Wednesday, April 30
ben and i, along with two brits we had met in san pedro de atacama (edward, aka "woody", and luke), grabbed a morning bus to arica, basically a border crossing town just south of the peruvian border. from there the four of us grabbed a colectivo (a stunningly beautiful taxi) to ferry us across the border and into the town of Tacna. we spent the night in tacna eating and having a couple brews with our british buddies and then turned it in early as we had to get up at 4am to catch our next transport to Arequipa.
Thursday, May 1
we arrived in Arequipa and checked into our hostel, which is located just outside of town in a small suburb called Vallecito. the hostel itself has seen better days (when we arrived it looked like a scene straight out of animal house), but is in a very nice area and only a 10 minute walk from the central plaza of Arequipa. since our room was not available yet, ben and i headed out to see the city. Arequipa is called "the white city" for the volcanic rock that was used to construct many of the buildings in the area. we explored the Plaza de Armas and the huge cathedral on its north side, the Iglesia de La Merced, the Monasterio Santa Catalina, and finally another suburb just northwest of the city called Yanahuara. the Monasterio Santa Catalina was incredible. it takes up a entire city block (over 5 acres) and is literally a city within a city. we spent a couple hours winding our way through the numerous streets, alleys, and maze-like rooms.
Friday, May 2
after finishing this email i will head off to explore some other sites in the city, with my main interest being the Museo Santur, which houses several well preserved mummies who are said to be child sacrifices from over 500 years ago. we will be here in Arequipa until sunday morning and then are off for Cuzco. i cant wait for that leg of the trip as i have decided to join a 5 day / 4 night trek from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. as luck has it, a girl from Montreal that i met in San Pedro de Atacama (Jodi) is traveling with a friend who has decided not to do the trek to Machu Picchu. so, im hoping to take her place. i will then catch back up with ben in Ecuador sometime around May 14th.
signing off for now.
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1 comment:
Phil, you're somewhat nearby the small mountain town of Chivay and Colca Canyon, which I found to be a worthwhile visit if you have the time. The Incan trail is going to be RAD! Machu Pichu is unlike anything you've ever seen... =)
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