Arequipa, Peru

Tour of Arequipa. Guide. Pilar

Pilar met us at the hotel, and we started our morning walking tour. The first stop was one corner of the Plaza de Armas to see the San Agustin Church, started in 1596 by the Jesuits and finished in 1698. The designs in the façade were mostly symbols of offerings, lambs, hummingbirds, corn, seashells etc. Pre Inca decorations were also used such as the dragon and fish scales and the national flower called the Cantuta or Quechua which looks much like a honeysuckle. The church was destroyed in an earthquake in 1868 and then rebuilt by the end of that century.

Inside, we saw some indigenous paintings, but they were unsigned. The altar was made out of 447 pieces of cedar and walnut and covered in gold leaf. Next to the church was the school of the Jesuits started in 1767.

Leaving there we saw what looked like ice cream but was a frozen cheese called Queso Helado. We all tried samples and said it was good but didn’t buy a cone.
Pilar told us that Arequipa means “You stay here” in the Inca language. We walked towards the Basilica Cathedral in the middle of the Plaza. It was built in 1621 with white volcanic stones and brick vaults. The cathedral was finished after 35 years in 1656, making it the most important monument of the city. A fire destroyed it in 1844 but it was finally rebuilt in 1868. We didn't go inside but there is a museum that contains religious art that is more than 400 years old, and oil paintings and religious objects made in gold.

Pilar pointed out 3 volcanos we could see over the roof of the Cathedral, Chachani, Misti and Pichu Pichu. Chachani is 2 million years old and 6700 metres high. Misti is the closest to Arequipa.

Arequipa is also called the white city because all the buildings surrounding the Plaza are made from a stone called Sillar that is from the volcano Misti. The stone was cut into very large blocks and brought from the quarry 18 km away. When it got to the city, they cut it to the sizes they wanted.

As we walked away from the Plaza, we saw very large houses owned by the wealthy. In the 1600’s the citizens wanted to be close to the market square which is now Plaza de Armas. Each house had a large courtyard that you entered first and then the other rooms such as kitchen and bedrooms branched off of this. Because of the thick stone walls the houses were always cool. There were gargoyles built into the flat roofs to direct the rain into the courtyard instead of running down the walls. Nowadays the buildings have been bought by banks and many turned into restaurants.

The next stop was at the Iglesias de San Francisco. Originally built in the 16th century, this church has been badly damaged by several earthquakes but still stands, However, there is a large crack in the cupola – testimony to the power of quakes. The garden-plaza doubles as a mini-park.

As we walked further from the Plaza the houses became smaller. The streets were built in curves. Many of the houses had geraniums, in pots, that looked like small trees. They grow all year round here. We came out to a busy area where we had to cross the street. Pilar was very good at timing so we could safely get across.

We went to the Mondo Alpaca where we saw both Alpacas and Llamas (pronounced Yama in Peru; any word with a double LL is pronounce like a Y). We were given a tour of the museum factory that showed the processes used to make wool, from carding through to weaving. We had a quick peak in the store and decided that we would come back the next day to shop.

We continued on to see the Santa Catalina Convent. This is a city within a city. In 1579 less than 40 years after the Spanish arrived in the city, the convent was founded. Since its inception, women from diverse social backgrounds entered the convent to serve as cloistered nuns, never to return to their home and family. In the 1500’s it was only the very wealthy who could afford this luxury. Usually the oldest daughter was supposed to marry and then any daughter after could go to the convent if their parents could afford the dowry. It was considered a great honour if your parents could afford to pay for more than one daughter to go.

There are now six streets, the convent expanded over many years from donations. In the old days each nun had either a single cell or if not as wealthy they might be with cousins or sisters or other relations The rooms were very simple, a bed, with a chamber pot, sometimes a kitchen, some had a desk, and some had a musical instrument. The family had to provide everything, the Nun's clothing, bedding, furniture and pottery. Many had beautiful drinking cups and bowls for washing.
Most of them had a servant who cooked for them and cleaned and emptied the chamber pot etc. They had to go to prayers every 3 hours. Nowadays, the girls who go can leave if they don’t like it or want to continue their lives outside after their education. They live in dormitories and their families do not have to pay huge sums of money. Women can enter up to the age of 55.

As it was now 2:00 we were all very tired and hungry and tried to get into a couple of restaurants in the area but because we were going out for a celebration dinner, we didn’t want very much We ended up back at the hotel and then walking around the corner to a small café where Gary and Karina introduced us to Empanadas. We then set out to find a Scotiabank to get small bills of Soles. This was quite an adventure and when we got there the lineup was probably an hour or more long, so we took out larger bills from the ATM there. A lady directed her son to show us a Western Union office where they would give us small bills. It was about 4 or more blocks back and was tucked into a small courtyard. We were able to exchange some bills but not all. Lee decided she wanted to buy some stamps at the post office that we had seen on our walk in the morning. The others went back to the hotel. We walked back 5 blocks to the post office and tried to find someone to speak English. We found out that this office did not sell stamps and that we would have to go back up to the Western Union area. Off we went and Lee stood in line for quite some time, hoping to find someone who understood English. Don had the app “I translate” so he brought up the Spanish for me and I started the purchase. In the middle of the proceedings I found out I didn’t get enough stamps and gave her another 20 Soles, then another lady barged in front and was given service. In the proceedings the vendor went away, and I took back my 20 soles on the counter. She came back and gave me 2 more stamps and 20 Soles. Not sure how it all ended up on her end, but I think I got a bargain somehow.

By the time we had finished our navigations to these various areas we felt we knew this part of Arequipa very well. Back to the hotel to get ready to walk to the Zig Zag restaurant to celebrate Mike and Judy’s 52 anniversary. We navigated the steep circular iron stairway to get upstairs. Fine going up, but after wine, not as easy coming back down. It was a beautiful restaurant and the service was delightful. Don and I shared a vegetable salad which had artichokes, asparagus, eggs, and was a meal in itself. Then we had a Trio Especial de Carnes- Beef, Alpaca and Lamb and polished it off with a chocolate mousse dessert. It was a wonderful evening and so nice to all be together. We window shopped on the way back to our hotel.Les mer