Arequipa Scenes, 1

LANTAM got us from Bean City to Arequipa in good order. It was the first flight we've done in South America that was on-time and without (numerous) gate changes, and so a little scary. What could be wrong? I wondered. Anyway, a driver was waiting for us in Arequipa. For the next several days we would be in the care of Giardino Tours, for guides, transportation, and hotels. BTW, Arequipa is known as the "white city" since much of the historic building is of the white tufa (lava stone) spewed from the volcanoes long ago. Really is white

Arequipa is a city approaching 1 million in size, Peru's second
largest; it was raining when we arrived

Our room at La Casa de mi Abuela, 4-5 blocks from the Plaza
de Armas

Walking to breakfast our first morning we were stunned to see
how close the volcanoes are...this is Chacani, extinct

To the right, the Pichu Pichu group, also extinct; not pictured,
Misti, not extinct, even closer, but obscured by clouds and urban
clutter; we'd see it as we left town for Colca Canyon

The extensive terracing is pre-Columbian

We did a half-day tour of Arequipa that started
in the suburb of Yanahuara; here, a calvary in
the parish church there; in Peruvian calvaries,
all the symbols/attributes of the Crucifiction
are displayed

Virtually the only thing of interest to me about
Latin American Catholic churches is where the
indigenous religion occasionally pokes through,
whether overlooked or merely tolerated by the
priests and bishops, etc; three Incan/Quchuan
symbols to look for are the condor, the puma,
and the serpent; we spotted two of the three
here

Facade

Is this what a saint looks like? Really?

Arequipa is at only 7,600 feet, but I was
already feeling a bit sluggish; a relief to see
the van came equipped with oxygen; we'd see
more of these on tourist buses and in hotels;
for the next week we'd function at altitudes
between 11,000 and 15,000 feet; time to start
taking the Diamox!

Now we are in the centro historico; another interesting saint in
the Jesuit monastery

Flora

Cloister; it's now all a collection of nicer shoppes

In the monastery chapel

Done in "Brazilian" style since this monastery primarily trained
missionaries to head into the Amazon

"And here's what you'll be eating, Brothers;
the blue berries are particularly good for snake
bite"

Altar of main monastery church; not all the
gold went to Spain

Religious mannequins must be a thriving business in Latin
America

Life-sized too

Knave view

Outside, facade, yes! There's a serpent!

Head and mouth

Full facade