Arequipa, our first city at the foot of the Andes. The white city, as it is also called, we reach with the night bus in the early morning after a delicate three hours of sleep. Over tired, and annoyed by the taxi driver, who, although there is another price next to his own taxi on the sign with the taxi fares, insists on setting a higher one.
Well, we grant him success and spare ourselves further discussion. This time! Because as it turns out, this is a common method to annoy tourists by consistently demanding one sol too much. That's not much, but somehow it's about the principle.
What principle? For over 400 years, the mountain near Arequipa was punished for bad behavior. Well, how do you punish a spitting volcano? Right! You ignore him. No more virgin sacrifices, no prayers. Nada. He doesn't even get a name. It's not until 400 years later that people take pity on him and baptize him: Misti!
Narrow streets and colorful houses in one of the many beautiful side streets of Arequipa Arequipa. Beautiful inside. Ugly outside. As so often, the city center is incomprehensibly artistic, clean and absolutely worth seeing. If you take a walk outside, you will see the rest of a typical Peruvian big city. Half-finished brick buildings, garbage and traffic chaos. From here, the Peruvian Andes still look rather inconspicuous. But as it will turn out later, they have a lot in store, especially now during the rainy season. But more about that in the next part. This likeable young man here used to be an Inca king, until his Spanish uncle Pizarro took over Cusco and simply built his own house on top of his palace. It's not like the Incas were nice, but come on... that's a bit cheeky! Alpaca and llama fetuses are used to ward off evil spirits and cause sleepless nights for the viewer. The mask with the long nose is not Pinocchio, but the representation of the Spanish conquistadors. ...I'd rather have the little bulls on the roof. They have the same effect, but are less creepy. Speaking of traffic chaos. Cusco, World Heritage Site, former Inca stronghold and chronically overloaded tourist spot in the Andes region, is unlucky with the traffic authorities. Because they plan according to the logic: If there is too much traffic, we divert it all through the old town and put one more traffic policewoman in place, who is really to be pitied. Also interesting: The profession of traffic policewoman is very popular, because they not only receive a very good salary, but also free lunch and dinner. To the delight of feminist-oriented readers, preferably women are hired for the police profession. Reason: Women are considered less corruptible. Cusco during a night walk. Famous Spanish conquistadors as well as the liberator, Simon Bolivar, strolled through this park. His former home is now a 5-star hotel. If you have ever strolled through the Plaza de Armas, you know why Cusco is considered one of the main attractions of Peru. The well-preserved Spanish colonial buildings transform the historic center into a huge open-air architectural museum. Restaurant impression on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco. The many small beautifully designed cafes invite you to linger and offer refuge from sudden rain showers and the hundreds of moderately intrusive amateur masseuses scattered around the square. In the enchanted, winding streets of San Blas, one of the most impressive old town districts in South America, you can get lost from time to time. The central Andean region of Peru offers a different scenery than the coast, that sometimes it's hard to believe that you are in the same country. The people here are somehow slower, more open and seem somehow more familiar to me. Well, maybe it's also because of the tip for holding a baby alpaca. You can recognize the alpaca by the fluff on its head, in contrast to the llama and the tourist with a wool hat. Romantic sightseeing on the church tower above the main square of Cusco View from the bell tower of the small Romanesque church of San Christobal, built of wood and stone. On the Plaza de Armas in Cusco, on the right the cathedral, a masterpiece of church architecture. A look inside the impressive building is definitely worth it. During the invasion of the Spaniards, the old houses and palaces of the former Inca capital were simply built over, which means that both old Inca walls and newer Spanish walls are piled on top of each other. Weather change in the Andes. Fascinatingly menacing. Romanesque church of San Blas The two walls of Cusco. Inca at the bottom, Spanish on top. And finally, something to think about... The mathematical analogy behind this picture: Woman in the middle gets 3 soles because she handed me the animal and stood next to me, making sure I don't get bitten or spat on. Woman on the left gets 2 soles because she placed the other nicely decorated alpaca in front. Woman on the right gets one sol out of solidarity, because she came around the corner at supersonic speed and squeezed herself into the picture with a goat. =6 soles and a great picture, right?
