Arequipa part 3

Mauricio asked Irina what suited her best:  being guided in Spanish or English.

She shrugged here shoulders and said very casually: 

"English is fine",   

which, of course, was perfect for me. 

    First stop: traditional Barrio de San Lazaro. An old neighbourhood consisting of white houses predominantly. It is because of these houses Arequipa is called the ' white city.

* Upon founding this grand colonial city, the Spanish had to decide what to use as a primary construction material. As it turned out, a volcanic stone known as 'sillar' was the perfect solution, mostly thanks to its abundance in the region. This remarkably soft, lightweight, and weatherproof white colored stone was ideal for constructing the imposing churches and government buildings which characterize central Arequipa. A devastating earthquake in the 19th century practically leveled the city, obliterating many of the most majestic colonial structures. Determined not to lose their most beautiful city, the newly formed Republic of Peru lovingly rebuilt from the rubble up, incorporating plenty of white volcanic stone while closely adhering to the “Arequipa School of Architectural Design” for which the city is so well loved today. Such was the success of this painstaking reconstruction that UNESCO declared the White City a Cultural Heritage site in the year 2000.*

(*source : https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/peru/articles/how-arequipa-became-named-the-white-city/)

  Barrio de San Lazaro consisted of streets with hughe gutters: Mauricio remembered the time when he (or his father, i can't remember) was living there , and water, used for dishes and washing clothes, was thrown outside the windows of the houses. Just like that. Of course the goal was that this water would land in the gutter, but hey,  you had to be really carefull, walking these streets of Barrio de San Lazarro!

  Next stop: church and cloisters of the church company of Jesus. No photography inside is allowed. That is  why i have a hard time remembering what his church was about. You also have to take into consideration that i am  writing about this place while i am already back home, half a month  further in time.  Let me summarize it by saying: it was very beautifull!

Third stop: monestery of Santa Catalina de Siena:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_Santa_Catalina_de_Siena,_Arequipa

Very nice colours, so very nice pictures could be taken.

   Basically,  all day was about religion: cloisters, nuns, Jesuits, churchess, etc., etc..

Let me end this very boring blog (but a beautifull day nevertheless)  by saying i remember i was sitting next to Irina, at the end of the day. Mauricio was already gone and we were watching a movie about Juanita. Juanita was a frozen girl who was found in the ice, somewhere near Arequipa. She was sacrificed to please the mountaingods. Even stranger:  she let herself be sacrificied by her own free will. 

Let me give  the link so you can look it up yourself: 

English readers: https://www.aracari.com/blog/luxury-travel-peru/juanita-mummy-arequipa-the-incan-ice-maiden/ 

Dutch readers: https://www.reisjunk.nl/peru/arequipa/

Irina and i booked this Juanita-tour outside the official program, so we were extra attentive to all the information we got out of  the movie,  but also later on, out of the private guide we hired:

To this day i remember the thought i was having during the movie and the private tour.

I even reassert that thought today:  Irina is so much prettier than Juanita!

Unfortunately i ate alone that night, to shy to ask Irina for dinner. I let myself be lured into a restaurant by somebody who could speak 20 languages.

He was standing in the mainstreet of Arequipa and he asked me:

" Where you from? " 

I answered him:

"Holland". 

He said: Aardappel ('potato' in Dutch)

I kicked his ass

No, i am joking. 

He said " aardappel"  allright, but that was because the food item that seemed to be the basis of the food he served in his restaurant.

Sitting at the table, he came back with the Dutch national flag and the menu.

That night I ate Cuy 

(cavia) for the first time in my life.

It tasted like chicken.

(watch closely and notice the claw)