Oct 10, Monday

Oct 10, Monday

I was awake much too early this morning so I read for a while and managed to drop off to sleep again for a few hours but had some strange dreams.   Probably too much food and eating too late.

Had breakfast before 9 and was checked out of the hotel by 10.   Taxi ride to the airport went well.  Headed for the ticket counter upon arrival, since I was unable to complete an on-line ticket purchase last night for some reason.    Turns out all flights to Cuzco today are fully booked, so I asked if there was any room on a flight for Arequipa.  Yes there was!   So guess where I’m writing this from tonight?  

Arequipa, instead of Cuzco; just a slight tourist detour.   The next problem I faced was that I had not booked a hotel here, although I had done some research and had written down the names and addresses of two possibilities.   After picking up my luggage I noticed that they had a counter with advertisement for hotels.    GREAT !   They should have this type of service in all airports.   Well, lo and behold, they were advertising both hotels I had researched.  I picked the one closest to the historical district and the lady at the desk called them to confirm if they were able to accommodate me for 6 days.   YES they could!   So I hopped on the mini-bus they provided for free…..   YES, you heard correctly….  FOR FREE !     I’m loving Arequipa already.   On the ride to the hotel, I spotted a LAN office (airline),  so as soon as I had checked in to the hotel, I took off to book my flight to Cuzco,  6 days from now.    I was on a roll.    So while I was at the agency, I also booked a city tour for tomorrow and a 2-day side trip to the Valle del Colca that so many people I’ve met have talked about.   That should give me plenty of extra time to explore Arequipa.

This city is simply beautiful.    The historical district is filled with beautiful colonial buildings.   I’m going to go crazy with the camera again.

It was past seven by the time I left the agency and my breakfast was long gone, so I asked the girl for the name of a good restaurant nearby.  She mentioned La Chicha, only 2 long blocks away, so off I went.

Located in an old, old building  (everything is in the historical district) that used to be a personal home.  For home read MANSION.   The service was great, the food was exceptional and I ate too much once again:  herbed potato soup with spinach filled tortellini for starters,  followed by curried alpaca served with platanos, sweet potatoes and a mixture of couscous and quinoa.    DELICIOUS.   The alpaca had the texture of a beautiful moist roast beef, but with a lighter taste.   It was so moist and tender that I could take it apart with my fork.   And to wash it down, the waiter suggested I try a Chilcano;  don’t know how to describe the taste.  Not a sweet drink since I’m not partial to those;  it had more of a lime flavour.  Definitely having that again !

  Restaurant La Chincha

   Alpaca meat.   Sorry, I ate and then remembered I needed to take a picture !

Short walk back to the Hotel Crismar.   It’s also old obviously and fairly clean but the rug has definitely seen better days, so it’s a “wear your flip flop at all times” when in the room.

Buenas noches a todos