It turns out that my hostel was pretty accommodating of my 7 am arrival, which was nice! I hadn't done much research into what I wanted to do yet, so I took some time to do that and get settled. When I did go out, I headed first to the Plaza de Armas. For the second largest city in Peru, the Plaza was a lot smaller than what I expected. It also had some construction happening, so that made it even more sad. Still, it's a great view.
I walked around next, and went to see a little archaeological museum with artifacts specifically from the Arequipa region. Apparently it used to be a market center, but a lot of the artifacts were very similar to those that I saw in the other Peruvian cities I've been to.
I also found the city market, which was very similar to the one I went to in Cusco! I don't know if I described it, but basically it takes up an entire block, and had aisles just like a grocery store. The difference is that each little section is run by a separate merchant, and all the products are essentially the same. I don't know how any of them makes enough money to support themselves since people literally can buy from over 10 different stalls that sell the exact same things. The market is broken into sections, like fruits, fish, chicken, pork, other meats, restaurants, hats, etc. It's really quite interesting, but I am highly skeptical of the sanitation.
I also walked into a supermarket, and it was set up in a way that was a lot more comforting and familiar. Next time I need to buy water, I'm going there again because I bought 3 liters on sale for 2 soles whereas the same money would get me 1 liter from a corner store or a street vendor, or maybe less.
Eventually, I booked a Colca Canyon 2-day-1-night trek/tour through my hostel (it cost 105 soles, way less than my quote at the bus station, though I still have to pay for the entrance fee) and then went to a free walking tour. It was very interesting, and the guide pointed out a lot of intersections of Andean and European/Catholic culture in the architecture, which was cool! On the other hand, it reminds me of colonialism and the way that Christianity in some form or another was essentially forced onto their subjects, which is the reason why so much original culture is lost and why so many people are Christian, historically. Nevertheless, it was cool to see how important tradition was to these architects, and the creative ways that they incorporated symbols like the snake (ruler of the ground/underworld), corn (major source of food), and feathers (royalty) into the structures they created.
We also got to see the mountains surrounding the city, which are perfectly snow-capped and beautiful in the background of the picture I got.
We walked around a little more, including going to the old slaughterhouse and seeing where nuns have traditionally lived, and then he showed us a little place called "Mundo Alpaca" - which if my Spanish serves me correctly means "Alpaca World"! It had live alpacas, information about making wool/thread, and a nice lady with a baby who was making what looked like a scarf/shawl. Apparently people are being replaced by machine, but they still have hand-made products here because these people are brought from their lands in the mountains to Arequipa in this little museum. Each family stays a month at a time and does their share in making the rugs/jackets/scarves/etc., sending profits back to their community before returning home.
My day tomorrow apparently starts at 3 am since we have to drive several hours to see condors in the Canyon, so wish me luck! I hope I'm not falling asleep the whole day.
No comments:
Post a Comment