Arequipa, Peru

We arrived at 5:30am and taxied to the Plaza de Armas (which every city seems to have), which, at that hour, was empty. After searching around for a place that was still open, we sat down and ordered.

Nothing happened.

We ordered again (a failing of my Spanish perhaps?), this time with success. And so the day began...

After a few failed attempts at finding a place to stay (they were WAY too expensive), we found one that worked, despite the awkwardness of trying to check in at 9am.

There were three main items on the docket for today, starting with: the frozen ice queen Juanita! Basically, several mummified frozen children have been found on mountaintops around Arequipa. These were Inca sacrifices, which they only did in times of extreme environmental catastrophes.

At over 500 years old, Juanita is one of these sacrifices. I was expecting it to feel like a circus sideshow, but it was fairly scientific. She was incredibly well preserved for 500 years...and tinier than you might expect.

As we left, we ran into a couple that eaten at the same restaurant as us in Lima 12 days earlier?!?

There are some pretty swanky neighborhoods in Arequipa - hilly, with views of the nearby 19,000 foot Mt Misti, and complete with a Mediterranean vibe.

Our next adventure was the incredible t acre monastery/convent site right in the center of town. A bevy of nuns lived inside its walls for hundreds of years, though otherwise no one was allowed inside or out.

The colorful walls and maze-like rooms and passages connected open spaces with little trees and fountains. If nothing else, it was a real treat to explore. Just after a great panoramic view of the city from the rooftop, we sat in the manicured courtyard and had carrot cake which was well worth the cost, despite being 50% more than our lunches combined?!?

We were forced to leave when the place closed down for the evening, and wandered around town for 2 hours and amazingly found a hairdryer.

For dinner, we met up with my great uncle Sandy, who just so happened to be in Arequipa?!? volunteering with a group of doctors who were providing free vision services for the locals. He took us to what was the swankiest place we'd eaten so far - a really neat & ambient steakhouse of sorts.

On my psuedo-vegetarian kick, I made the mistake of ordering the quinoa gnocchi - rather than the tasty sample platters of meat that everyone else ordered, complete with flags denoting via icon which particular animal you were biting into.