We travelled from Puno to Arequipa on a night bus, arriving the morning of October 22nd or the day of the Peruvian census. The census day in Peru will be one that we remember as we strolled through the historical center with very empty streets, and most, if not all, shops closed. The census is very serious here...done in a day and nothing open between 8am and 5pm.

Arequipa is an interesting city reminiscent of Cusco, the difference being all of the buildings are white. The city moved from building with Adobe bricks (clay) after a major earthquake to using white volcanic stone, called “sillar”. The city is surrounded by three volcanoes, two of which we can see from our rooftop patio. We once again took advantage of the free walking tour, payment is a tip! Our guide started off in the Plaza de Armas, framed by archways, restaurants and the cathedral, with its facade that stretches the length of a city block. We learned about the carving within the rock that decorates various buildings and churches and how Arequipa is a good example of a variety of cultures blending together through Peru’s history. A fun fact about Arequipa is that it hosts a 17km race that starts in Plaza de Armas (2338m) and ends at the top El Misti (5825m), best time so far is 4hrs and 35 min.

Today we visited Santa Catalina Monastery, which covers over 20, 000 square meters, or approximately a whole city block. It’s surrounded by huge walls which create a city within the historical center. Narrow streets with Spanish names; Toledo, Seville, Córdoba etc...are lined with flower pots, predominately geraniums, and neatly kept. Today only 20 nuns live in the northern corner of the monastery that also incorporates the original cemetery.

Tomorrow we leave Arequipa for a couple of days to travel to Colca canyon, one of the world’s deepest canyons!