Arequipa

Finally in Peru! As beautiful as Chile was, we were very excited about Peru, a new culture and new impressions!

Upon arriving in Arequipa, we first indulged in the large selection of fruits, super delicious, diverse, and cheap.

And from now on, we were three, as we met Marike's daughter Mercedes here, who wanted to accompany us for 2 weeks and then continue alone through Peru.

Arequipa is a wonderful city - planned by the Spaniards during the colonial era with many beautiful houses made of Silla, a white volcanic stone. It is picturesquely situated between volcanoes, including the beautiful Misti. Unfortunately, we could only admire this panorama once; otherwise, it was too cloudy. In the city center, there is the Santa Catalina Monastery, which is still inhabited by nuns. Its picturesque setting provides excellent photo opportunities. Additionally, there are many great museums, whether for young unknown artists, sacred works from the colonial era, or about the Incas, as well as the Aymaras and Quechuas. There were also some very well-preserved mummies on display, recovered from the craters of the volcanoes where they were sacrificed to the gods.

The city was lively, and around March 8th there were several demonstrations. Unfortunately, the Plaza del Armas, a beautiful square where there was always something happening and where we liked to sit and people-watch, was completely closed for several days. The reason for this was that a few carnival festivities had gotten a bit out of hand the weekend before, and some boys had climbed onto the fountain. It was hard to tell if anything was actually broken, but everyone was punished collectively, and the entire square was closed, which was a real shame!

We treated ourselves well, always eating delicious food, and then set off from here to the Colca Canyon.