Arequipa Will Keep Ya

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We took the semi-cama bus from Lima to Arequipa. The buses here have different levels of service, and their model is loosely based on airlines. The semi-cama is like first class. We actually went a bit higher, but are sorry we did, as we were seated one in front of the other in a single file row, rather than next to each other. The seats reclined 180 degrees, and the stewardess gave us pillows and blankets. The food was no better than airline food. Even so, for a 14 hour trip, this was the best we could hope for.

When we finally arrived in Arequipa (ahr-a-KEEP-a) we were greeted by Nestor and his step-mom Monica. Nextor spent a month with us last February, and we never expected to see him so soon.

Nestor’s family had moved into a new house about a month ago. His father, Nestor, had designed the place and it is quite lovely. It is also in the downtown, about 5 or 6 blocks from the Plaza de Armes, or central square.

We went for lunch with his mom, step-dad, and grandmother at grandma’s place. You’ll hear more about this in another post, but the house is an old casona built in 1835 and is right across the street from the beautiful monastery of Santa Catalina. They stuffed us with Rocoto Relleno (stuffed peppers) and Pastile de Papas (kind of like scalloped potatoes).

We crashed in the afternoon, then went on a walk to the old town with Nestor and his sister Flavia. The next day we did a double-decker bus tour of the city.

This whole time we were waiting for our debit cards to arrive. The ones we had had expired, and we were unable to get cash. USBank told us to simply not activate the new cards and the old ones would continue working. Not so! Fortunately, they did arrive Monday afternoon. We’d spent some of the day planning our tours on Lake Titicaca and Cusco. We were able to go back and actually buy the tickets, knowing that we’d be able to get cash.

Arequipa was named as a Kichwa word that means something like “stay here.” It is a beautiful city, surrounded by three volcanos. The air is generally clear and the sun is bright. It is also attracting many people from the surrounding areas, and shantytowns are developing in the suburbs.

Here are pictures –