Arequipa

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Uneventful flight from Lima to Arequipa, however, still blown away by the crowds at Lima Airport.

During the approach into Arequipa we were quite surprised by the arid, tumbleweed terrain broken by deep, rocky gullies. To our surprise, as we stepped off the plane, we were awestruck by the snow-capped White Mountain and Misty Volcano. The city of Arequipa is at an elevation of over 6,000 feet and sits on a high plateau.

We were greeted by blue skies, 70 degrees and Omar Rodriquez. Omar and his driver, Percy, took us on a scenic route through the colonial city and stopped at two viewpoints before they dropped us at our hotel. Omar set us free for a couple hours to explore and have lunch before meeting us for our afternoon walking tour.

Not wanting to waste time, we headed to the main plaza where we had a picnic lunch on a park bench. There were zillions of people due to some unknown holiday and they were outnumbered by the pigeons that the children were feeding and chasing. It seemed like every kid under six had a bag of bird seed! The square was one of the most impressive we have seen throughout our travels -- fountains, gardens and a towering two- steepled cathedral. In fact, the entire colonial area of the city is litter and graffiti free and quite beautiful.

Hooked up with Omar again and he gave a great overview of the historical and architectural highlights. Plus, Sue was quite happy that he took us to an alpaca high-end store where she got a new sweater!

Our walking tour ended at the Santa Catalina Convent where another guide took us through this amazing labyrinth complex. It looks and feels like a small village in itself with its narrow cobblestone streets, plant-lined passageways and fountains. With construction beginning in 1580, during its heyday, it housed more than 200 sequestered nuns and an equal number of servants, students, etc. It also offers great views of the White Mountain and Misty Volcano. We spent hours there!

As the sun was setting, we headed back to the main plaza and found it even prettier lit up than earlier in the day.

Ate at Ary Quepay, a typical Peruvian restaurant, where Dave had an alpaca steak. He liked it!

We have been quite apprehensive about acclimating to the altitude, but at over 6,000 feet we are okay. However, tomorrow we climb to over 16,000 feet and stay in Chivay at an elevation of 11,800 feet! We'll keep you posted!!

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