We made it to Arequipa about 11pm after crossing the border from Bolivia. Arequipa is high desert, and the scenery in the dark outside of the bus looked barren with white sand and cactus. The locals say "when the moon separated from the Earth, it forgot to take Arequipa."
It is called the "white city" as many of the buildings are built out of the white volcanic rock called sillar that is abundant in the area.
We had another great hostel, Tembo Viejo. Tembo Viejo was quiet and family run, and seemed more like a bed and breakfast than a typical hostel. The hostel was recommended to us by, Gregg, Jim's brother Todd's roommate in New York City who runs a charity that sets up primary schools in Arequipa. We had hoped to do some volunteer work for the schools, but unfortunately the schools were on break for Christmas and the timing just didn't work out.
We ventured out to the Plaza de Armas where there was a bustling and beautiful central park, Arequipa's Plaza de Armas, with balcony restaurants surrounding it. As we were getting closer to the coast, we went out and tried the ceviche.
I have loved the food in Peru. We have tried everything from cow heart skewers grilled on the street corner to grilled alpaca. One of my favorite Peruvian dishes is aji de gallina which is chicken in a creamy/spicy/peanut sauce with boiled eggs and black olives.
Grilled alpaca
We were not able to totally explore the city as we decided to go to climb Chachani, and then had to head back to Cusco for our flight to Lima.
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