We couldn't check into our room quite yet, but we met with Carlitos, the owner of the tour company for our trek that we would be taking the next day. He was very excited because he said he was having a baby. This made us wonder what he was doing with us when he was supposed to be with his partner - we later learned that she was not, in fact, in labor but they had just found out she was expecting. He gave us an overview of what we would be experiencing, pausing dramatically before mentioning a meal ("And then you will be having your...breakfast!").
We strolled to Arequipa's Plaza de Armas afterward, only a ten minute stroll away. The plaza is quite beautiful, with a square in the middle with fountains and pedestrian space, and surrounded by many old churches and other buildings. There are also hundreds of pigeons there, and even a manic street preacher to contribute to the ambiance. We didn't spend a whole lot of time admiring the plaza, however, because we were really hungry. We walked to a restaurant called Hatunpa, a restaurant that specializes in serving many varieties of potatoes. We enjoyed the meal. Liz hadn't been feeling great so far today, and she ordered a mate with her meal.
Our next stop was the Museo Santuarios Andino, where the Juanita mummy is preserved. She was a sacrifice made by the Incas hundreds of years ago, remarkably well preserved in the mountains, along with all the artifacts left with her. Some of the cloth looks like it could be brand new today. We did our tour with a group of Italian tourists, but the guide spoke in English.
At this point, Liz was starting to feel really poor and had to keep toilet paper on her runny nose, so we went to our hotel room so she could rest a bit. We also had to do our laundry (by hand in the shower) - not the ideal combination of events. Liz went down to rest, so I went back to the plaza by myself. I looked through the Iglesia de la Compañía, a Jesuit church near the plaza de armas. A nice man gave me a tour of the church, as well as the cloisters in the back, and gave me lots of interesting details about it. He also pointed out the depiction of the Last Supper with cuy, or guinea pig, being served. I gave him a tip at the end of the tour.
I headed for the market next. On my way there, I took a quick tour of another church, the Iglesia Santo Domingo.
Arequipa's central market was really cool. It's like a Peruvian version of Pike Place. The produce stands were my favorite - they were built on diagonal sets of shelves, with a staircase going up through the middle. Because so much produce was packed onto the shelves, the ladies selling looked like they were standing on mountains made of fruits and vegetables.
I found a place selling sandwiches and brought them back to Liz for us to eat together. She was still feeling terrible. I last went to the Covnento de Santa Catalina, an old Spanish convent. Here, nuns in training would spend years in preparation for their lives ahead, including extended times doing vows of silence. I liked visiting at night because it was very quiet, few other tourists were there, and it gave me a sense of what it might be like to actually live here.
After this, I retreated to our hotel and called it a day.
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