tickets for the following day’s bus to the Colca Canyon. With a map in hand, I figured that we’d be there within half an hour. However the map didn’t actually say where the station was - turns out it was off the map and the arrow pointing to the station meant that it was “that way” rather than “here”. It took us an hour and a half to get there. It did mean we saw more of the town than we would have otherwise and I also saw my only little ritual sacrifice when a dog wandered out on to the road without looking and copped both the front and back right hand tyres of a cab. A guy pulled the dying dog out of the road and another one of the street dogs went over to stand with it. They may not be smart but these street dogs sure are loyal.
Monastic Living
That evening we went to
the Santa Catalina Monastery. First opened in the 1500’s, it was created as a walled city within the city, only two or so blocks away from the Plaza de Armas. It had operated in almost complete secrecy until the 1960’s when two earthquakes meant that it had to be opened for extensive renovations. The sisters moved to a newly created wing and the monastery was opened to the public in 1970.
Opened every day of the week, on Tuesday and Thursday evenings it is also open in the evening. With a general lack of electricity, the monastery is lit by candles and small fires, making for a slightly eerie atmosphere. The monastery is mostly small rooms that the sisters lived in, consisting of a small area for a bed and a place to pray. However it also has a dining hall, a number of chapels, courtyards with extensive art lining the walls, an actual art gallery (formerly dormitory accommodation), baths, a laundry, kitchens and a shrine to one of the nuns who was a resident and has since been made a saint. Basically, it’s a town within the town. At s/35 it was a pricey ask for a few hours
but worth it, as there aren’t too many places in the world like it.
For dinner we went to a small alley behind the main cathedral on the Plaza. Called Passaje Catedral, it consisted of many small restaurants, most offering a set menu for around s/10 to 15 and happy hour of two for one cocktails. The dinner wasn’t amazing but, with change from s/30 for a three course meal and wine (for me), hamburger and chips (for the Boss) and a beer each, the price was right.
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