Arequipa is often called the white city for all of its buildings constructed from volcanic rock called sillar. It is quite beautiful. I learned that Arequipa is an Inca word meaning "yes, Ill stay."
I started the day out by searching for a hostel close to the center (for safety purposes) but not close to any of the raucous nightlife. Last night I slept in a hotel ($15 USD) complete with cable tv, but I prefer the social atmosphere of a hostel over a hotel which can be isolating. I wandered past the plaza at 9:00 am where there were hoards of people dressed in full regalia. As it turns out, it was the desamiento de la bandera (raising of the flag) which evidently is a big deal here. There were people from all branches of government (airforce, navy, marines, health care, etc.). They fired off rifles, the band played, everyone sang the national anthem and it concluded with a resounding ´Viva la Perú!
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| Rainsing of the flag |
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| Church constructed from volcanic material. |
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| At Mirador Carmen with Inca agricultural terraces |
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| Old school water filter using porous volcanic rock |
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| Volcan El Mistí (5822m) emerging from the clouds |
I am now staying at Arequipa Backpacker´s hostel with my own room sans baño for $8 USD. It is much much cheaper here than Chile or Argentina. Once I got everything moved into my new digs, I set about organizing a tour to Cañon de Colca. I detest taking tours, but it is simply not safe to do it yourself here. The tour is for 3 days, 2 nights and includes transport, food, and basic lodging for $150s or $55 USD. Since it is Sunday, virtually everything is closed, so I decided to play tourist and hopped aboard one of the bus tours of the city. The hostel owner said it was a good idea, because I would never feel safe going to these places solo. This is the first time I´ve sat atop one of those open air buses and listened to someone explain the sights over a microphone. It was basically ok and the people on board were really cool. And I think it was a good thing to do on a cloudy Sunday.
Tomorrow my tour starts at 3:00 a.m.; I'm still trying to adjust to the idea of being on a tour for a simple 3-day hike. Why did I ever leave Bariloche?
I will likely not post again until Thursday.
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