We hopped a quick 2 hour flight from Lima to Arequipa, a city of 1 million people, the 2nd largest in Peru. We were met at the airport and taken to our hotel: La Hostería Boutique Hotel located very near the historic center, a UNESCO Heritage Site. The hotel is gorgeous…bougainvillea and great views of the snow-capped mountains everywhere.
The city of Arequipa is at 7700 feet. It takes a while for people from sea-level (like us in Lima) to adjust to the thinner air. And this is doubly true of people who are older (again, like us). So once at the hotel, we drank a cup of coca tea, went to our room, relaxed, eventually went to lunch/dinner at a nearby restaurant, and finally returned to our room for a good night’s sleep. We are such party-goers! Now don’t get all excited about the coca tea. Yes, the leaves are related to the leaves from which cocaine is derived, but the ones we used for tea are a separate species grow for their stimulant and medicinal purposes and are used as an aid for mountain sickness.
The next morning, we found a beautiful breakfast buffet waiting for us on the hotel patio. Scrambled eggs, meat, potatoes, coffee cakes, granola and yogurt, flan, tropical fruit juices, fresh papaya, melon, pineapple, meats and cheeses, coffee and teas. This lovely assortment greets us each morning. We eat on the patio in the center of the building which has the largest bougainvillea tree we have ever seen. It acts as a sun umbrella covering the entire patio.
This week has been one of exploration. One day we explored the historical center, including the Plaza de Armas said to be the prettiest plaza in Peru. We ventured into the open-air market to see stalls filled with a small portion of the 3000 varieties of potatoes, all kinds of fruits, vegetables, meats and fish…pretty much everything you would want to buy.
On Sunday, we walked to Yanahuara, a nearby neighborhood with a plaza filled with food/handicraft booths, great views of Misti (one of the volcanoes), and a first-annual celebration (we don’t know what everyone was celebrating) that featured traditional dancers from various parts of Peru. The dancing was lively and the costumes were beautiful. We left the square and headed to a “picantería” (restaurant) called Sol de Mayo. There we sampled traditional Peruvian dishes: avocado relleno (chopped vegetable stuffed avocado) and rocoto relleno (ground beef stuffed red pepper—a little hotter than our red peppers). Arequipa is the food capital of Peru, so we are trying everything. Many people here eat “cuy” (or guinea pig) or alpaca for special occasions, but so far we have not tried it.
We dedicated one day to a walking food tour. It started at the central market where we tasted different tropical fruits. We then moved to a picantería where we again tried the rocoto relleno (a little different this time) and ocupa arequipeña, a potato dish with a delicious yellow sauce. These two dishes were served with chicha, a purple corn drink (3% alcohol). Our guide next led us to a tiny sushi place in order to demonstrate the fusion of Asian foods with traditional Inca/Spanish tastes. The sushi was delicious! Our final stop (we were already full!) was another picantería. At this restaurant, we were introduced to a pisco drink called chilcano (pisco, ginger ale and lime juice) with estufado de carne (beef stew) and a potato and cheese salad. The tour ended with a shared queso helado (local ice cream) and sweet corn cake—yummy!
Another day, we walked to a university that houses a museum of 550 year old Incan artifacts. The star attraction is the frozen body of “Juanita, the Ice Maiden,” kept at -4 degrees Fahrenheit in the exhibit and extremely well-preserved. She was found on Mt. Amparo. She was killed by priests as a human sacrifice to appease the gods. Natural events, like earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, were seen as punishments by the gods—the sacrifice of a child of high status brought peace. Juanita is incredible in her glass freezer: the cloth she wore 550 years ago, though dirty, was still fully intact. Sadly, no photos allowed. But we snagged this one from the web.
We also took in Mundo Alpaca (Alpaca World, in English). It told the story of how the alpaca wool industry got started here in Peru. We learned about the 4 camelids in Peru—alpaca and llama are domesticated, vicuñas and guanacos are wild. Peru raises 80% of the world’s alpacas, using their wool for clothing. Locals also eat alpaca. After the tutorial on camelids, we were given the opportunity to pet the alpacas and llamas. But they were having none of that. Food was on the table and much more appealing than being mauled by tourists.
It’s cold here. We wear long sleeve shirts and Kathy wears a jacket once the sun goes down. The hotel rooms have no heat, so we wear more clothes when in the room and in bed. But hot tea is available 24/7 so we can always warm up. We didn’t bring enough warm clothing. We may have to buy an alpaca something because it’s going to get colder as we move to higher altitudes. (Brrr!)
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