Arequipa: La Ciudad Blanca

Happy New Year, everyone! August first marked the first day of the new year, according to the Andean calendar. We celebrated with confetti and kisses all around at work that afternoon.

Anyway, as you know, a few weeks ago I went to Arequipa (I’m gonna be lazy and use shorthand from now on...Arkpa=Arequipa). After a full night on the bus, which was surprisingly comfortable and relaxing, I was greeted by my abuela (my dad's mom) Carmencita, who lives in the city, and la Lucia, who had flown in the day before. As Fernando works for an airlines company, his family can fly for free...his biological family, that is.

I spent the first day sleeping, and later chatting with a whole bunch of new family members... always fun to do in a foreign language. Finally at night, Fernando flew in from Lima after his work week ended there. We (Carmencita, la Lu, tío Pepe, and I) went to pick him up at the airport, then took a quick tour of the city at night, including a stop for salchipapas (cut up hot dogs and french fries, smothered in much too many condiments...quite tasty!) 

La Plaza de Armas, Arequipa

We spent the rest of the next three days together doing a mix of touristy things (for me) and family things (for, well, everyone). There were several great lookout points with incredible views of this AMAZING city, we enjoyed some delicious, loooong, relaxing lunches, and even went to a mall. It was actually a pretty cool experience to see a Peruvian mall (although not much different than those in the States) as Cusco definitely does not have one.

Fernando took me to a convent right downtown (no, not to get rid of me). It is for cloistered nuns, meaning the ladies do not leave the grounds once they enter. They have very limited contact with the outside world, such as their family (see Mom, it could be worse...). 'So really, Amy, why did you visit a convent?' It is actually one of Arkpa’s tourist attractions. We got to see about 70% (the rest is still in use by the monjas) and it was like a city within the city. The rooms were all set up like they used to be way-back-when (very basic) and the alleys made up a labyrinth of brightly painted walls and pots of flowers.

Fernando and I touring the convent of Santa Catalina

The more family-oriented experiences in Arkpa included a very long chat over coffee with Fernando one morning, playing on the roof with Lu and Carmen’s dog, and FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY watching the last Harry Potter (sinful, I know, to have waited a whole year, but better late than never...yeah? And better in Spanish...?)

Two disappointments of the trip included: 1. not getting to go to the famous Colca Canyon because the bus we were scheduled to take there broke down the night before, too late to make arrangements through another company, and it was my last day in the city; and 2. not getting to see my Arkpa friends whom Shauna and I met at Lake Titicaca. We tried, but our schedules never lined up right. It’s okay though....facebook saves the day again! I still talk to the boys quite a bit, felizmente.

The let-downs could never outweigh the awesomeness of the trip though. The city is probably my favorite big city I ever have been to. Period. I have been blessed to see a lot of big cities from Seattle to NYC to Paris, and while Arkpa isn’t Paris-huge, it definitely beats it, in my personal opinion. Now, by this point I have become very partial to my new country, so you may just have to come to Arkpa to decide for yourself. Until then, here are some reasons it is such a cool place:

El Misti

• It is shadowed by three volcanoes, sleepily occupying the entire background of the city, meaning that there is almost always a white-capped giant in the pictures you take here. The most famous and stereotypically volcano-like in appearance is the elegant Misti, but Chichani and Pichu Pichu are not to be taken for granted either. Majestic. All of them.

• And while I might say that the city is shadowed by these giants, the city was by no means dark. In fact, the climate is amazing there. It was sunny every day and warm, warm, warm! It felt wonderful to finally be hot during the day, and to not need a coat at night. Also, the palms all over the city make it feel like the ocean is less than the two hour distance away. ¡Rrrrico!

• Modernity! This city is much more modern than my own here in Perú, as demonstrated by the presence of both malls and movie theaters. Its very clear European influence also makes it feel more modern than the Incan Empire Capital I call home. In some of the really cool plazas that are all over the city, I felt more like I was in Spain than Perú.

La Lu and I in the Plaza

• Perhaps the most unique part about this city is that smack dab in the middle of it all - city blocks, honking cars and combis, tall buildings and bright lights - there were farm fields. Big ones and small ones alike, some agricultural, some full of livestock...all over the city. It was so bizarre and yet so cool. This is a big reason I fell in love with Arkpa. A part of me belongs in the city, but my heart is country...so why not have both?! What a great idea! Hopefully you can kind of get an idea from these pictures.

Don´t be fooled by the volcano, the farm fields and the cows...you are still in the city

• Finally, the whiteness (and I’m strictly talking the color of the buildings...). The city is known as La Ciudad Blanca, or the white city, as a good amount of its buildings are made from volcanic material, which is white when it hardens. So from the white-capped volcanoes to the plaza square, it is all white. (Unless it is painted in some fun, bright colors, as many are, making Cusco seem a little brown and drab in comparison. Not to worry, though, I am still a Cusqueña through and through.)

El Misti, looking over his Ciudad Blanca

Overall, what an incredible experience! I am so thankful I got to see this awesome city (in a fairly localized fashion) to give me yet another idea of what is Perú. The diversity in both the cities and people here is really spectacular. 

¡Te amo, Perú!