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Our stay in Arequipa

Dec 10 |00:51

For this second day to Arequipa, we decide to take a tourist bus to visit the mains sites of the city. After a good breakfast at 8:30 am which is dished in the hostel, we go to the Plaza de Armas, where there is the departure of buses. We take a bus which lasts 4 hours because he goes out the city and so we can see remote districts. The visit is very interesting and we discover full of beautiful things. We see among others things alpacas, traditional needlewomen, beautiful landscapes by going to the highest point of the city … After that, we eat in a small very nice restaurant, with a good menu for cheap. Nadège tries for the first time the drink of Peru: Inca Kola. Not bad, but rather chemical!
Then, go to the museum which preserves the frozen body of a girl, sacrificed to the mountain in the time of the Incas. Visit rather cold but very interesting to learn more on the people Incas. Then we return quietly at home, by crossing on the Plaza de Armas an orchestra (which plays more or less just!). We stop to drink a fruit juice (really cheap here). They are good, but they are certainly made with the tap water … Be careful with the tourista ^^ In the evening, we go to a concert where the singer along to Couch Surfing. He(it) makes proMb of his(its) second album. It is a good music, we cross(spend) a good moment. We buy even the CD (for 10 soles, it is nothing: 2,5€). At the end of the evening in a French bar-restaurant ^^

In the following day, we take our time in the morning. We visit the Santa Calina monastery, one of the inescapable sites of the city. It is a really impressive, very big place: it is as a small village inside bulwarks. Nowodays, there are 30 nones who live inside, but before the monastery could shelter hundreds of persons. It is a very colored, magnificent site, decorated well with beautiful small gardens. Very pleasant to visit! For noon, we are going to eat in a coffee held by a German which take charge of discriminated young children. Very good initiative, and we eat there well! Anaïs buys it even her poncho. The afternoon shopping, and stroll in the evening in a bar then a club which plays some Latin American music.

On Sunday, for our last day to Arequipa, we do not make much, we take time! We decide to visit the cathedral of the Plaza de Armas. Arrived over there, there is a big excitement. There is a big parade of servicemen and policemen. We do not really understand why, but it is funny to see ^^ We visit then quickly the cathedral, where a mass is being celebrated. Then, we go in the direction of the market of the city, a little farther. It is a big place with tens of stands: hats, spices, meats, fruit juices, fishes … We find everything! We eat then in a rather typical restaurant (finally, it is chicken and french fries ^^). As entry we are of use to us a little bit special soup … But with our quarter of chicken, we are satisfied well all the same! Before returning, we spend some time in a cybercafe, just to advance a little, because the internet connection of our youth hostel, it is not that good… In the evening, we quickly go to bed after a good soup to warm ourself, because the next day we have to get up at 3 am for the Canyon of Colca.

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Arequipa

Dec 07 |02:19

On Wednesday, December 2nd, we leave Brazil, direction Peru. Our plane leaves at 5 pm from Manaus. In order to go to Arequipa, it is not really direct … Our first connection is in Panama City, then the second one in Lima in the middle of the night …

The brother of Lilo takes us friendly to the airport of Manaus, where we register without any problems. Later, passage at the security and it is the drama for Anaïs: her favourite and indispensable hair tongs does not pass: or saying she is too sharp and could kill somebody (it’s impossible, seen the number of airport where this hair tong is already crossed!! But even by scratching me with it to prove them that that made nothing, they wanted to wait for nothing; and the worst it is because when I show them that my ball-point was sharper than my hair tong, they almost began me to it ^^ but that me not returned my hair tong how I am going to hold my hair this year now???)

Our first plane is for Panama City. Time change: it is one hour earlier. We thus have now 6 hours of difference with France (and Germany). The second plane for Lima, arrived at 00:30 am. Both flights take place well. We have to get back our bag in Lima before taking our last flight at 4:30 am and registering to the other company than we use in Peru. We wait 4 hours, half by sleeping … We rise in the last plane at the hour, and we fall asleep. But the plane does not leave (finally we wondered all 2 by reopening eyes and by seeing the settled and composed plane if we had already arrived ^^) 2 hours later, we have to go out of the plane and expect for a new from it? We wait for the 1 hour. In the end, we arrive at Arequipa with 3 hours of delay …

The arrival on Arequipa is very impressive because we expected in no way such a landscape. Very mountainous, and especially little greenery. It is much drier than in Brazil. Finally, we are all the same as height as 2300 metres! Hardly arrived at the airport, we ask us if we want to take the taxi. We are rather reluctant because we heard many warnings on taxis in Peru. Finally, we see that everybody takes taxis, so we decide to do the same. We arrive without problems at the youth hostel where we reserved our nights, the "Home Sweet Home Hostel". Very nice. They show us the room where we are going to sleep (dormitory of 5 beds), and we take a good shower to wake up a little… We are really very tired, but we decide all the same to go out a little bit to discover the city. We call Gianfranco, the guy from Couch Surfing to whom we should have initially slept (but he was not able to host us because he made works in his apartment), to see him and what he tells us some things to do here. We spend the afternoon in the city center, between stores and travel agencies. It is a very attractive city, especially the « Plaza de Armas", the place in the heart of the city. Some buildings are built with sillar, a white volcanic rock in the porous aspect, in particular the big cathedral. It is very beautiful! Before going back to our hostel, we buy some stuff to eat in a small supermarket to cook in the hostel. And then quickly, we are going to bed because these last two days were very tiring!

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