The bus ride overnight from Cusco to Arequipa was smooth. Kudos to Cruz Del Sol for providing such service. The seats were like airplane business class seats. They reclined quite a bit, and were comfy. I slept well, especially since I had my trusty Boise noise cancelation headphones. My wife, being afraid of road travel, did not sleep well though!

We are staying at La Casa de Melgar, a charming rustic colonial-style hotel that used to be a bishop’s house in 18th century, but it has enough touches of modernity. While walking around, I can’t stop taking pictures of its maze of courtyards and stairways!

Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru after Lima, and unlike Cusco, it is lower in altitude (easier to breath, but pretty dry). It’s architecture is heavily influenced by the Spanish, and there is no sign of Inca history here. Arequipa is a poetic city, with its white colonial-style buildings and white historic churches and monasteries. It is also considerably cleaner and more upscale than Cusco. Arequipa is dominated by three towering volcanos, the smallest and most imposing of which (El Misti) is 5,700 tall!

We took it slow the first day, and just walked around the city. The buildings are mostly white, which gives a certain beauty and coolness to the city. El Misti can be spotted from almost anywhere in the city. I’ve never seen an imposing giant so close to a city!

The next day we visited the Santa Catalina Monastery, which was built in 16th century for the rich families to send their (second) daughters to become nuns. They had to pay $150,000 in today’s money annually to support them for 4 years. After that (miserable) 4 years, girls would then decide to become nuns, or disrespect their families and leave the convent and get married. It’s a fascinating place to visit, as it is like a city within a city with well-preserved houses with the style of multiple centuries ago. Each nun had a “house” and had servants and even luxury china and furniture. I spare you all the details, but to this day, there are still nuns living in that convent, although with a slightly modified life style. Not sure why someone would do this in this day and age though. 

Coming to Peru, I had to try the local dishes, and nothing is more Peruvian than Cuy - fried Guinea pig - considered a delicacy since pre-Incan times! It’s such an important part of the culture that when they paint the famous Last Supper, they portray Jesus and the Apostles having a meaty Cuy for supper! Anyhow, I had a full Cuy for lunch today, and I can’t really say it was an enjoyable experience! It tasted like chicken, seriously. So the taste was OK, but looking at the head of the Guinea pig staring at me in my plate was not really appetizing! Besides, the poor thing didn’t have much meat either.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing to get ready for our early flight tomorrow to Lima. Here are more photos from Arequipa.

Anecdotes:

  • One thing that I can’t understand is the excessive love of loud firecrackers in Peru. Anytime during the day or NIGHT for whatever reason, they start firing disorganized firecrackers that can go on forever. They might be silent for like 30 seconds and you think it’s over, but then it comes again. It is really annoying especially during the night.
  • Peruvian love to parade! Especially for religious reasons, or mixing other causes with religion. We’ve seen 3 parades so far, all involved carrying a small or big statues of Jesus, plus a marching band behind.
  • There are just too many cars in Peru, clogging up small streets and alleyways. I wish they had more car-free zones, especially in the historical parts of the towns.