AREQUIPA IN ONE DAY

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Day 6: AREQUIPA

It's 6.30 in the morning. Roger has made a full, has slept almost nine and a half hours that has lasted the trip from Nazca to Arequipa. I rather less, but I think that in the end between one thing and another it will have been 5 or 6 hours that will allow me to discover Arequipa in one day. Surely there will be little time to enjoy a city like this, but we have so many things to see, that we can not spend more time.
Every time I woke up during the night, I noticed, because I couldn't see anything, that the curves have been present all along the way and that we were gradually gaining altitude.
Something that surprises me is that they didn't give us dinner or breakfast, when on the ticket they said they did. A few minutes after embarking a juice with a bun and nothing else in the whole trip.

Now, looking out the window, we see a completely clear sky and shines a bright sun that welcomes us to Arequipa.
At 8 in the morning we are picking up our luggage with the body a little scrambled, hopefully it is no longer the feared soroche.

Newcomers to Arequipa. Bus station.

We left in search of a taxi to take us to La Casa de Melgar, which will be ours accommodation in Arequipa.
The first one we asked just after leaving the station, charges us 10 soles so being the time it is and without breakfast we can not say no.
It takes about 15 minutes to reach our accommodation and since the room is not yet ready, we take advantage of that half hour to have breakfast at the same accommodation for 10 soles per person.
We have to make special mention of this accommodation. We weren't planning to find anything like this. Its austere exterior does not show at all, the great surprise it hides. A magnificent atmosphere, with colorful patios, that remind us of the images we have seen of the Monastery of Santa Catalina, which we will see in a while, when we begin to discover Arequipa in one day.

Our accommodation in Arequipa, La Casa de Melgar

After breakfast, load energies with a good coca tea, we go to the room and take a shower that we needed like eating after night in bus from Nazca to Arequipa. We rest a few minutes and shortly after 9 in the morning we start visiting Arequipa in one day. How could it be otherwise, our first visit of the day is focused on the monastery of Santa Catalina. We pay 35 soles per person and enter one of the most beautiful places in the world. Paradise for any photography lover.
A good option to know the history of the city and where you visit the monastery of Santa Catalina is to book this tour with a guide in Spanish where you will be picked up at the hotel or this free tour of Arequipa Free !.

St. Catherine's Monastery. Arequipa in one day

The Arequipa Monastery surrounded by impressive walls, is one of the most fascinating religious architectural works in Peru. It is a citadel of 20,000 square meters within a city.

Corner of the Monastery of Santa Catalina. Arequipa in one day

The Monastery of Arequipa is a world of alleyways, small squares full of fruit trees, hidden stairs, beautiful courtyards and cells.

Tranquility in the Monastery of Arequipa

St. Catherine's Monastery. Arequipa in one day

The convent has been restored with great care that as we said before, next to the buildings of delicate colors, they become a paradise for anyone who likes photography.

Courtyard of the Monastery of Santa Catalina

St. Catherine's Monastery

The visit to the Monastery of Santa Catalina in Arequipa can last about two hours without a guided tour, in which we will also have incredible views of the city and the volcano in front of us.

Misti volcano views

We are here until 12 in the morning, feeling that time flies by. So after this visit to the Monastery of Santa Catalina, we go to the Plaza de Armas in which we find an incredible atmosphere and in which we would stay hours and hours.

Main Square. Arequipa in one day

It inevitably reminds us of the Cathedral of Lima that we visited almost a week ago.

Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish from Peru by travelers:
- Guided tour of Arequipa and the Monastery of Santa Catalina
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In the Plaza de Armas, we bought some Antojitos de Arequipa for 4 soles that are not good, if not very good, and then stop at a cafeteria to drink a couple of frozen lemonades for 16 soles.

Snacks in Arequipa

It didn't take us long to get up to visit Arequipa in one day and set us on the way to the next visit of the day, the Santury Museum, but first we passed by the Church of the Company, taking advantage of the moment to advance a visit.

Church of the Company in Arequipa

Interior of the Church of the Company

After this brief visit, we are already heading to the Santury Museum, where we pay 20 soles per person which does not include the guide's tip, something that reminds us when paying the tickets, to avoid so we forget.
The guide is mandatory in this incredible and of course, essential visit. First we see a video of 20 minutes and then we do the guided tour of 40 more minutes.
You can not take pictures, something we regret, but that makes us, if possible, much more attentive to everything we are seeing.
At this time the famous mummy Juanita "Ice Princess", they have it in the university preserving it and studying it and instead they have Sarita.
We will not get tired of saying that it is a totally essential visit in Arequipa and that we strongly recommend, not only for what we can see, but for the respect with which it is shown.

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We leave the visit at 2 in the afternoon and being at lunchtime, we decided on a nearby restaurant where we eat a couple of pasta dishes that leave our bodies fully loaded to continue with our visits in Arequipa.
We go back to the streets of Arequipa and take a taxi to take us to the famous Mirador Yanahuara, from where we have been told that there are great views of the city and the Misti volcano.
It gives us a price of 10 soles to take us, wait for us there while we go around and return to the Plaza de Armas.
The viewpoint is almost 2 kilometers from the center, but the streets of Arequipa are full of cars, especially taxis, so it seems like a good price.

Views of the Misti volcano from the Yanahuara Viewpoint

Although the day is quite cloudy, something we do not know if it is a coincidence since since we arrived in Peru, every day in the afternoon it ends up clouding.

Yanahuara Viewpoint in Arequipa

We have a good time in the area and return to Plaza de Armas where, while we wait for the Cathedral to open at 5 p.m., we have been walking around the streets for a while, stopping at some of the little shops and of course, stopping for a snack. Today he plays coca tea, coffee with milk and a churro for 12.80 soles

Streets of Arequipa, in the Plaza de Armas

Snacking in Arequipa

If we can not resist eating and less in Peru, where its cuisine seems to call us screaming.
Shortly before 6 we return to the Plaza de Armas and enter the cathedral, free of charge.

Arequipa Cathedral

After this visit to the Cathedral, we take the opportunity to enjoy a sunset over the incredible Plaza de Armas, which will surely take a long time to forget.

Sunset in Arequipa

The atmosphere at this time of the afternoon is very special in this area of the city, so we take the opportunity to approach the Church of Santo Domingo, passing before the Cloister of the Company that is full of shops and maintains that bohemian atmosphere of some cities that we like so much.

Cloister of the Company. Arequipa in one day

We arrived at the Church of Santo Domingo where we enjoyed a while inside, a silence we need after the bustle of the streets of Arequipa. The streets of the city are full of people at this time and traffic. Above all taxis, we believe that we have never seen so many in the same city.
It's 7 in the afternoon and what can we do to make time until dinner time. Exactly, you have succeeded: go for a drink. We decided on a terrace of the Plaza de Armas with beautiful views of it at dusk.
We ordered a coca tea and an Inka Cola. The time has come to try this so-known soda and the truth is that we have to say that despite having a most surprising taste, we believe it creates addiction.

Mate de Coca and Inka Cola in Arequipa

We enjoy this time with magnificent views, in which we cannot stop talking about this great trip to Peru that we are living, as well as some of the next ones that we already have in mind and that also make us especially excited.
We have the summer months full of getaways, something that usually does not happen to us, since we leave the trips for the months out of high season, but this year it has emerged like this and we have not missed the opportunity.
Les Cinque Terre, a getaway to Switzerland, awaits us, where we are still considering the possibility of a river cruise in Switzerland that we have seen and that has caught our attention.
And we cannot forget another great trip this year, Iceland, a country that we wanted for many years and we are looking forward to meet.
Shortly before 8 pm we pay the 10 soles of the bill and go to dinner at one of the most recommended restaurants in the city, the Hatunpa, which is half a block from the Monastery of Santa Catalina, very close to our hotel in Arequipa and specializes in potatoes from Peru, covered with different fillings.
We ordered one with tuna and another with alpaca meat that are very good. These two dishes plus water for 29.50 soles. Very good and cheap. Site totally recommended.

Having dinner at the Hatunpa in Arequipa

And after this, what else can we ask for? Now we need to rest at La Casa de Melgar, which today has been a most complete day and tomorrow we have to start the next part of the trip, we go to the Colca Valley.