Peruanita Bonita

Cajamarca might actually win as my favorite city in Peru, rivaling for my affection with Arequipa. Nestled within the extremeties of the Andean highlands, this city is known for being the last Incan stronghold before the Spanish conquest. The Battle of Cajamarca marks the end of one of the most interesting civilazations in human history. And the Spanish didn't hold back on marking the legacy of their conquest-- there are so many churches here, I feel like I'm in Italy or something. The churches are absolutely beautiful. There are two churches around the Plaza de Armas, or main square. The Iglesia San Francisco has stained glass windows that are illuminated at night-- so stunning. I really can't describe it and my camera will never do it justice.

Beig so close to the Andean highlands comes with some serious perks. The city is known well for its cheese and dairy products, and also chocolate. Subsequently, it is known for having many pastelerias, or bakieries, filled with mouth-watering sweet treats. Tomorrow, my British friend Sophie and I are going to do some serious sugar diving.

But really, tonight was one of the highlights of my trip in South America so far. I have been in Peru for almost two months-- I just love it so much, it's so hard to part with. The people in Peru are so kind, warm, laid back, and happy. And the food is just incredible.

Sophie and I went to a bar called "Usha Usha". I honestly just went to accompany Sophie, and I was expecting the usual gringified nonsense (loud music, drunk dudes, and overpriced everything). However, this place totally blew my expectations out of the water... as soon as we walked in we were welcomed by congenial surroundings, soft lighting, various South American artwork on the walls, and a huge poster of Mr. Che himself. Also the owner, Jamie, greeted us warmly and loudly. The bar was basically just five South American dudes hanging out over a bottle of wine. Each of them had an instrument, and they went through ballads and traditional folk music, some in Quechua, Spanish and Guarani. The songs were so tranquil and lovely,and performed with sincerity. I understood so little of the words, but the music spoke to me so clearly. There was a song about dreams, another about the raven warning of dying love, and others celebrating the strength of hope. Jaime and his friends toasted respectfully to us, and he told us about the different musical instruments used by the northern Peruvians in pre-Incan times. As you can see, I've completely fallen for Peru. It's so rich in history, culture, nature and most saliently, spirit.

Tonight reminds me of why I need to travel. Yes, need-- travel for me is not a choice. I can't imagine living a life without learning as much as I can about the world and our common humanity. The scenery is gorgeous, but really connecting with people is the most fulfilling aspect of traveling, more gorgeous than any glowing mountain or crystal clear lake. They say that the more you travel, the more you realize that people are so similar, in a beautiful way. And there is so much strength in this understanding, I truly wish that you can experience this also...

The dance show

One of the highlights of my stay in Arequipa was the dance show. There was a troupe of Argentinian dancers staying at my hostal, and they performed at the Arequipenian anniversary parade, and then we found out that they stayed for about a week to perform at a dance festival. I attended along with a few other people at my school. The show included dancers from Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. My favorite were the Peruvian dancers from Ayacucho. One day, I plan on visiting Ayacucho around Easter time in order to view the famous scissor dance.

Click here to see pictures of the dances.

El Mercado y Jugo de Rana (The market and frog juice)

One of the most fascinating places in Arequipa is the market. It's by far my favorite place to shop. I love how fresh everything is-- the fruits and vegetables taste like they've been picked from a hearty farm and brought the same day to the market. There are all kinds of animals for sale, dead and alive. You can buy toothpaste, dried llama embryos or Rocky Mountain oysters (if you know what that is). My friend Natalie bought a kilogram of wax to carve in order to make metal jewelery through lost wax casting.

One day after classes, my friends and I decided to drink frog juice. The following are pictures of the process-- we even got to pick out our own frog. The vendor then smashed its head and gutted and boiled it, and threw it into a blender along with a whole Cornish hen egg (shell and all), bee pollen, flour and herbs from the jungle, etc. The result was a pasty green shake served slighty warm (due to the boiled frog)...

Monasterio Santa Catalina

Built in 1580, this convent is one of the most memorable, beautiful places in Arequipa. It was founded by the richest Spanish families in the colonial era, evident still today because of the vastness of the space and the luxuries inside (an indoor well?)... I can imagine that wealthy young ladies would reside there along with their servants. It's practically its own village within Arequipa. I hope the pictures speak for themselves...

Click here to see pictures

Sweet and Spicy Treats

My favorite dessert in Peru so far is Mazamorada Arroz con Leche combinado. I had this in Lima from a street vendor in the park, and I knew I would love it The mazamorada is a syrup made of Chicha Morada, which is a an absolutely delicious drink made of purple corn essence and pineapple juice, with some cinnamon and cloves mixed in. The combinado is rice pudding with a mazamorada topping-- and I'm in heaven...

Arequipa has its own distinct flavor of cuisine which is different from the rest of Peru. I went out with a couple of Spanish school buddies to a restaurant called "La Neuva Palomino". It's a traditional restaurant that Peruvians eat at with their families on Sundays. Of course, I ordered the biggest platter they have. This plate included rocoto relleno, a specialty of Arequipa, which is stuffed Rocoto pepper, kind of like a red bell pepper, but much spicier.

My gigantic lunch also included lamb's feet-- I couldn't bring myself to eat it, so my homestay family's dog, Matija, had a feast that night.

However, in Arequipa, one of the most fascinating desserts are picarones, which is a Peruvian version of doughnuts. These are not so sweet and much lighter and flakier than you would find in Dunkin Donuts, and the people who make them are much cuter (no bias here). The flour is made typically of yams or yucca, and its served with a sugary syrup with orange essence and a hint of spices like cinnamon or cloves. Yum!

Arequipa, Peru

I've been in Arequipa for about two weeks. It's a beautiful colonial city nestled within the Andes mountains in Southern Peru. It's Peru's second-largest city, Lima being the first. It's really one of the most spectacular places I've ever been to in my life. According to my Spanish teacher, the city was founded in ancient times by a group of Incans who wandered over from Cuzco. The name of the city is comprised of the Quechan words "ari" and "quipay" which mean, literally, "yes, let's stay here". And looking around, I can see why. Everywhere you turn, there are mountains, the weather during the day is sunny and a perfect seventy-something degrees. The climate is somewhat similar to Arizona, dry and not too humid.

I arrived in Arequipa after an 18 hour bus ride from Lima. The bus ride was awesome-- refer to my post about South American buses for more details.

I signed up for Spanish classes in Arequipa, so I hung out there for two weeks. The view was amazing, here's one of my favorite pictures-- it's taken from my hostel room window.

I arrived at an opportune moment for the city, as it was just celebrating its 471st birthday. The entire city was besides itself in revelry, check out some pictures from the parade or "procession" below:

A jubilant celebration to welcome me to a beautiful city was too good to be true. I ventured outside to snap a few pictures and to observe the celebration, but I soon got stuck in the mob, along with a few other travelers. It was exactly like being stuck in a mosh pit-- except instead of concert-goers, we were surrounded by families, including babies and little old ladies. And boy, are there a lot of babies in Peru-- adorable ones. And little old ladies, equally adorable. We snaked our way through the crowd back to the hostel, but we were literally stuck inside for the rest of the celebration, which from the sounds of it, continued into the wee hours of the morning. Perhaps what I appreciate the most about Arequipa, in comparison to other cities in the developing world, is that the city is kept stringently clean. I went out for an early morning jog the following morning to find the streets hosed clean of party remnants, food, libations, and other yucky stuff.

More about Arequipa to come soon-- it's hard to find a place with fast enough internet to upload my gigantic files of pictures...