Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru (around 800,000 people), is located in the Andes at an altitude of 7661 feet. Quite close by are 3 volcanoes which provide great hiking for the daring and magnificent views for those who wish to look at them from afar. The weather is temperate -- about 68 degrees most of the time. Arequipa is called the "white city" because of the use of the white volcanic stone sillar, which provides some stunning architecture, and just as many of the cities in Peru, it has Spanish colonial aspects and architecture, making it quite picturesque, just in case the view of the Andes isn't enough!
Read more: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/james_and_anna/1/1303012326/tpod.html#ixzz1f6rwJmob
Arequipa also will provide us easy access (by plane) to Cuzco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, the hubs of Incan life. One of our goals for this trip is to learn more about the Incas, and we have a good start from our trip to Ecuador last year.
The area is also quite close to the famous Nazca lines and to Lake Titicaca. Also, Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world, has some of the best viewing of wild condors in the world. And if that's not enough, Arequipa is 1 1/2 hours from the ocean.
sigh
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
temporary (?) Arequipa lodging secured
Last year, we rented a condo. This year, we are going to try a different approach at least at the beginning of our trip. We have booked a Bed and Breakfast to stay in for the first two weeks in Arequipa, and if we like it there, we could spend the entire time at Lula's B & B. Check it out at http://www.bbaqpe.com/ . If we decide we want something more private, we will rent a condo or something.
We have reserved the "penthouse" suite, which in reality is the two rooms at the top of a house plus a private bathroom, 5 floors up, no elevator (hmmmm). But to counteract the lack of an elevator, the rooms are surrounded by a rooftop terrace, and we can see the Andes and El Misti, the famous volcano in the area. This is also a very small B & B, with only 3 rooms available for rent (it's actually Max and Lula's home), so it won't be like living in a hotel.
We also have the option of getting our meals there (authentic Peruvian), and Lula and Max (a Peruvian and Swiss couple) are being very flexible with us. For the first couple of days, we will have 3 meals a day there, at least until we get acclimated to the altitude (Arequipa is around 7600 feet).
What is also great is that Lula runs the only accredited Spanish language school in Arequipa. We aren't particularly interested in the accreditation aspect, but we will most likely take at least a week (perhaps 2) of 4 hours/day of Spanish language instruction with her.
Arequipa has a gringo community, but from what I can tell online, it is mostly young people and there doesn't seem to be the strong network of gringos as there were in Cuenca. Thus, our Spanish needs to improve.
We have reserved the "penthouse" suite, which in reality is the two rooms at the top of a house plus a private bathroom, 5 floors up, no elevator (hmmmm). But to counteract the lack of an elevator, the rooms are surrounded by a rooftop terrace, and we can see the Andes and El Misti, the famous volcano in the area. This is also a very small B & B, with only 3 rooms available for rent (it's actually Max and Lula's home), so it won't be like living in a hotel.
We also have the option of getting our meals there (authentic Peruvian), and Lula and Max (a Peruvian and Swiss couple) are being very flexible with us. For the first couple of days, we will have 3 meals a day there, at least until we get acclimated to the altitude (Arequipa is around 7600 feet).
What is also great is that Lula runs the only accredited Spanish language school in Arequipa. We aren't particularly interested in the accreditation aspect, but we will most likely take at least a week (perhaps 2) of 4 hours/day of Spanish language instruction with her.
Arequipa has a gringo community, but from what I can tell online, it is mostly young people and there doesn't seem to be the strong network of gringos as there were in Cuenca. Thus, our Spanish needs to improve.
tickets purchased
We are on our way. Well, almost. We fly from NYC to Lima, Peru on January 5 and return from Lima to NYC on March 28. Once we arrive in Lima, we will spend 3 days seeing some of the sites in that great city, and then we fly to Arequipa on Sunday, January 8. Our second adventure is about to begin.
This time around, we aren't doing as much preliminary work and intend to "wing it" with the planning of trips, etc. We could even potentially move to another city after a month or so, if the spirit moves us, and we also hope to spend a bit of time in Cuenca with some of the good friends we made in Ecuador last year and to visit friends from Rochester who will be spending a couple of months in Cuenca (they came for a few days last year and got "their feet wet").
This time around, we aren't doing as much preliminary work and intend to "wing it" with the planning of trips, etc. We could even potentially move to another city after a month or so, if the spirit moves us, and we also hope to spend a bit of time in Cuenca with some of the good friends we made in Ecuador last year and to visit friends from Rochester who will be spending a couple of months in Cuenca (they came for a few days last year and got "their feet wet").
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