3 days in Arequipa

Arequipa, with a population of about 800,000 is the second largest city in Peru. In spite of its size, the key tourist areas are all pretty walkable. The Hotel Inkanto. the fanciest looking hotel so far ($80 a night) is 6 blocks or 10 minutes from the main square.

  Reminding me a lot of Antigua, Guatemala but without the cobbled streets, Arequipa has a very colonial look with beautiful stonework and many white buildings in the downtown core. The Plaza de Armas (as usual) is the key point in town. A massive Cathedral fills the entire north side while the other three sides feature a cloister like appearance- perhaps colonnaded balconies might be the proper description. Second floor restaurants provide great views of the central park while (as I later discovered) supplying second rate meals at prices as elevated as the view.

  With almost 3 days here, the original plan was a visit to Colca Canyon and Cruz del Condor. Offering a Canyon twice as deep as the Grand Canyon as well as the chance to see many Condors in flight, this 2 day bus trip/hiking trek was deemed a little too much to tack on to the previous 2 weeks of almost nonstop travel. With a total of over 30 monasteries, churches museums and other sites in the city alone, I felt that I didn’t need another two days on a bus.

  Friday morning was spent viewing the Museo Santury with exhibits from ritual Inka sacrifices discovered on the top of nearby Sebancaya Peak in 1995. This included a mummy , affectionately known as “Juanita” who is believed to have been a 12 or 14 year old girl, killed over 500 years ago.

 A huge chicken lunch and a siesta later we returned to the Plaza to explore the Cathedral and the nearby Jesuit Church known as Iglesia de la Compania. ( just like La Merced, there seems to be one in most key towns, showing the impact the Jesuits had on Central and South America) ­­

  Both were magnificent in their own way, the Cathedral being much more open and brighter.

 Most of Saturday morning and early afternoon was spent touring the Monasterio de Santa Catalina. Occupying a whole city block and surrounded by high stone walls, it is actually a nunnery which was founded in 1580. Originally home to a wealthy and probably not too spiritually focused order of nuns and novices who had their own homes and apartments (( as well as several slaves and servants) within the compound, it is now a museum, Enclosed within is a smaller private monastery, currently home to a small order (30) of nuns.

  A break for lunch as well as stops at more churches and museums concluded the afternoon,

 Following a passable steak dinner at one of the larger department stores we wandered back to the Plaza where a noisy disturbance turned out to be the local  equivalent of Pride Parade- 2 small decorated flatbed trucks and a double decker bus and lots of techno music. The police were keeping a close eye on the festivities, but had put away their riot shields for the evening.

  Sunday Morning- a return to the square this morning found the riot police out in full force as a small but very vocal group were involved in some protest which involved burning flags and effigies. Unsure of its outcome, I decided to put some distance between us and it in case things got ugly. Some last minute shopping and a slow service lunch kept things rolling until it was time to return to the hotel for our belongings and a cab ride to the airport.