Arequipa, Peru

We visit Arequipa in Southern Peru with high expectations and we are not disappointed.  The visitor goes to Arequipa for the colonial architecture, culture, history and access to the surrounding mountain terrain.  At a tourist stop on a dusty dirt road in the suburbs, we observe another group of tourists, school kids from a nearby town enjoying the big treat of the day: their first horseback ride.  Just watching them brings joy to our hearts.  At the same locale, two irresistible ladies in the dress of the Cabana Culture of the Colca Canon pose with “Andes Eagles.”

Gringos tend to be fascinated by local markets and we are no exception.  Arequipa has one of the best.  We spend the better part of a day visiting with the vendors, quizzing them about their produce and marveling at the sights and smells.

This fellow is very helpful when Deb asks him the names and how to prepare the various fruits.

Below are olives, a variety of which is offered in every market.

We learn that Peru produces over 2,500 varieties of potatoes. These are a few examples.

When I complain of a cough back in Ecuador, my friend Victor recommends the naturopathic treatment of a kind of tea made from dried frogs.  He even told us where to find it in the Arequipa market. "Rana" is the Spanish word for frog. 

The most popular attraction of Arequipa is the old convent.  With declining interest in the cloistered life, the 20 remaining sisters retreated to a fraction of the space that once housed up to 500 nuns, orphans and battered women.  The balance of the space was opened to the public as a museum.  There are a few glass case type displays of artifacts, but the real attraction is in the cells, common areas, kitchens, laundry, etc.  We learned that here, at least, the families paid for the sisters admittance and maintenance in the convent.  This lead to a sort of class system where some sisters had more comfortable accommodations than others.  Then came reform, everyone must be treated equally, at least in terms of creature comforts and a more communal way of life was adopted.

The convent grounds includes two of these formally named "streets" and . . .

one of the most beautiful gardens in recent memory.

Eventually time comes to move on and we catch the bus for the town of Chevay, gateway to the Colca Canyon.  This Canyon is advertised to be twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, but how does one measure these things anyway?  Oops, I digress.  On the way we cross a high plain blessed with a few springs and herds of wild, protected vicunas.  They are one of the four “camelids” found in Peru.  We learn that they are always cinnamon color and observe that they resemble the small fleet antelope seen occasionally in the Colorado high country of the USA.  The vicuna have no horns or antlers, are probably not as fleet as the antelope and look like they weigh about 35 lb.  

Vicuna in a very high and windswept valley.

They don't make them like this anymore.  Details from the Cathedral of Arequipa.

Interior of the cathedral at Arequipa.