Week 4: Arequipa

Monday was my first full day in Arequipa.  I discovered to take a downtown walking tour to get a better overview of the city.  Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who had this idea.  In fact the English speaking your group was over 35 people.  They also had a Spanish speaking group but that was less than 10.  Any way, the tour started at the main plaza (Plaza de Armas) which has the Santa Catalina Church and Monastry on the north side.

The tour went into one of the city's Catholic Churches, describe the local cuisine and neighborhoods and showed us many different types of architectures.  The tour guide pointed out the three local volcanos from one of the city's bridges.

After the tour, I walked across town to try some creviche at one of the best  local seafood restaurants.  I had a bit of a problem ordering as the waitress' English was worst than my Spanish, if such a thing is possible.  But not to worry, she had a very nice guy come out to help me.  I think he was the owner as he suggested exactly which type to order.  It all was very good.  I didn't accomplish anything else of note on Monday but I enjoyed walking around this city as it seems both safe and interesting.

Since I enjoyed the walking tour on Monday, I decided to take another walking tour on Tuesday.  This time there were only four of us which made the tour even more enjoyable.  I got to speak with each of the other .  A Peruvian from Lima, a girl from south Brazil and a guy from Adelaide, South Australia.  The tour guide has on the green vest.

This tour specialized more in the oldest part of the city.  We got to test samples of local boutique breweries, local potatoes, chocolate, etc.

Here is a typical Peruvian cross outside a Catholic Church.  

Note how they incorporated the sun, moon, sword, etc. into the picture.

We came across this officer who is somewhat of a local celebrity.  I thought we was some sort of volunteer crossing guard with a fancy uniform.  But according to our guide, Carlos, he is actually a police officer who is so well liked by all that they developed a special uniform for him!

After the tour, I decided to tour the convent at Santa Maria.  Here is the inside courtyard.

It is hard to believe this peaceful setting is just inside the walls from a busy city.

Here is a elaborate Christmas Box.  Convents and monasteries used to have such displays to show the history of Christianity.