AREQUIPA, PERU
That’s me!
Foodie’s heaven
Pisco Sour
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My next stop was Peru. Peru is a South American country that lies south of Ecuador. It is the last country on my list of south american retirement spots. Following my research I settled on the southern city of Arequipa as my place of interest.
Interestingly and quite predictably, when I mentioned that I was going to Peru, the general response was, Oh obviously you are going to Machu Picchu, Sacred valley and Cusco. I would tell them that I was not a tourist but a traveler. and currently with a sole purpose. a search for an adobe. Visits to places of interest outside of that can wait….
My destination, Arequipa, a city though the second largest by population (@1 million), is relatively unknown to the outside world . It is fast becoming a touristy place due to his unique culture, food and weather. I wanted to get in there before it became too crowded.
Arequipa is at about 7600 ft above sea level surrounded by three towering and snow capped volcanoes Chachani, Misti and Picchu Picchu. They are located geographically in the alphabetical order. They have 300 days of sunshine with a rainy season between December and March. The weather is mild with temperatures ranging between 70’s and 40’s.
Why Arequipa?
Location: In the mountains, greenery, not too far from the beach.
Weather: Great as above without A/C or heat, Not humid.
Size of city:Class B not too overwhelming. walkable
People: Amazing hospitality
Food: Heavenly
Drinks: Plenty
Coast of living: About 1/3 of USA
Culture: Very rich
Residency: Peru in general is very welcoming to immigrants.
Prelude
Unlike my prior trips, the trip to Peru and Arequipa had a pleasant twist. Andrea, one of my very good friends, is from Peru. When I mentioned that I was going to Peru, she contacted her mother and introduced me to this one amazing woman Rocio who happened to be Andrea’s mother’s friend and lives in Arequipa. she is an Arequipian to the core and a very proud one at that.(orgullosa Arequipian) . She spoke very little English, though better than my Spanish . She started communicating with me through whatsApp and google translate to prepare for my trip. She literally took over(in a nice way) my tour of the city and stay. She made reservations for my hotel, picked me up and dropped me off at the airport,provided esoteric historic context,took me to all the historic places and an exquisite traditional gastronomic journey (me llevó a un exquisito Viaje gastronómico tradicional.)accompanied by her husband of 21 years Jorge and their dog Wesley .We also had acquaintance with her three friends Marci, Juanita and Roxanne who are bilingual so they could be personal interpreters as well .
They made this trip unique in every sense of the word. They made my Peru trip so amazing and unforgetful
( Ellos hecho mi Peru viaje tan increíble e inolvidable) I am so thankful to Andrea, her mother Fabiola, Rocio and the Arequipa team! (Mucho Gracis)
Marci Rocio & Jorge 
Juanita 
Roxana & Rocio 
Wesley at their residence
The Trip
The Trip started with a connecting flight on American to LAX and then on LAT AM to Lima and from there to Arequipa. Since there was this code share between the two airlines, I got a bit of the runaround when it was time to check in . I ended up with 3 different record locators . As usual, the foreign airline was the better of the two regarding the degree of helpfulness.
retro fit to pre charger era
The part of the LAX airport given to the south american airlines appears to be an afterthought. It is far removed from the glitzy part of the sprawling LAX. After walking endless miles I ended up in a hangerisque area.
LAT-AM flight to Lima and to Arequipa was wonderful. They serve appetizing food. In fact the braised short ribs with potatoes and green beans in a rich sauce served for lunch was one of the best airplane food I have had. They also had a unique way of serving it unlike the usual multiple little plastic containers and plastic wrappings that tend to fly all over the place. They served drinks and alcohol to sooth the journey and topped it of with a nice large enpanada.
I had no interest in exploring Lima.
Lima is the capital and the biggest city in Peru. . It is a very crime ridden city. Landing in Lima at night, I stayed in the airport until my flight to Arequipa came along @ 4 in the morning. It was a short flight. and I landed @ 6 am at Arequipa, a small airport with a runway in the morning mist and surrounded by mountains.
Lima 
Lima airport
Rocio and Marci were there to receive me and we had a short drive to my hotel in the suburb of Yanahuara which is close to everything and walking distance to the Rocio/Jorge/Wesley residence.
Suburb of Arequipa ….Yanahuara
After checking into the hotel, Rocio Marci and I had breakfast at the hotel a typical americano breakfast but with papaya juice and mata de coco .After that we walked over to the plaza which is just a block away. The plaza is typical Spanish colonial style made of a central garden surrounded by the church and the municipal/police buildings. Arequipa is called the white city as the traditional architecture used a volcanic product called sillar (a white stone) to built the structures.
The whole place is very beautiful and peaceful. Two words Rocio taught me that came in handy, multiple times during my stay to describe Arequipa (Bonito and Tranquilo)
from the Mirador you can get one of the best views of the Volcano Misti. unfortunately the sky there was cloudy during my stay.
el Misti ( stock photo)
In the afternoon we were joined by Jorge, Rocio’s husband. We ate at one of the famous Picantaria in Arequipa. A picantaria is a traditional restaurant.It is the place of beer (chicha) and spicy food (picante) The food is made in clay pots over wood fire in the olden times. They also have daily set menus besides the other offerings I wanted the traditional fare through out my stay. I was not looking for the new fusion food.
I wanted Cuy Chactado fried flattened Guinea pig which is a delicacy of Peru. We also drank purple corn beer (Chicha). Others had Ocapa Arequipena, Rocoto Relleno
Rocoto Relleno with pastel de papa
Night view at the plaza
Yanahuara Hotel
This is a 3 star hotel and was adequate for me. Breakfast, Americao style, and WIFI were included in the tariff of $100 for 3 nights. The room was of large size, clean with comfortable bed, hot water and great maid service. The ambiance was excellent so was the over all services. It is in a quiet neighborhood and a block away from the town(Yanahuara) plaza.
Citi Center
After the meal we went the residence to meet Wesley.
Plaza de Armas
We walked to the old city center, and saw
La Catedral the main church
La compania The Jesuit church
La compania cloister
Mercado san camilo
The most authentic market and designed by Eiffel.
The next morning we got in to Marci’s beetle and went to a place where you can observe the valley and also see Inca products.
Pisco 
Coca leaves 
infusions 
CAYMA
Being Sunday we had to go to Cayma another suburb to eat Adobo
THE MUSEUM
Monday we visited the Santa Catalina Monastery
walking the avenues
Lunch la Cau Cau
triple: chicharrones (fried pork belly) Rocoto Relleno (stffed pepper the pepper is hotter than bell pepper) with pastel de papa (potato/cheese “lasagna” Zarza de patitas (pig feet)
A triple
In the evening Rocio and Jorge picked me up at the hotel. We had dinner walked around, and saw the modern side of Arequipa.
Tuesday
We went to the Museum of Santuarios Andinos, where ice mummies Juanita and Sarita are kept. They are actually frozen in the nature and not really mummified like the Egyptians. Juanita, also known as “The Ice Maiden, the most famous and best preserved of the many ice mummies,is a 12-year-old Inca girl. She was chosen to be scarified to pacify the gods of Mount Ampato near Arequipa, Peru @ 1440.
Juanita was in the lab so we saw Sarita. who was a frozen girl found at the mountain Sara Sara. Amazing the way she is naturally preserved, photography is not allowed due to preserving conditions.
Lunch at sol de Mayo
Places to visit and things to do when I return to Arequipa
- See the snow covered top of the volcanoes
- trip to the colca canyon see the flight of the condors
- visit Cusco and the sacred valley
- Train to Machu Picchu and climb to the top
- Trip to the beach
- Eat more fresh fruits and try more food including chupa de camerones (shrimp) and Peruvian (arguably the original ) ceviche many times
RETURN TRIP TO THE USA
Rocío, Jorge, Marci, Juanita y Roxana, tuve una experiencia increíble en Arequipa gracias a su excepcional hospitalidad y amabilidad. Quiero agradecerles a todos desde el fondo de mi corazón por ello. Espero volver pronto Tal vez algún día puedas llegar a Estados Unidos para una visita. También quiero agradecer a Andrea y fabio.
Mucho Gracis Adios Amegos!
Chauuu
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