PERU (Part 1) Arequipa

When each of our children graduates from high school we give them the option of going on a trip with Mom and Dad or getting a comparable amount of money toward  things they might need for college.  This idea started with Janelle because she wanted to go to Russia to visit her Grandpa and Grandma Tucker where they were serving a mission for the church at the time of her graduation.  Since that time, the laptops have won out.  But this year, Meg had her heart set on going to Peru.  She was smart enough to  know that Peru would have a soft spot in Daddy's heart since he served his mission there 30+ years ago.  This was also a big plus because neither Megan or I speak Spanish.

Soooo we started to look for tickets in the Spring and found some for a good price out of Atlantic City.  The planning was pretty intense since traveling around in Peru requires a lot of different modes of transportation.  Most of the travel was via plane, but we also spent some time on trains, buses, and in taxis.  We arranged for all of our own hotels or hostels....and for the most part, we did a pretty good job of picking those places.  We saw some amazing sights, ate some delicious food, and met some people we will never forget.  

Telling the story of our adventure will be a challenge because we want to make sure to capture as many details as possible,  but here is our best shot....so buckle up and get ready for an amazing ride.

Here are Steve and Meg in the AC airport waiting to board our plane.  We flew from Atlantic City to Lima on August 14.  Lima was just a quick stop on our way Arequipa.  Arequipa is the city where Steve spent a lot of his mission.  It is know as "la ciudad blanca" or the white city because of the white volcanic stone out of which many of the buildings are made.

We arrived in Lima at about 11 pm and our hostel sent a taxi to pick us up.  This is me giving the thumbs up as we were waiting for that taxi to arrive.  He finally got there and took us back to our little hostel where we were able to sleep until about 3am.

Bless their hearts, even though it was so early, the owners of the hostel prepared this little breakfast for us.  It tasted so good...I guess we must have been hungry.  

Our flight left Lima for Arequipa at 5:30am.  We found Taca (the local airline that took us around in Peru) to not only be very reasonably priced, but very comfortable and with a staff that was so courteous and helpful.   This had been our experience when we flew on the airline in Albania as well.  It reminded us of the "good old days" as far as airline service.

Meg liked that they served food and had places to charge electronics.  :)

Here we are arriving in Arequipa on Wednesday morning.  Since the seasons are the opposite of what we were experiencing in the US, it seemed a little chilly to us.

Our hostel in Arequipa was one of our favorites.  It was beautiful, clean, and had amazing  architecture.  The people were also very friendly and helpful.  Here are Meg and me standing in front of the entry gate to the courtyard.

The courtyard just outside our window

The courtyard on the upper floor

We were glad our room was ready upon arrival early in the morning.  Megan even took a little nap.

After settling in, we set out to see the city.  Here is Steve with a very confused look as he surveys the  logos of Pizza Hut, Burger King, KFC, and Starbucks.  This he did not experience 30 years ago!!!

 
We visited some cloisters which had been converted to a beautiful shopping area.  The stonework was still very prevalent in both the pillars and the floors though.  So beautiful!!

These two photos are taken in the Plaza de Armas of Arequipa.  Every town or village that we visited   had a Plaza de Armas which is like a big town square.  I personally thought that Arequipa's plaza was  the prettiest one we saw.  Three of the buildings surrounding the square had these double arches and then the cathedral took up the fourth side.

Here is the plaza looking toward the cathedral.  I loved the palms.

 

The very ornate pulpit inside the cathedral

At the front of the cathedral

Looking out toward the side door

This window was in the walking street behind the cathedral.  We called it the "pretty street" because of all the fun restaurants, shops and trees.

Me on the pretty street

OK...time to start the conversation about food and drink.  Here are two of the classics:  empanada and Inca Kola.  Steve loved Inca Kola on his mission and had it with just about every meal on our little vacation.  It is similar to a cream soda, but has a taste all its own.  The empanadas are filled with meat or cheese and have a baked pastry outer crust.  Yum!!

Some of the beautiful carving above the theater doors

This shows the way that women carry their babies on their backs.  Actually, this is the way that all women (and some men) carry most things on their backs.  Some of them carry huge bundles this way.

This woman was selling things on the pretty street.  Yes, I loved the little lambs and yes, I bought one from her.  :)

Megan bringing a little "South Street" to "Pretty Street"

Meg enjoying her fresh fruit drink while Steve enjoys being silly

Steve remembered this bank from the time when he served here on his mission.  He used to have to come here to get all the money that came in for the missionaries.  He would leave here with tons of cash because that is what most people prefer to use in Peru...even today.

The bank opened up to this courtyard where the business happens

And we even found some gelato as we toured the city

Here we are at the beginning of our tour of El Monasterio de Santa Catalina.  Steve had toured it years ago and remembered it being amazing.  We learned so much about the sisters that had lived there hundreds of years ago and a little about those there today.  It was a huge blessing to be able to be a nun back in the early days.  In fact the girl's family had to pay a huge amount of money for her to be there.  They lived a life of luxury and were catered to by servants....quite different than what we think of today.  The whole facility was beautiful.  Each different area was painted a certain bright color depending what the purpose of that area was.  The flowers and plants were gorgeous.

The blue section

The white section

The red section

This is where the sisters washed their clothes.  The water ran through the middle channel  and there were half terracotta pots to each side of it.  

The sister would just have to make fist to stop up the water and fill her pot to wash her clothes...Megan was nice enough to demonstrate.

One of the beautiful succulents 

A courtyard looking toward the scenic overlook

Megan at the fountain

Steve with the beautiful geraniums

One of the streets

We took the tour with a family from New York.  Afterward, we talked with them a while and found out that the father was there about 30 years ago going to school in La Paz, Bolivia.  He had brought his wife and daughters back to show them the places he had traveled to years ago.  We thought it was pretty amazing that our stories were so similar.  It also gave us the opportunity to share a little about the church and its missionary program.  So cool.

More of the beautiful flora

Our turn at the fountain

Megan and Steve heading up to the overlook

There they are.....

.....and here is what we saw.  The name of this mountain is Chachani.

And this is Misti.  It is the famous volcano that is very close to Arequipa.

After touring the Monastery, we headed to Sabandia Mill.  This was a beautiful green area not far from the city where a grist mill operated years ago.  

Steve posing with the mill stone

Steve and Megan (her Dad's pose in this photo cracks Megan up)

Megan posing with (as she called it) Grandmother Willow

Megan and Steve on the terraces at the mill

One of the walkways at the mill....notice the huge clay pots lying along the way

Steve and I by the waterway

Megan at the Mill

More of the waterfall

This photo totally looks like a Book of Mormon
scene to me  :)

Megan and her mom

So, after touring the mill, we couldn't find a taxi so we walked out to the main road.  Meg snapped this photo of our shadows as we walked back.  Kind of Abbey Road-esque, huh?

Once we got a taxi, he took us by some places in a section of town called Hunter.  When Steve served here there were dirt roads and one story shacks.  Now, the roads are paved and not only are there many multilevel buildings, but we even found this LDS chapel.  Very cool!

And this is where we ate our first dinner in Arequipa.  Steve had been telling us about all the places that sold pollo al a brasa (basically - rotisserie chicken) and it was, indeed, very good.  It was served in the traditional way with fried potatoes and a little salad.

Here was our view of the Plaza de Armas at night....the end of a very full and fun day.

Thursday, August 16th (Second Day in Arequipa)

We started the next day by heading out to find the places where Steve had actually spent time in Arequipa.  Here he is in front of the mission home.  He couldn't actually remember which one of these houses was the right one, so we made sure that both were in the photo.

Here he is in front of the mission office.  The windows on the second story were those of the president's office.

SHOPPING!!!!!

All the children in the cities and even in the countryside wear uniforms.  We saw them everywhere.  Most of the little children would hold onto each other as they walked.  They were so cute.

Here come some more!!

Some of the very ornate decor in the Jesuit Church in the city

Amazing carving and gold work

A very common sight :)

Like father like daughter....and mom with her boring water

We set out to find the present day mission office.  On our way we went past the original church building right in Arequipa (since remodeled).  This is where the original Arequipa Stake was organized in late 1979.  There are now 7 stakes within the city and more 17 in the surrounding area.  The taxi driver was nice enough to stop so we could snap these photos.

All of the church buildings in Peru stood out in beauty, landscaping and cleanliness.  

All of the buildings also featured the tall fence around the building for security reasons.

A reminder of how new our country is.....The city of Arequipa was celebrating their 472nd birthday while we were there.  WOW!!

This was a lookout spot called the Mirador.  The word means viewing place.  We could see the whole city from this spot.

We could also see Misti

Megan posing near the Miradora

Having a late lunch at a little rooftop restaurant that we found on the Plaza

Ceviche!!!!! So good!!!!

One of our interesting salads..also delicious!!

Steve with his rocoto relleno and his gratin papas....oh man, my mouth is totally watering right now.  These are very traditional foods of Peru and consists of a red pepper filled with meat and vegetables with a side of potato casserole.  

Our view of the Plaza de Armas from the rooftop restaurant

After a little late afternoon rest, we headed out to a fun creperia where we had savory and dessert crepes and played a game of Parcheesi as well.  Very satisfying.

And a final look at the Cathedral the night before leaving...we love you, Arequipa!!!