For our final few days in Peru, we left Cuzco for the southern city of Arequipa and then spent another day and a half in Lima before flying back to Atlanta to end our 11 day Peru adventure.
Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru, with around a million people. The city is located in the Southeast corner of Peru and is closer to La Paz Bolivia than Lima. It's the furthest south the two of us have ever been (16°S). Arequipa is built primarily using the local volcanic rock found in the region (sillar), so everything is white and very pretty, especially in the historic center of the city near the main plaza. Overall, we found Arequipa to be a little sleepy compared to the big city of Lima and the tourist flurry of Cusco, but it was still a nice place to visit.
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| View from the plane on the way to Arequipa |
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| Casona Solar, our hotel in Arequipa. Only complaint: no windows so it got stuffy! |
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| Courtyard of our hotel |
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| Plaza de Armas and La Catedral |
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| Colonnaded buildings line Arequipa's main square |
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| El Misti volcano in the background |
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| View of Chachani and El Misti volcanoes from the Cathedral roof |
One of the most interesting sites in Arequipa was the Monasterio de Santa Catalina. It's a huge nunnery founded in 1580, taking up a whole city block. It consists of a series of streets lined with former nun's houses, cloisters, and other religious rooms. It's unique because the nuns, who were rather wealthy, all had their own houses inside the monastery. This was put to a stop by the pope himself in the 1870s, when the nuns were forced to take on a more humble lifestyle. It was a very peaceful and beautiful respite from the noisy, dusty streets of Arequipa.
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| A street in Monasterio de Santa Catalina |
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| Fountain and church in the monastery |
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| A street in central Arequipa |
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| Globalization in full force. Kentucky Fried Pizza King! Only missing Taco Bell. |
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| Plaza de Armas at night |
On our second day in Arequipa, we took an organized trip to Colca Canyon using Colonial Tours. They picked us up before 3AM, because it's a 200km drive on winding mountain roads and dirt roads to get to the canyon. The road leading to the canyon goes to a height of about 4,900m (more than 16,000 feet) at Patapampa pass. This is by far the highest elevation we've ever been to, and the air was noticeably thinner and cold. It's interesting being so close to the equator at such a high altitude - it's a dry desert environment with no snow/glaciers, just some small scrubby brush and moss. It was cold, but with intense sun.
Colca Canyon is (depending on how you measure) the world's second deepest canyon at 13,650 feet. We didn't get to see the deepest part because it's a long journey to get there, but our tour did go as far as the Cruz del Cóndor overlook. A family of threatened Andean Condors live there, and we saw a few of them soaring through the canyon. They're some of the largest birds on earth, with wingspans of 11 feet, and watching them glide on thermals is an impressive sight. The Canyon itself is impressive, but doesn't live up to the majestic views from the Grand Canyon, and we also preferred the lush green mountains of the Sacred Valley. Nevertheless, it's an interesting biome, and quite a contrast from the Cusco and Lima areas.
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| Canyon view at Cruz del Condor |
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| Arid region of Peru at the Colca Canyon |
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| Andean Condor |
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| We took a hike along the rim |
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| Agricultural terraces along the canyon |
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| Hot springs. Lots of lingering vulcanism in Peru! |
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| Scary rope bridge over the river to the hot springs |
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| The small town of Chivay |
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| El Misti with llamas |
We left Arequipa and returned to Lima for our final day and a half in Peru. This time we stayed just south of Miraflores in the neighborhood of Barranco, which we loved. It has a charming bohemian feel, with colorful restored houses and lively streets. It also has some really high-end condos along the ocean cliffs, and a wide variety of restaurants and bars.
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| Colorful houses in Barranco |
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| A public square in Barranco |
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| Pacific Ocean view from the cliff-top parks in Lima |
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| Lots of neat historic details throughout the neighborhood |
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| Dinner and drinks on the balcony at sunset |
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We saw a lot of these little buzzard-like birds |
On our last day in Lima, we went to Museo Larco, which was probably our favorite museum of the whole trip. The museum showcases a wide collection of artifacts, including jewelry, pottery, tapestries, and weapons. Also, there is a nice cafe inside the museum that served some great food and drinks. After the museum, we walked to a nearby park that houses one of Lima's two zoos. The zoo is built around several Inca and pre-Inca ruins that are incorporated into the zoo itself.
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| Bling! |
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| Cute! |
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| Museo Larco Cafe |
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| Peruvian Penguin! |
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| Interesting fact: sea lions are called sea wolves in Spanish (lobo de mar) |
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| An Inca site inside the zoo |
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| Jaguar/puma |
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| We thought we might see another llama birth, but this one really was just constipated |
Peru is a wonderful country to visit. There's a wide variety of things to see and do - from the impressive ruins and vistas of the Sacred Valley, to the volcanic desert scenery near Arequipa, to the museums and Nuevo Peruvian cuisine of Lima (plus the huge Amazon rainforest portion of the country that we didn't have time to visit). It's relatively easy to get around, even with limited Spanish skills. The people here are friendly and eager to share their culture with the world. Start planning your trip!
